Conformity is the jailer of freedom, and the enemy of growth. - John F. Kennedy
I would rather be accused of breaking precedents than breaking promises. - John F. Kennedy
Liberty without Learning is always in peril and Learning without Liberty is always in vain. - John F. Kennedy
[Public] libraries should be open to all—except the censor.[Response to questionnaire in Saturday Review, October 29 1960] - John F. Kennedy
Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation. - John F. Kennedy
If I do the right kind of a job, I don't know whether I am going to be here four years from now. -- John F. Kennedy (to Richard M. Nixon, right after the Bay of Pigs invasion, 1961). - John F. Kennedy
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] - John F. Kennedy
Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource. - John F. Kennedy
Too often we...enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. - John F. Kennedy
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
We stand for freedom. That is our conviction for ourselves; that is our only commitment to others. - John F. Kennedy
I look foreword to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty. - John F. Kennedy
Democracy and defense are not substitutes for one another. Either alone will fail. - John F. Kennedy
But wherever we are, we must all, in our daily lives, live up to the age-old faith that peace and freedom walk together. In too many of our cities today, the peace is not secure because freedom is incomplete." (, June 10, 1963, American University speech) - John F. Kennedy
Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.[Inaugural Address, January 20 1961] - John F. Kennedy
When I became President, what surprised me most was that things were just as bad as I'd been saying they were. - John F. Kennedy
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable. - John F. Kennedy
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
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
Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future. - John F. Kennedy
When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existance. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. - John F. Kennedy
The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie -- deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. - John F. Kennedy
Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans. - John F. Kennedy
Let us never negotiate out of fear but let us never fear to negotiate. - John F. Kennedy
When power leads man towards 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 his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. - John F. Kennedy
Do you realize the responsibility I carry? I'm the only person standing between Nixon and the White House. - John F. Kennedy
The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. - John F. Kennedy
The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. - John F. Kennedy
If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. - John F. Kennedy
We must use time as a tool, not as a crutch. - John F. Kennedy
And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country. - John F. Kennedy
Now I understand why Henry VIII started his own church. - John F. Kennedy
Before my term has ended, we shall have to test anew whether a nation organized and governed such as ours can endure. The outcome is by no means certain. - John F. Kennedy
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. - John F. Kennedy
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. - John F. Kennedy
The highest duty of the writer is to remain true to himself and let the chips fall where they may. In serving his vision of the truth the artist best serves his nation. - 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
Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names. - John F. Kennedy
Without debate, without criticism no administration and no country can succeed and no republic can survive. - John F. Kennedy
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
Who can tell who will be the President a year from now? -- John F. Kennedy, speaking to the president of Harvard about why he did not want to delay signing documents relating to a future JFK Presidential Library, 2 October 1963. - John F. Kennedy
Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.[Address in the Assembly Hall at the Paulskirche in Frankfurt, June 26 1963] - John F. Kennedy
And so it is to the printing press--to the recorder of man's deeds, the keeper of his conscience, the courier of his news--that we look for strength and assistance, confident that with your help man will be what he was born to be: free and independent. - John F. Kennedy
And is not peace, in the last analysis, basically a matter of human rights -- the right to live out our lives without fear of devastation – the right to breathe air as nature provided it -- the right of future generations to a healthy existence?" (, June 10, 1963, American University speech) - John F. Kennedy
Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind. - John F. Kennedy
Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. - John F. Kennedy
The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.[State of the Union Address January 11 1962] - John F. Kennedy
In a time of turbulence and change, it is more true than ever that knowledge is power. - John F. Kennedy
When we got into office, the thing that surprised me the most was that things were as bad as we'd been saying they were. - John F. Kennedy
If I am to die, this is the week for it. -- John F. Kennedy (to aide John McClone in response to a CIA report about rumours of an assassination plot), June 1962. - John F. Kennedy
We have come too far, we have sacrificed too much, to disdain the future now. - John F. Kennedy
We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth. - John F. Kennedy
There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction. - John F. Kennedy
This is the night to go to the theatre, like Abraham Lincoln. - John F. Kennedy
Mothers may still want their sons to grow up to be President, but according to a famous Gallup poll of some years ago, some 73 percent do not want them to become politicians in the process. - John F. Kennedy
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."[Remarks on the first anniversary of the Alliance for Progress, 13 March 1962] - 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
The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all. - John F. Kennedy
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 success of liberty. - John F. Kennedy
Change is the law of life; and those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future. - John F. Kennedy
