John f. kennedy quotes

Those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside

Israel was not created in order to disappear - Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and the home of the brave. It can neither be broken by adversity nor demoralized by success. It carries the shield of democracy and it honors the sword of freedom.

Don't pray for an easy life, pray to be a stronger man.

So let us begin anew -- remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate. Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.

There will always be dissident voices heard in the land, expressing opposition without alternatives, finding fault but never favor, perceiving gloom on every side and seeking influence without responsibility.

There is always inequality in life. Some men are killed in a war and some men are wounded and some men never leave the country. Life is unfair.

The only valid test of leadership is the ability to lead, and lead vigorously.

Our nation is founded on the principal that observance of the law is the eternal safeguard of liberty and defiance of the law is the surest road to tyranny.

My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

Economic growth without social progress lets the great majority of the people remain in poverty, while a privileged few reap the benefits of rising abundance.

The only reason to give a speech is to change the world.

Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.

The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.

Each success brings with it the potential of failure and each failure brings with it the potential of success.

First, what does truth require? It requires us to face the facts as they are, not to involve ourselves in self-deception; to refuse to think merely in slogans. If we are to work for the future of the city, let us deal with the realities as they actually are, not as they might have been, and not as we wish they were.

Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.

So long as freedom from hunger is only half achieved, so long as two thirds of the nations have food deficits, no citizen, no nation can afford to be satisfied. We have the ability, as members of the human race, we have the means, we have the capacity to eliminate hunger from the face of the earth in our lifetime. We only need the will.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.

The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.

We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future.

I will splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it into the winds.

The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.

Without debate, without criticism no administration and no country can succeed and no republic can survive.

The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie--deliberate, contrived and dishonest--but the myth--persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.

Every time that we try to lift a problem from our own shoulders, and shift that problem to the hands of the government, to the same extent we are sacrificing the liberties of our people.

There are three things in life which are real: God, human folly and laughter. Since the first two are beyond our comprehension, we must do what we can with the third.

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.

It is insane that two men, sitting on opposite sides of the world, should be able to decide to bring an end to civilization.

Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.

We can have faith in the future only if we have faith in ourselves.

There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.

History will never accept difficulties as an excuse.

A tax cut means higher family income and higher business profits and a balanced federal budget.

Anyone who can solve the problems of water will be worthy of two Nobel prizes - one for peace and one for science.

The very word 'secrecy' is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and to secret proceedings.

Intelligence and skill can only function at the peak of their capacity when the body is healthy and strong.

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

It is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now Cutting taxes now is not to incur a budget deficit, but to achieve the more prosperous, expanding economy which can bring a budget surplus.

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.

The state is the servant of the citizen, and not his master.

To those whom much is given, much is expected.

Here on earth, God's work must surely be our own.

Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.

Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.

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.

A medical revolution has extended the life of our elder citizens without providing the dignity and security those later years deserve.

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.

I would rather be accused of breaking precedents than breaking promises.

It is not our wealth that built our roads, but it is our roads that built our wealth.

The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.

Communism has never come to power in a country that was not disrupted by war or corruption, or both.

Democracy may not be perfect, but at least I don't have to build a wall to keep my people in.

Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom.

Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all.

Never let your fears hold you back from pursuing your hopes.

Persons are judged to be great because of the positive qualities they possess, not because of the absence of faults.

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

The world knows that America will never start a war. This generation of Americans has had enough of war and hate... we want to build a world of peace where the weak are secure and the strong are just.

Hold fast to the best of the past and move fast to the best of the future.

The high office of the President has been used to foment a plot to destroy the American's freedom and before I leave office, I must inform the citizens of this plight.

Too often we... enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

Show me a man with a great golf game, and I’ll show you a man who has been neglecting something.

The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use; of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public.

Truth is a tyrant-the only tyrant to whom we can give our allegiance. The service of truth is a matter of heroism.

Now the trumpet summons us again - not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are; but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, 'rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation', a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.

The complacent, the self-indulgent, the soft societies are about to be swept away with the debris of history. Only the strong, only the industrious, only the determined, only the courageous, only the visionary who determine the real nature of our struggle can possibly survive.

This is not a time to keep the facts from the people-to keep them complacent. To sound the alarm is not to panic but to seek action from an aroused public. For, as the poet Dante once said: 'The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.

Lets talk to one another instead of about one another.

Effort and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.

When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.

A tax cut means higher family income and higher business profits and a balanced federal budget....As the national income grows, the federal government will ultimately end up with more revenues. Prosperity is the real way to balance our budget. By lowering tax rates, by increasing jobs and income, we can expand tax revenues and finally bring our budget into balance.

Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.

Freedom is not merely a word or an abstract theory, but the most effective instrument for advancing the welfare of man.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

It is increasingly clear that no matter what party is in power, so long as our national security needs keep rising, an economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough jobs or enough profits.

There can be no progress if people have no faith in tomorrow.

You know nothing for sure...except the fact that you know nothing for sure.

By calling attention to 'a well regulated militia,' 'the security of the nation,' and the right of each citizen 'to keep and bear arms,' our founding fathers recognized the essentially civilian nature of our economy... The Second Amendment still remains an important declaration of our basic civilian-military relationships in which every citizen must be ready to participate in the defense of his country. For that reason I believe the Second Amendment will always be important.

Sometimes party loyalty asks too much.

A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.

For in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, "hold office"; every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.

Only in winter can you tell which trees are truly green. Only when the winds of adversity blow can you tell whether an individual or a country has steadfastness.

Only an educated and informed people will be a free people.

One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice. They are not yet freed from social and economic oppression. And this nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free.

Justice delayed is democracy denied.

when my office would require me to either violate my conscience or violate the national interest, then I would resign the office; and I hope any conscientious public servant would do the same.

All of us do not have equal talent, but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop our talent.

Don't ask 'Why', ask instead, 'Why not'.

No responsibility of government is more fundamental than the responsibility of maintaining the highest standard of ethical behavior for those who conduct the public business.

We are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence — on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day

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.

Great crises produce great men, and great deeds of courage.

Our task is not to fix blame for the past, but to fix the course for the future.

If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

A full scale nuclear exchange, lasting less than 60 minutes...could wipe out more than 300 million Americans, Europeans, and Russians, as well as untold numbers elsewhere. And the survivors-as Chairman Khrushchev warned the Communist Chinese, `the survivors would envy the dead.' For they would inherit a world so devastated by explosions and poison and fire that today we cannot conceive of its horrors.

A great change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all.

One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.

The unity of freedom has never relied on uniformity of opinion.

There is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment.

No sane society chooses to commit national suicide.

The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.

A revolution is coming – a revolution which will be peaceful if we are wise enough; compassionate if we care enough; successful if we are fortunate enough – but a revolution which is coming whether we will it or not. We can affect its character; we cannot alter its inevitability.

No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition and both are necessary. I am not asking your newspapers to support the Administration, but I am asking your help in the tremendous task of informing and alerting the American people. For I have complete confidence in the response and dedication of our citizens whenever they are fully informed.

Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.

Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.

The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth.

If by a "Liberal," they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people - their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties - someone who believes that we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say that I'm a "Liberal."

Let us not be blind to our differences-but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.

Politics is a jungle-torn between doing the right thing and staying in office.

We need men who can dream of things that never were.

A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.

So, let us not be blind to our differences - but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved.

In a time of turbulence and change, it is more true than ever that knowledge is power.

The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it. Even today, there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it.

If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be of no help.

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.

War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.

This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor.

Those who do nothing are inviting shame as well as violence. Those who act boldly are recognizing right as well as reality.

The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.

We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world or to make it the last.