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Above All, We Are Coming To Understand That The Arts Incarnate The Creativity Of A Free People. When The Creative Impulse Cannot Flourish, When It Cannot Freely Select Its Methods And Objects, When It Is Deprived Of Spontaneity, Then Society Severs The Root Of Art.

-John F. Kennedy

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Above All, We Are

John F. Kennedy

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Above All, We Are Coming To Understand That The Arts Incarnate The Creativity Of A Free People. When The Creative Impulse Cannot Flourish, When It Cannot Freely Select Its Methods And Objects, When It Is Deprived Of Spontaneity, Then Society Severs The Root Of Art.

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We Must Start Now To Provide Additional Stimulus To The Modernization Of American Industrial Plants I Shall Propose To The Congress A New Tax Incentive For Businesses To Expand Their Normal Investment In Plant And Equipment.

Above All, We Are Coming To Understand That The Arts Incarnate The Creativity Of A Free People.

For In A Democracy, Every Citizen, Regardless Of His Interest In Politics, "hold Office"; Every One Of Us Is In A Position Of Responsibility; And, In The Final Analysis, The Kind Of Government We Get Depends Upon How We Fulfill Those Responsibilities. We, The People, Are The Boss, And We Will Get The Kind Of Political Leadership, Be It Good Or Bad, That We Demand And Deserve.

As Far As The Job Of President Goes, Its Rewarding And I've Given Before This Group The Definition Of Happiness For The Greeks. I'll Define It Again: The Full Use Of Your Powers Along Lines Of Excellence. I Find, Therefore, That The Presidency Provides Some Happiness.

The Highest Duty Of The Writer, The Composer, The Artist, Is To Remain True To Himself And To Let The Chips Fall Where They May.

We Live In A Hemisphere Whose Own Revolution Has Given Birth To The Most Powerful Force Of The Modern Age; The Search For Freedom And Self Fulfillment Of Man.

War Will Exist Until That Distant Day When The Conscientious Objector Enjoys The Same Reputation And Prestige That The Warrior Does Today.

If We Are To Go Only Halfway Or Reduce Our Sights In The Face Of Difficulty... It Would Be Better To Not Go At All.

For A Subject Worked And Reworked So Often In Novels, Motion Pictures, And Television, American Indians Remain Probably The Least Understood And Most Misunderstood Americans Of Us All.

It Was Involuntary. They Sank My Boat.

If An American, Because His Skin Is Dark, Cannot Eat Lunch In A Restaurant Open To The Public, If He Cannot Send His Children To The Best Public School Available, If He Cannot Vote For The Public Officials Who Represent Him, If, In Short, He Cannot Enjoy The Full And Free Life Which All Of Us Want, Then Who Among Us Would Be Content To Have The Color Of His Skin Changed And Stand In His Place? Who Among Us Would Then Be Content With The Counsels Of Patience And Delay?

We Must Use Time As A Tool, Not As A Couch.

Tolerance Implies No Lack Of Commitment To One's Own Beliefs. Rather It Condemns The Oppression Or Persecution Of Others.

I Believe In A President Whose Religious Views Are His Own Private Affair, Neither Imposed By Him Upon The Nation, Or Imposed By The Nation Upon Him As A Condition To Holding That Office.

We Stand Today On The Edge Of A New Frontier.

Hold Fast To The Best Of The Past And Move Fast To The Best Of The Future.

We Want To Be First; Not First If, Not First But; But First!

First, What Does Truth Require? It Requires Us To Face The Facts As They Are, Not To Involve Ourselves In Self-deception; To Refuse To Think Merely In Slogans. If We Are To Work For The Future Of The City, Let Us Deal With The Realities As They Actually Are, Not As They Might Have Been, And Not As We Wish They Were.

Change Is The Law Of Life. And Those Who Look Only To The Past Or Present Are Certain To Miss The Future.

We Are Not Here To Curse The Darkness, But To Light The Candle That Can Guide Us Through That Darkness To A Safe And Sane Future.

Failure Has No Friends.

Unless Liberty Flourishes In All Lands, It Cannot Flourish In One.

We Must Find Time To Stop And Thank The People Who Make A Difference In Our Lives.

There Is No City In The United States In Which I Can Get A Warmer Welcome And Fewer Votes Than Columbia, Ohio.

Events Of October 1962 Indicated, As They Had All Through History, That Control Of The Sea Means Security. Control Of The Seas Can Mean Peace. Control Of The Seas Can Mean Victory. The United States Must Control The Seas If It Is To Protect Your Security.

