Top 50+ John F Kennedy Quotes

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Who is John F Kennedy

John F Kennedy (JFK) was born on the 29th May 1917 and died when he was assassinated on the 22nd November 1963. The politician from the United States is one of the most famous presidents to have lived, serving from 1961, to his death in 1963.

JFK was born into a political dynasty, studying at Harvard before joining the Navy in World War II, where he saw action in the Pacific. Upon his return, he entered politics in Massachusetts, as a representative for 6 years before being elected to the office of Senator from 1953 to 1960. He won the 1960 election for president against Nixon and took power.

His time in office was overshadowed by tension with the Soviet Union, known as the Cold War and in particular, the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was as a result of these tensions that he increased the military presence in Vietnam and authorised guerilla action against Cuba. Away from war, JFK oversaw development in the space programme and was a vocal advocate of the civil rights movement, despite struggling to pass many policies.

Sadly, JFK was assassinated whilst visiting Dallas, with Lee Harvey Oswald being arrested for his murder. His legacy is one of the most popular presidents but there has also been a focus on his personal health issues and extramarital affairs.

John F Kennedy Quotes

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

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

3. Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.

4. 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.

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

6. Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all.

7. All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin. And therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’

8. A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.

9. The pay is good and I can walk to work.

10. Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.

11. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch – we are going back from whence we came.

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

13. The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy.

14. Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.

15. The tax on capital gains directly affects investment decisions, the mobility and flow of risk capital… the ease or difficulty experienced by new ventures in obtaining capital, and thereby the strength and potential for growth in the economy.

16. Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.

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

18. There are many people in the world who really don’t understand-or say they don’t-what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin!

19. Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies. Those whom God has so joined together, let no man put asunder.

20. Unconditional war can no longer lead to unconditional victory. It can no longer serve to settle disputes…can no longer be of concern to great powers alone.

21. I’m an idealist without illusions.

22. Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.

23. My brother Bob doesn’t want to be in government – he promised Dad he’d go straight.

24. A man does what he must – in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures – and that is the basis of all human morality.

25. The basic problems facing the world today are not susceptible to a military solution.

26. I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House – with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.

27. We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For 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.

28. In a time of domestic crisis, men of goodwill and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics.

29. In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility – I welcome it.

30. 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.

31. Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.

32. 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 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 I’m a Liberal.

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

34. There is nothing in the record of the past two years when both Houses of Congress have been controlled by the Republican Party which can lead any person to believe that those 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.

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

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

37. Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

38. Victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan.

39. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.

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

41. Libraries should be open to all – except the censor.

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

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

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

45. Mankind must put an end to war – or war will put an end to mankind.

46. If this nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas for more wise men reading more good books in more public libraries. These libraries should be open to all—except the censor. We must know all the facts and hear all the alternatives and listen to all the criticisms. Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors. For the Bill of Rights is the guardian of our security as well as our liberty.

47. 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 clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

48. The greater our knowledge increases the more our ignorance unfolds.

49. Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life.

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

51. We would like to live as we once lived, but history will not permit it.

52. If not us, who? If not now, when?

53. Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.

54. Life is never easy. There is work to be done and obligations to be met—obligations to truth, to justice, and to liberty.

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

56. Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.

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

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

59. There is, in addition to a courage with which men die; a courage by which men must live.

60. The one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable.

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