Quotes from John F. Kennedy

All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea - whether it is to sail or to watch it - we are going back from whence we came.

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

Art is the great democrat, calling forth creative genius from every sector of society, disregarding race or religion or wealth or color

I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: 'I served in the United States Navy.

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

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.

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. 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 morality.

The rising tide lifts all the boats.

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.

Those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside

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. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. 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 future. And we are all mortal.

We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.

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.

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.

I look forward to a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose

The supreme reality of our time is the vulnerability of our planet.

A boy spends his time finding a girl to sleep with. A real man spends his time looking for the one worth waking up to.

Not every child has an equal talent or an equal ability or equal motivation, but they should have the equal right to develop their talent and their ability and their motivation, to make something of themselves.

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

The most powerful single force in the world today is neither Communism nor Capitalism, neither the H-bomb nor the guided missile -- it is man's eternal desire to be free and independent.

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

Once you say you're going to settle for second, that's what happens to you in life, I find. [Quoted by Theodore Sorensen in 'Kennedy']

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

Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past, let us accept our own responsibility for the future.