John Fitzgerald Kennedy quotes

 quotes - Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.

“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.”

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

 quotes - Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.

“Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.”

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

 quotes - I'm an idealist without illusions.

“I'm an idealist without illusions.”

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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

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

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“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.”

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“The best road to progress is freedom's road.”

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“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.”

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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

— John Fitzgerald 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 Fitzgerald Kennedy

“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 Fitzgerald Kennedy

“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.”

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“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.”

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“Modern cynics and skeptics... see no harm in paying those to whom they entrust the minds of their children a smaller wage than is paid to those to whom they entrust the care of their plumbing”

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.”

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“A young man who does not have what it takes to perform military service is not likely to have what it takes to make a living. Today's military rejects include tomorrow's hard-core unemployed.”

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“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.”

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“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.”

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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

— John Fitzgerald 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 Fitzgerald Kennedy

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

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“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.”

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“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.”

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“I hope that no American will waste his franchise and throw away his vote by voting either for me or against me solely on account of my religious affiliation. It is not relevant.”

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy