Quotes from 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]

The famous words of Emma Lazarus on the pedestal of the Statute of Liberty read: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Until 1921 this was an accurate picture of our society. Under present law it would be appropriate to add: as long as they come from Northern Europe, are not too tired or too poor or slightly ill, never stole a loaf of bread, never joined any questionable organization, and can document their activities from the past two years.

I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party's candidate for President, who happens also to be a Catholic.

Described Washington as a community of Southern efficiency and Northern charm.

Jika politik itu kotor, puisi akan membersihkannya. Jika politik bengkok, sastra akan meluruskannya.

So, let us not be blind to our differences- but let us also direct our attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved.

The stories of past courage can define that ingredient- they can teach, they can offer hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot provide courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul.

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.

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, Radio and television report to the American people in civil rights, June 11, 1963 35th president of US 1961-1963 (1917 - 1963) ? John F. Kennedy

Never before has man had such capacity to control his own environment,...We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history or the world - or make it the last.

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

What makes journalist so fascinating, and biography so interesting [is] the struggle to answer that single question: 'What's he like?

In 1797 a member of Congress argued that, while a liberal immigration policy was fine when the country was new and unsettled, now that America had reached its maturity and was fully populated, immigration should stop—an argument which has been repeated at regular intervals throughout American history.

Life's not fair but not always to your disadvantage.

In a time of turbulence and change, it is more true than ever that knowledge is power.

Equality in America has never meant literal equality of condition or capacity. There will always be inequalities in character and ability in any society. Equality has meant rather that in the words of the Declaration of Independence, All men are created equal and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. It is meant that in a democratic society there should be no inequalities in opportunities or in freedoms.

The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough—more than enough—of war and hate and oppression. We shall be prepared if others wish it. We shall be alert to try to stop it. But we shall do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just. We are not helpless before that task or hopeless of its success.

I mean, they are just as susceptible to pressure and in many ways more susceptible to pressure because they are desperately anxious, this is their tremendous chance to break through the rather narrow lives they may lead.

Happiness is the full use of one's talents along lines of excellence.

there are few if any issues where all the truth and all the right and all the angels are on one side.

All of us in the Congress are made fully aware of the importance of party unity (what sins have been committed in that name!)

We have come too far, we have sacrificed too much, to disdain future now.

Orang yang dilimpahi banyak karunia, dituntut untuk berbuat banyak kebaikan.

I believe that 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 earth.