I Look Forward To An America Which Will Reward Achievement In The Arts As We Reward Achievement In Business Or Statecraft. I Look Forward To An America Which Will Steadily Raise The Standards Of Artistic Accomplishment And Which Will Steadily Enlarge Cultural Opportunities For All Of Our Citizens. And I Look Forward To An America Which Commands Respect Throughout The World Not Only For Its Strength But For Its Civilization As Well.

[war] Can No Longer Be Of Concern To Great Powers Alone.

Never Before Has Man Had Such A Great Capacity To Control His Own Environment, To End Hunger, Poverty And Disease, To Banish Illiteracy And Human Misery. We Have The Power To Make The Best Generation Of Mankind In The History Of The World.

For To Save Mankind's Future Freedom, We Must Face Up To Any Risk That Is Necessary. We Will Always Seek Peace - But We Will Never Surrender.

Let Us Not Seek The Republican Answer Or The Democratic Answer, But The Right Answer. Let Us Not Seek To Fix The Blame For The Past. Let Us Accept Our Own Responsibility For The Future.

I Will Splinter The Cia Into A Thousand Pieces And Scatter It Into The Winds.

If We Could Ever Competitively, At A Cheap Rate, Get Fresh Water From Saltwater, ..(this) Would Be In The Long-range Interests Of Humanity Which Could Really Dwarf Any Other Scientific Accomplishments.

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.

Our Way Of Life Is Under Attack. Those Who Make Themselves Our Enemy Are Advancing Around The Globe. The Survival Of Our Friends Is In Danger. And Yet No War Has Been Declared, No Borders Have Been Crossed By Marching Troops, No Missiles Have Been Fired.

There Is Nothing More Certain And Unchanging Than Uncertainty And Change.

President Roosevelt And President Truman And President Eisenhower Had The Same Experience, They All Made The Effort To Get Along With The Russians. But Every Time, Finally It Failed. And The Reason It Failed Was Because The Communists Are Determined To Destroy Us, And Regardless Of What Hand Of Friendship We May Hold Out Or What Arguments We May Put Up, The Only Thing That Will Make That Decisive Difference Is The Strength Of The United States.

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. We Decided Long Ago That The Dangers Of Excessive And Unwarranted Concealment Of Pertinent Facts Far Outweighed The Dangers Which Are Cited To Justify It. Even Today, There Is Little Value In Opposing The Threat Of A Closed Society By Imitating Its Arbitrary Restrictions. Even Today, There Is Little Value In Insuring The Survival Of Our Nation If Our Traditions Do Not Survive With It.

Just As I Went Into Politics Because Joe Died, If Anything Happened To Me Tomorrow, My Brother Bobby Would Run For My Seat In The Senate. And If Bobby Died, Teddy Would Take Over For Him.

Israel Was Not Created In Order To Disappear. Israel Will Endure And Flourish.

When I Ran For Presidency Of The United States, I Knew That This Country Faced Serious Challenges, But I Could Not Realize - Nor Could Any Man Realize Who Does Not Bear The Burdens Of This Office - How Heavy And Constant Would Be Those Burdens

Certain Other Societies May Respect The Rule Of Force--we Respect The Rule Of Law.

So Let Us Persevere. Peace Need Not Be Impracticable, And War Need Not Be Inevitable. By Defining Our Goal More Clearly, By Making It Seem More Manageable And Less Remote, We Can Help All Peoples To See It, To Draw Hope From It, And To Move Irresistibly Toward It.

Never Let Your Fears Hold You Back From Pursuing Your Hopes.

Freedom Has Many Difficulties And Democracy Is Not Perfect, But We Have Never Had To Put Up A Wall To Keep Our People In.

Any System Of Government Will Work When Everything Is Going Well. It's The System That Functions In The Pinches That Survive

As We Express Our Gratitude, We Must Never Forget That The Highest Appreciation Is Not To Utter Words, But To Live By Them.

So Long As Freedom From Hunger Is Only Half Achieved, So Long As Two Thirds Of The Nations Have Food Deficits, No Citizen, No Nation Can Afford To Be Satisfied. We Have The Ability, As Members Of The Human Race, We Have The Means, We Have The Capacity To Eliminate Hunger From The Face Of The Earth In Our Lifetime. We Only Need The Will.

We Must Never Forget That Art Is Not A Form Of Propaganda; It Is A Form Of Truth.

All Of Us Do Not Have Equal Talent, But All Of Us Should Have An Equal Opportunity To Develop Our Talent.

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.

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.

The Function And Responsibility Of The President Is To Set Before The American People The Unfinished Business, The Things We Must Do If We Are Going To Succeed As A Nation.

Unfinished Business

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 The Earth. No Single Space Project...will Be More Exciting, Or More Impressive To Mankind, Or More Important...and None Will Be So Difficult Or Expensive To Accomplish.

This Knowledge, The Knowledge That The Physical Well-being Of The Citizen Is An Important Foundation For All Of The Activities Of The Nation, Is As Old As Western Civilization Itself.

Our Privileges Can Be No Greater Than Our Obligations. The Protection Of Our Rights Can Endure No Longer Than The Performance Of Our Responsibilities.

Change Is The Law Of Life. And Those Who Look Only To The Past Or The Present Are Certain To Miss The Future.

Leadership And Learning Are Indispensable To Each Other.

Libraries Should Be Open To All - Except The Censor. [response To Questionnaire In Saturday Review, October 29 1960]

A Nation Which Has Forgotten The Quality Of Courage Which In The Past Has Been Brought To Public Life Is Not As Likely To Insist Upon Or Regard That Quality In Its Chosen Leaders Today - And In Fact We Have Forgotten.

So Let Us Begin Anew -- Remembering On Both Sides That Civility Is Not A Sign Of Weakness, And Sincerity Is Always Subject To Proof. Let Us Never Negotiate Out Of Fear, But Let Us Never Fear To Negotiate. Let Both Sides Explore What Problems Unite Us Instead Of Belaboring Those Problems Which Divide Us.

Sure It's A Big Job; But I Don't Know Anyone Who Can Do It Better Than I Can.

A Great Change Is At Hand, And Our Task, Our Obligation, Is To Make That Revolution, That Change, Peaceful And Constructive For All.

War And Hunger And Ignorance And Despair Know No Religious Barriers.

Our Practical Choice Is Not Between A Tax-cut Deficit And A Budgetary Surplus. It Is Between Two Kinds Of Deficits: A Chronic Deficit Of Inertia, As The Unwanted Result Of Inadequate Revenues And A Restricted Economy; Or A Temporary Deficit Of Transition, Resulting From A Tax Cut Designed To Boost The Economy, Increase Tax Revenues, And Achieve -- And I Believe This Can Be Done -- A Budget Surplus. The First Type Of Deficit Is A Sign Of Waste And Weakness; The Second Reflects An Investment In The Future.

In A Time Of Domestic Crisis, Men Of Goodwill And Generosity Should Be Able To Unite Regardless Of Party Or Politics.

Suspicion On One Side Breeds Suspicion On The Other, And New Weapons Beget Counter-weapons.

Since The Time Of The Ancient Greeks, We Have Always Felt That There Was A Close Relationship Between A Strong, Vital Mind And Physical Fitness.

Nor Problem Of Human Destiny Is Beyond Human Beings.

I Also Want To Take Cognizance Of The Fact That This Flight Was Made Out In The Open With All The Possibilities Of Failure, Which Would Have Been Damaging To Our Country's Prestige. Because Great Risks Were Taken In That Regard, It Seems To Me That We Have Some Right To Claim That This Open Society Of Ours Which Risked Much, Gained Much.

It Takes Two To Make Peace.

There Has Also Been A Change - A Slippage - In Our Intellectual And Moral Strength. Seven Lean Years Of Drouth And Famine Have Withered A Field Of Ideas.

Irrational Barriers And Ancient Prejudices Fall Quickly When The Question Of Survival Itself Is At Stake.

This Is Not The Land Of My Birth, But It Is The Land For Which I Hold The Greatest Affection, And I Certainly Will Come Back In The Springtime

Where Nature Makes Natural Allies Of Us All, We Can Demonstrate That Beneficial Relations Are Possible Even With Those With Whom We Most Deeply Disagree-and This Must Someday Be The Basis Of World Peace And World Law.

There Are Risks And Costs To Action. But They Are Far Less Than The Long Range Risks Of Comfortable Inaction.

Few Nations Do More Than The United States To Assist Their Least Fortunate Citizens-to Make Certain That No Child, No Elderly Or Handicapped Citizen, No Family In Any Circumstances In Any State, Is Left Without The Essential Needs For A Decent And Healthy Existence. In Too Few Nations, I Might Add, Are The People Aware Of The Progressive Strides This Country Has Taken In Demonstrating The Humanitarian Side Of Freedom. Our Record Is A Proud One-and It Sharply Refutes Those Who Accuse Us Of Thinking Only In The Materialistic Terms Of Cash Registers And Calculating Machines.

Mothers All Want Their Sons To Grow Up To Be President, But They Don't Want Them To Become Politicians In The Process.

We Can Say With Some Assurance That, Although Children May Be The Victims Of Fate, They Will Not Be The Victims Of Our Neglect.

The Best Road To Progress Is Freedom's Road.

I Was Never Accepted Into Certain Parts Of New England Society Because My Grandfather Was An Irish Barkeep.

We Must Recognize That Every Nation Determines Its Policies In Terms Of Its Own Interests.

It Is Insane That Two Men, Sitting On Opposite Sides Of The World, Should Be Able To Decide To Bring An End To Civilization.

I Want To Emphasize In The Great Concentration Which We Now Place Upon Scientists And Engineers How Much We Still Need The Men And Women Educated In The Liberal Tradition, Willing To Take The Long Look, Undisturbed By Prejudices And Slogans Of The Moment, Who Attempt To Make An Honest Judgment On Difficult Events.

If A Free Society Cannot Help The Many Who Are Poor, It Cannot Save The Few Who Are Rich.

All Over The World, Particularly In The Newer Nations, Young Men Are Coming To Power--men Who Are Not Bound By The Traditions Of The Past--men Who Are Not Blinded By The Old Fears And Hates And Rivalries-- Young Men Who Can Cast Off The Old Slogans And Delusions And Suspicions.

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. The Relationship Between The Soundness Of The Body And The Activities Of The Mind Is Subtle And Complex. Much Is Not Yet Understood. But We Do Know What The Greeks Knew: That Intelligence And Skill Can Only Function At The Peak Of Their Capacity When The Body Is Healthy And Strong; That Hardy Spirits And Tough Minds Usually Inhabit Sound Gods.

Moral Courage Is More A Rare Commodity Than Bravery In A Battle Or Great Intelligence.

A Tax Cut Means Higher Family Income And Higher Business Profits And A Balanced Federal Budget....as The National Income Grows, The Federal Government Will Ultimately End Up With More Revenues. Prosperity Is The Real Way To Balance Our Budget. By Lowering Tax Rates, By Increasing Jobs And Income, We Can Expand Tax Revenues And Finally Bring Our Budget Into Balance.

There Is Something That Happens When We Leave The Land And Enter The Ocean. It's Unexpected, The Environment Feels Strangely Welcoming. The Ocean Almost Feels Like... Home.

Peace Need Not Be Impracticable, And War Need Not Be Inevitable.

Every Time That We Try To Lift A Problem From Our Own Shoulders, And Shift That Problem To The Hands Of The Government, To The Same Extent We Are Sacrificing The Liberties Of Our People.

For While This Year It May Be A Catholic Against Whom The Finger Of Suspicion Is Pointed, In Other Years It Has Been, And May Someday Be Again, A Jew— Or A Quaker Or A Unitarian Or A Baptist. It Was Virginia's Harassment Of Baptist Preachers, For Example, That Helped Lead To Jefferson's Statute Of Religious Freedom. Today I May Be The Victim, But Tomorrow It May Be You — Until The Whole Fabric Of Our Harmonious Society Is Ripped At A Time Of Great National Peril.

Only In Winter Can You Tell Which Trees Are Truly Green. Only When The Winds Of Adversity Blow Can You Tell Whether An Individual Or A Country Has Steadfastness.

And So It Is To The Printing Press--to The Recorder Of Mans 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.

A Man May Die, Nations May Rise And Fall, But An Idea Lives On.

I See Little More Important To The Future Of Our Country And Our Civilization Than The Full Recognition Of The Place Of The Artist.

The Greater Our Knowledge Increases The More Our Ignorance Unfolds.

Every American Ought To Have The Right To Be Treated As He Would Wish To Be Treated, As One Would Wish His Children To Be Treated. This Is Not The Case.

In Addition, The United States Delegation Will Suggest A Series Of Steps To Improve The United Nations Machinery For The Peaceful Settlement Of Disputes... - For Extending The Rule Of International Law. For Peace Is Not Solely A Matter Of Military Or Technical Problems - It Is Primarily A Problem Of Politics And People.

