John F. Kennedy Quotes

“Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.”

“My fellow Americans, let us take that first step. Let us...step back from the shadow of war and seek out the way of peace. And if that journey is a thousand miles, or even more, let history record that we, in this land, at this time, took the first step.”

“Last year, more Americans went to symphonies than went to baseball games. This may be viewed as an alarming statistic, but I think that both baseball and the country will endure.”

“An economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough jobs or enough profits”

“If I had to live my life over again, I would have a different father, a different wife and a different religion.”

“Peaceful circulation has been interupted by barbed wire and concrete blocks. For a city or a people to be truly free, they must have the secure right, without economic, political or police pressure, to make their own choices and live their own lives.”

“Ask not that the journey be easy; ask instead that it be worth it.”

“The Republican Party can lead any person to believe that their promises will be fulfilled in the future. They follow the Hitler line – no matter how big the lie; repeat it often enough and the masses will regard it as truth.”

“We want to be first; not first if, not first but; but first!”

“Politics is like football; if you see daylight, go through the hole.”

“Mr. Nixon has, in the last seven days, called me an economic ignoramus, a Pied Piper, and all the rest. I've just confined myself to calling him a Republican. But he says that is getting low.”

“When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.”

“For in a government of laws and not of men, no man, however prominent or powerful, and no mob however unruly or boisterous, is entitled to defy a court of law. If this country should ever reach the point where any man or group of men by force or threat of force could long defy the commands of our court and our Constitution, then no law would stand free from doubt, no judge would be sure of his writ, and no citizen would be safe from his neighbors.”

“History will not judge our endeavors--and a government cannot be selected--merely on the basis of color or creed or even party affiliation. Neither will competence and loyalty and stature, while essential to the utmost, suffice in times such as these.”

“A rising tide (in the economy) lifts all boats.”

“I think 'Hail to the Chief' has a nice ring to it.”

“Moral courage is more a rare commodity than bravery in a battle or great intelligence.”

“Unless liberty flourishes in all lands, it cannot flourish in one.”

“As a great democratic society, we have a special responsibility to the arts. For art is the great democrat, calling forth creative genius from every sector of society, disregarding race or religion or wealth or color. What freedom alone can bring is the liberation of the human mind and a spirit which finds its greatest flowering in the free society. I see of little more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than the full recognition of the place of the artist.”

“There are no 'white' or 'coloured' signs on the foxholes or graveyards of battle.”

“A boy spends his time finding a girl to sleep with. A real man spends his time looking for the one worth waking up to.”

“There comes a point where you see no evidence that the carrot and diplomacy are working.”

“We must face the fact that the United States is neither omnipotent nor omniscient, that we cannot impose our will upon the other 94 percent of mankind, that we cannot right every wrong or reverse every adversity, and that therefore there cannot be an American solution to every world problem.”

“Most cities are nouns. New York's a verb.”

“Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.”