John F. Kennedy Quotes

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

The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger-but recognize the opportunity.

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

A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death.

[Remarks Recorded for the Opening of a USIA Transmitter, February 8 1963]

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

[Inaugural Address, January 20 1961]

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.

[Quoting Reverend Phillips Brooks, during Remarks at Presidential Prayer Breakfast, February 7 1963]

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.

Liberty without Learning is always in peril and Learning without Liberty is always in vain.

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

Our progress as a nation can be not swifter than our progress in education.

Libraries should be open to all - except the censor.

[Response to questionnaire in Saturday Review, October 29 1960]

Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

Time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life.

Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder.

Science contributes to our culture in many ways, as a creative intellectual activity in its own right, as the light which has served to illuminate man's place in the universe, and as the source of understanding of man's own nature.

Mankind must put an end to war - or war will put an end to mankind.

[Address before the United Nations, September 25 1961]

If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.

This nation was founded by many men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. -John F. Kennedy

If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.

[Commencement Address at American University, June 10 1963]

Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. And however undramatic the pursuit of peace, that pursuit must go on.

[Address before the United Nations, September 20 1963]