Our Progress As A Nation Can Be No Swifter Than Our Progress In Education. The Human Mind Is Our Fundamental Resource.

The Men Who Create Power Make An Indispensable Contribution To The Nation's Greatness. But The Men Who Question Power Make A Contribution Just As Indispensable For They Determine Whether We Use Power Or Power Uses Us.

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.

The Basis Of Effective Government Is Public Confidence, And That Confidence Is Endangered When Ethical Standards Falter Or Appear To Falter.

Ethical Standards

When You Have Seven Percent Unemployed, You Have Ninety-three Percent Working.

Unconditional War Can No Longer Lead To Unconditional Victory. It Can No Longer Serve To Settle Disputes... Can No Longer Be Of Concern To Great Powers Alone.

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?" (john F. Kennedy, June 10, 1963, American University Speech)

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 Parishoners 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.

Knowledge Of The Oceans Is More Than A Matter Of Curiosity. Our Very Survival May Hinge Upon It.

Voters Are More Than Catholics, Protestants Or Jews. They Make Up Their Minds For Many Diverse Reasons, Good And Bad. To Submit The Candidates To A Religious Test Is Unfair Enough - To Apply It To The Voters Is Divisive, Degrading And Wholly Unwarranted.

There Comes A Point Where You See No Evidence That The Carrot And Diplomacy Are Working.

No Man Who Enters Upon The Office To Which I Have Succeeded Can Fail To Recognize How Every President Of The United States Has Placed Special Reliance Upon His Faith In God. Every President Has Taken Comfort And Courage When Toldthat The Lord 'will Be With Thee. He Will Not Fail Thee Nor Forsake Thee. Fear Not-neither Be Thou Dismayed.' Each Of Our Presidents In His Own Way Has Placed A Special Trust In God. Those Who Were Strongest Intellectually Were Also Strongest Spiritually.

It Is With Great Satisfaction That I Have Signed Into Law The Social Security Amendments Of 1961. They Represent An Additional Step Toward Eliminating Many Of The Hardships Resulting From Old Age, Disability, Or The Death Of The Family Wage-earner. A Nation's Strength Lies In The Well-being Of Its People. The Social Security Program Plays An Important Part In Providing For Families, Children, And Older Persons In Time Of Stress, But It Cannot Remain Static. Changes In Our Population, In Our Working Habits, And In Our Standard Of Living Require Constant Revision.

The Guiding Principle Of This Nation Has Been, Is Now, And Ever Shall Be In God We Trust.

Guiding Principles

If My Church Attempted To Influence Me In A Way Which Was Improper Or Which Affected Adversely My Responsibilities As A Public Servant Sworn To Uphold The Constitution, Then I Would Reply To Them That This Was An Improper Action On Their Part. It Was One To Which I Could Not Subscribe.

For One True Measure Of A Nation Is Its Success In Fulfilling The Promise Of A Better Life For Each Of Its Members. Let This Be The Measure Of Our Nation.

I Speak Of Peace, Therefore, As The Necessary Rational End Of Rational Men. I Realize The Pursuit Of Peace Is Not As Dramatic As The Pursuit Of War... But We Have No More Urgent Task.

It's Only When They Join Together In A Forward Movement That This Country Moves Ahead.

I Am Not So Much Concerned With The Right Of Everyone To Say Anything He Pleases As I Am About Our Need As A Self-governing People To Hear Everything Relevant.

Libraries Should Be Open To All - Except The Censor.

Censorship In Books

Too Often We... Enjoy The Comfort Of Opinion Without The Discomfort Of Thought.

If Sometimes Our Great Artists Have Been The Most Critical Of Our Society, It Is Because Their Sensitivity And Their Concern For Justice, Which Must Motivate Any True Artist, Makes Him Aware That Our Nation Falls Short Of Its Highest Potential. I See Little Of More Importance To The Future Of Our Country And Our Civilization Than Full Recognition Of The Place Of The Artist.

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.

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.

Life Isn't Fair. In Never Was And Never Will Be.

We Are Not Afraid To Entrust The American People With Unpleasant Facts, Foreign Ideas, Alien Philosophies, And Competitive Values.

We Will Neglect Our Cities To Our Peril, For In Neglecting Them We Neglect The Nation.

We've Spent Half The Expenditures, We've Wrecked Our Budget On All These Other Domestic Programs, And The Only Justification For It, In My Opinion, To Do It In The Pell-mell Fashion Is Because We Hope To Beat Them And Demonstrate That Starting Behind Them, As We Did By A Couple Of Years, By God, We Passed Them. I Think It Would Be A Helluva Thing For Us.

