John F. Kennedy > Quotes

“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.”
― John F. Kennedy

“Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.”
― John F. Kennedy

“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.”
― John F. Kennedy

“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
― John F. Kennedy

“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.”
― John F. Kennedy, Profiles in Courage

“We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.”
― John F. Kennedy

“No matter how big the lie; repeat it often enough and the masses will regard it as the truth.”
― John F. Kennedy

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
(1962)”
― John F. Kennedy

“Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
― John F. Kennedy

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
― John F. Kennedy

“Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.”
― John F. Kennedy

“Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.”
― John F. Kennedy

“Libraries should be open to all - except the censor.”
― John F. Kennedy

“A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death.”
― John F. Kennedy

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”
― John F. Kennedy

“To those whom much is given, much is expected.”
― John F. Kennedy, Uncommon Wisdom of John F. Kennedy: A Portrait in His Own Words

“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.”
― John F. Kennedy

“One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.”
― John F. Kennedy

“If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.”
― John F. Kennedy

“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.”
― John F. Kennedy

“Liberty without Learning is always in peril and Learning without Liberty is always in vain.”
― John F. Kennedy

“Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.”
― John F. Kennedy

“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.”
― John F. Kennedy

“We should never negotiate out of fear, but we should never fear to negotiate”
― John F. Kennedy

“What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents.”
― John F. Kennedy

“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.”
― John F. Kennedy

“If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”
― John F. Kennedy, Kennedy's Inaugural address of 1961.

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
― John F. Kennedy

“Mankind MUST put an end to war, or war WILL put and end to mankind”
― John F. Kennedy

“I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute -- where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote -- where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference -- and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.

I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish -- where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches, or any other ecclesiastical source -- where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials -- and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all.”
― John F. Kennedy