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. - John F. Kennedy
The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your powers along lines of excellence. - John F. Kennedy
We believe that an artist, in order to be true to himself and his work, must be a free man. - John F. Kennedy
Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. - John F. Kennedy
Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. - John F. Kennedy
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. - John F. Kennedy
Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.[Quoting Reverend Phillips Brooks, during Remarks at Presidential Prayer Breakfast, February 7 1963] - John F. Kennedy
Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.[Undelivered remarks for Dallas Trade Mart, November 22 1963] - John F. Kennedy
All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin. - John F. Kennedy
We believe that if men have the talent to invent need machines that put men out of work, they have the talent to put those men back to work. - John F. Kennedy
Peace is a process - a way of solving problems. - John F. Kennedy
The greater our knowledge increases the greater our ignorance unfolds. - John F. Kennedy
The stories of past courage can define that ingredient-they can teach, they can offer hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul. - John F. Kennedy
We need men who can dream of things that never were. - John F. Kennedy
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.[Inaugural Address, January 20 1961] - John F. Kennedy
Victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan.[News conference, April 21 1961] - John F. Kennedy
I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty - John F. Kennedy
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. - John F. Kennedy
The trouble with conservatives today is that most of their thinking is so naive. As for the liberals, their thinking is more sophisticated; but their function ought to be to provide new ideas, and they don't come up with any. - John F. Kennedy
Overwhelming nuclear strength cannot stop a guerrilla war. - John F. Kennedy
Time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. - John F. Kennedy
All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days . . .nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin. - John F. Kennedy
The quality of American life must keep pace with the quantity of American goods. This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor. - John F. Kennedy
A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. - John F. Kennedy
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. - John F. Kennedy
We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives. - John F. Kennedy
It is not only the unit vote for the Presidency we are talking about, but a whole solar system of governmental power. If it is proposed to change the balance of power of one of the elements of the solar system, it is necessary to consider the others. - John F. Kennedy
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty. - John F. Kennedy
Liberty without learning is always in peril; learning without liberty is always in vain. - John F. Kennedy
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth. - John F. Kennedy
She breathes all the political gases that flow around this, but she never seems to inhale them. - John F. Kennedy
Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm. - John F. Kennedy
Too often we... enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. - John F. Kennedy
Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. - John F. Kennedy
The American, by nature, is optimistic. He is experimental, an inventor and a builder who builds best when called upon to build greatly. - 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] - John F. Kennedy
I believe this nation should commit itself, to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. - John F. Kennedy
A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers. - John F. Kennedy
We set sail on this new sea because there is knowledge to be gained. - John F. Kennedy
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. - John F. Kennedy
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! Because that challenge is one we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone and one we intend to win! - 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
Victory has a thousand fathers; defeat is an orphan. - John F. Kennedy
Mankind must put an end to war - or war will put an end to mankind.[Address before the United Nations, September 25 1961] - John F. Kennedy
There will always be dissident voices heard in the land expresing opposition without alternatives, finding fault but never favor, perceiving gloom on every side, and seeking influence without responsibility. - John F. Kennedy
If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. - John F. Kennedy
I look forward to an america in which commands respect throughout the world, not only for its strength, but for its civilization as well. And I look forward to a world in which we will be safe not only for democracy and diversity but also for personal distinction. - John F. Kennedy
The great French Marshall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marshall replied, 'In that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon!' - John F. Kennedy
Freedom is being allowed to think your own thoughts and live your own life. - John F. Kennedy
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. - John F. Kennedy
It is our task in our time and in our generation to hand down undiminished to those who come after us, as was handed down to us by those who went before, the natural wealth and beauty which is ours. - John F. Kennedy
For without belittling the courage with which men have died, we should not forget those acts of courage with which men have lived. - John F. Kennedy
It is not always easy. Your successes are unheralded -- your failures are trumpeted. I sometimes have that feeling myself."[Speech at CIA Headquarters, November 28, 1961] - John F. Kennedy
Our progress as a nation can be not swifter than our progress in education. - 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.[Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, 1963] - John F. Kennedy
Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind. - John F. Kennedy
...probably the greatest concentration of talent and genius in this house except for perhaps those times when Thomas Jefferson ate alone. - John F. Kennedy
For in the final analysis, our most basic common link, is that we all inhabit this small planet, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children's futures, and we are all mortal. - John F. Kennedy
It's easy, they sank my boat. - John F. Kennedy