Freedom Is Not Merely A Word Or An Abstract Theory, But The Most Effective Instrument For Advancing The Welfare Of Man.

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 That 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 That I'm A "liberal."

Just Because We Cannot See Clearly Te End Of The Road, That Is No Reason For Not Setting Out On The Essential Journey.

I Suppose If You Could Have Only One Thing, It Would Be That-energy. Without It, You Haven't Got A Thing.

Abroad, The Balance Of Power Is Shifting. There Are New And More Terrible Weapons - New And Uncertain Nations - New Pressures Of Population And Deprivation.

The Effort To Improve The Conditions Of Man, However, Is Not A Task For The Few. It Is The Task Of All Nations-acting Alone, Acting In Groups, Acting In The United Nations, For Plague And Pestilence, Plunder And Pollution, The Hazards Of Nature And The Hunger Of Children Are The Foes Of Every Nation. The Earth, The Sea And The Air Are The Concern Of Every Nation. And Science, Technology And Education Can Be The Ally Of Every Nation.

Ask Not That The Journey Be Easy; Ask Instead That It Be Worth It.

There Is Only One Rule By Which To Judge If God Is Near Us Or Is Far Away - The Rule That God's Word Is Giving Us Today: Everyone Concerned For The Hungry, The Naked, The Poor, For Those Who Have Vanished In Police Custody, For The Tortured, For Prisoners, For All Flesh That Suffers, Has God Close At Hand. We Have The Ability, We Have The Means, And We Have The Capacity To Eliminate Hunger From The Face Of The Earth. We Need Only The Will.

Be Aware Of Danger-but Recognize The Opportunity

This Is Not A Time To Keep The Facts From The People-to Keep Them Complacent. To Sound The Alarm Is Not To Panic But To Seek Action From An Aroused Public. For, As The Poet Dante Once Said: 'the Hottest Places In Hell Are Reserved For Those Who, In A Time Of Great Moral Crisis, Maintain Their Neutrality.

Our Most Basic Common Link Is That We All Inhabit This Small Planet.

In Those Countries Where Income Taxes Are Lower Than In The United States, The Ability To Defer The Payment Of U.s. Tax By Retaining Income In The Subsidiary Companies Provides A Tax Advantage For Companies Operating Through Overseas Subsidiaries That Is Not Available To Companies Operating Solely In The United States. Many American Investors Properly Made Use Of This Deferral In The Conduct Of Their Foreign Investment.

Peace Does Not Rest In Charters And Covenants Alone. It Lies In The Hearts And Minds Of The People.

We Need Men Who Can Dream Of Things That Never Were.

An Across-the-board, Top-to-bottom Cut In Personal And Corporate Income Taxes ... To Expand The Incentives And Opportunities Of Private Expenditures.

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.

The Ignorance Of One Voter In A Democracy Impairs The Security Of All.

Self-government Requires Qualities Of Self-denial And Restraint.

A Technological Revolution On The Farm Has Led To An Output Explosion--but We Have Not Yet Learned To Harness That Explosion Usefully, While Protecting Our Farmers' Right To Full Parity Income

Do You Realize The Responsibility I Carry? I'm The Only Person Standing Between Richard Nixon And The White House.

There Is Danger That Totalitarian Governments, Not Subject To Vigorous Popular Debate, Will Underestimate The Will And Unity Of Democratic Societies Where Vital Interests Are Concerned.

I Would Not Look With Favor Upon A President Working To Subvert The First Amendment's Guarantees Of Religious Liberty ... Neither Do I Look With Favor Upon Those Who Would Work To Subvert Article Vi Of The Constitution By Requiring A Religious Test - Even By Indirection.

A Committee Is Twelve Men Doing The Work Of One.

Fail Miserably, Achieve Greatly!

Those Who Do Nothing Are Inviting Shame As Well As Violence. Those Who Act Boldly Are Recognizing Right As Well As Reality.

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.

But Because I Am A Catholic, And No Catholic Has Ever Been Elected President, The Real Issues In This Campaign Have Been Obscured - Perhaps Deliberately, In Some Quarters Less Responsible Than This. So It Is Apparently Necessary For Me To State Once Again Not What Kind Of Church I Believe In - For That Should Be Important Only To Me - But What Kind Of America I Believe In.

So Let Us Begin Anew - Remembering On Both Sides That Civility Is Not A Sign Of Weakness, And Sincerity Is Always Subject To Proof

The Education Of Our People Should Be A Lifelong Process By Which We Continue To Feed New Vigor Into The Lifestream Of The Nation Through Intelligent, Reasoned Decisions. Let Us Not Think Of Education Only In Terms Of Its Costs, But Rather In Terms Of The Infinite Potential Of The Human Mind That Can Be Realized Through Education. 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.

And If We Are To Open Employment Opportunities In This Country For Members Of All Races And Creeds, Then The Federal Government Must Set An Example. The President Himself Must Set The Key Example. I Am Not Going To Promise A Cabinet Post Or Any Other Post To Any Race Or Ethnic Group. That Is Racism In Reverse At Its Worst. So I Do Not Promise To Consider Race Or Religion In My Appointments If I Am Successful. I Promise Only That I Will Not Consider Them.

Let Both Sides Explore What Problems Unite Us Instead Of Belaboring Those Problems Which Divide Us.

There Will Always Be Dissident Voices Heard In The Land, Expressing Opposition Without Alternatives, Finding Fault But Never Favor, Perceiving Gloom On Every Side And Seeking Influence Without Responsibility.

Finally, I Believe In An America Where Religious Intolerance Will Someday End; Where All Men And All Churches Are Treated As Equal; Where Every Man Has The Same Right To Attend Or Not Attend The Church Of His Choice; Where There Is No Catholic Vote, No Anti-catholic Vote, No Bloc Voting Of Any Kind; And Where Catholics, Protestants And Jews, At Both The Lay And Pastoral Level, Will Refrain From Those Attitudes Of Disdain And Division Which Have So Often Marred Their Works In The Past, And Promote Instead The American Ideal Of Brotherhood.

Partnership Is Not A Posture But A Process-a Continuous Process That Grows Stronger Each Year As We Devote Ourselves To Common Tasks.

History Will Not Judge Our Endeavors--and A Government Cannot Be Selected--merely On The Basis Of Color Or Creed Or Even Party Affiliation. Neither Will Competence And Loyalty And Stature, While Essential To The Utmost, Suffice In Times Such As These.

I Just Received The Following Wire From My Generous Daddy; Dear Jack, Don't Buy A Single Vote More Than Is Necessary. I'll Be Damned If I'm Going To Pay For A Landslide.

Someone Always Needs Rescuing, Yet There's Only One Person Who Ever Seems To Understand You. It's A Lot Like Being Lassie.

The Very Word Secrecy Is Repugnant In A Free And Open Society.

If Scientific Discovery Has Not Been An Unalloyed Blessing, If It Has Conferred On Mankind The Power Not Only To Create But Also To Annihilate, It Has At The Same Time Provided Humanity With A Supreme Challenge And A Supreme Testing

The Great French Marshall Lyautey Once Asked His Gardener To Plant A Tree. The Gardner Objected That The Tree Was Slow Growing And Wouldn't Reach Maturity For 100 Years. The Marshall Replied, "in That Case, There Is No Time To Lose; Plant It This Afternoon!

There Is, Of Course, A Legitimate Argument For Some Limitation Upon Immigration. We No Longer Need Settlers For Virgin Lands, And Our Economy Is Expanding More Slowly Than In The Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Centuries.

Bullfight Critics Row On Row Fill The Enormous Plaza De Toros But Only One Is There Who Knows And He Is The One Who Fights The Bull.

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.

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." (john F. Kennedy, June 10, 1963, American University Speech)

What's The Use Of Being Irish If The World Doesn't Break Your Heart?

Ireland And The Irish

A Life Of Complete Leisure Is The Hardest Work Of All.

Khrushchev Reminds Me Of The Tiger Hunter Who Has Picked A Place On The Wall To Hang The Tiger's Skin Long Before He Has Caught The Tiger. This Tiger Has Other Ideas.

The Time To Repair The Roof Is When The Sun Is Shining.

All Students, Members Of The Faculty, And Public Officials In Both Mississippi And The Nation Will Be Able, It Is Hoped, To Return To Their Normal Activities With Full Confidence In The Integrity Of American Law. This Is As It Should Be, For Our Nation Is Founded On The Principle That Observance Of The Law Is The Eternal Safeguard Of Liberty And Defiance Of The Law Is The Surest Road To Tyranny.

Politics Is A Jungle-torn Between Doing The Right Thing And Staying In Office.

We Do Not Want An Official State Church. If Ninety-nine Percent Of The Population Were Catholics, I Would Still Be Opposed To It. I Do Not Want Civil Power Combined With Religious Power. I Want To Make It Clear That I Am Committed As A Matter Of Deep Personal Conviction To Separation.

Truth Is A Tyrant-the Only Tyrant To Whom We Can Give Our Allegiance. The Service Of Truth Is A Matter Of Heroism.

It Should Be Clear By Now That A Nation Can Be No Stronger Abroad Than She Is At Home. Only An America Which Practices What It Preaches About Equal Rights And Social Justice Will Be Respected By Those Whose Choice Affects Our Future. Only An America Which Has Fully Educated Its Citizens Is Fully Capable Of Tackling The Complex Problems And Perceiving The Hidden Dangers Of The World In Which We Live. And Only An America Which Is Growing And Prospering Economically Can Sustain The Worldwide Defenses Of Freedom, While Demonstrating To All Concerned The Opportunities Of Our System And Society.

To That World Assembly Of Sovereign States, The United Nations, Our Last Best Hope In An Age Where The Instruments Of War Have Far Outpaced The Instruments Of Peace, We Renew Our Pledge Of Support - To Prevent It From Becoming Merely A Forum For Invective - To Strengthen Its Shield Of The New And The Weak - And To Enlarge The Area In Which Its Writ May Run.

Washington Is A City Of Southern Efficiency And Northern Charm.

Arms Alone Are Not Enough To Keep The Peace. It Must Be Kept By Men.

I Ask That You Offer To The Political Arena, And To The Critical Problems Of Our Society Which Are Decided Therein, The Benefit Of The Talents Which Society Has Helped To Develop In You. I Ask You To Decide, As Goethe Put It, Whether You Will Be An Anvilor A Hammer. The Question Is Whether You Are To Be A Hammerwhether You Are To Give To The World In Which You Were Reared And Educated The Broadest Possible Benefits Of That Education.

The Basis Of Effective Government Is Public Confidence.

Ethical Standards

It Is In The American Tradition To Stand Up For One's Rights--even If The New Way To Stand Up For One's Rights Is To Sit Down.

The Federal Government Is The People And The Budget Is A Reflection Of Their Need.

That Is The Kind Of America In Which I Believe. And It Represents The Kind Of Presidency In Which I Believe - A Great Office That Must Neither Be Humbled By Making It The Instrument Of Any One Religious Group Nor Tarnished By Arbitrarily Withholding Its Occupancy From The Members Of Any One Religious Group. I Believe In A President Whose Religious Views Are His Own Private Affair, Neither Imposed By Him Upon The Nation Or Imposed By The Nation Upon Him As A Condition To Holding That Office.

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.

I Know There Is A God - I See The Storm Coming And I See His Hand In It - If He Has A Place Then I Am Ready - We See The Hand.

I Think 'hail To The Chief' Has A Nice Ring To It.

There's An Old Saying. Never Send A Boy To Do A Man's Job, Send A Lady.

The Present Tax Codes Inhibit The Mobility And Formation Of Capital, Add Complexities And Inequities Which Undermine The Morale Of The Taxpayer, And Make Tax Avoidance Rather Than Market Factors A Prime Consideration In Too Many Economic Decisions.

A Full Scale Nuclear Exchange, Lasting Less Than 60 Minutes...could Wipe Out More Than 300 Million Americans, Europeans, And Russians, As Well As Untold Numbers Elsewhere. And The Survivors-as Chairman Khrushchev Warned The Communist Chinese, `the Survivors Would Envy The Dead.' For They Would Inherit A World So Devastated By Explosions And Poison And Fire That Today We Cannot Conceive Of Its Horrors.

The Earth, The Sea And Air Are The Concern Of Every Nation. And Science, Technology, And Education Can Be The Ally Of Every Nation.

The Mere Absence Of War Is Not Peace.

Word To The Nation: Guard Zealously Your Right To Serve In The Armed Forces, For Without Them, There Will Be No Other Rights To Guard.

Ask Not What Your Community Can Do For You; Ask What Your Community Can Not Do For Anyone Else.

Now We Have A Problem In Making Our Power Credible, And Vietnam Is The Place.

Real Men Stay Faithful. They Don't Have Time To Look For Other Women Because They're Too Busy Looking For New Ways To Love Their Own.

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