Background Image

...

I Do Ask Every Publisher, Every Editor, And Every Newsman In The Nation To Reexamine His Own Standards, And To Recognize The Nature Of Our Country's Peril. In Time Of War, The Government And The Press Have Customarily Joined In An Effort Based Largely On Self-discipline, To Prevent Unauthorized Disclosures To The Enemy. In Time Of "clear And Present Danger," The Courts Have Held That Even The Privileged Rights Of The First Amendment Must Yield To The Public's Need For National Security.

-John F. Kennedy

...

Please Wait....
Translating....

I Do Ask Every

John F. Kennedy

...

I Do Ask Every Publisher, Every Editor, And Every Newsman In The Nation To Reexamine His Own Standards, And To Recognize The Nature Of Our Country's Peril. In Time Of War, The Government And The Press Have Customarily Joined In An Effort Based Largely On Self-discipline, To Prevent Unauthorized Disclosures To The Enemy. In Time Of "clear And Present Danger," The Courts Have Held That Even The Privileged Rights Of The First Amendment Must Yield To The Public's Need For National Security.

Views: 6

Topic

More From John F. Kennedy

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.

Today, We Need A Nation Of Minutemen, Citizens Who Are Not Only Prepared To Take Arms, But Citizens Who Regard The Preservation Of Freedom As The Basic Purpose Of Their Daily Life And Who Are Willing To Consciously Work And Sacrifice For That Freedom.

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.

Peace Does Not Rest In The Charters And Covenants Alone. It Lies In The Hearts And Minds Of All People. So Let Us Not Rest All Our Hopes On Parchment And On Paper, Let Us Strive To Build Peace, A Desire For Peace, A Willingness To Work For Peace In The Hearts And Minds Of All Of Our People. I Believe That We Can. I Believe The Problems Of Human Destiny Are Not Beyond The Reach Of Human Beings.

Man Is Still The Most Extraordinary Computer Of All.

To Be Courageous Requires No Exceptional Qualifications, No Magic Formula, No Special Combination Of Time, Place, And Circumstance. It Is An Opportunity That Sooner Or Later Is Presented To Us All.

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.

The Poet And The Politician Have This In Common: Their Greatness Depends On The Courage With Which They Face The Challenges Of Life.

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 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.

It Is Not Our Wealth That Built Our Roads, But It Is Our Roads That Built Our Wealth.

When My Office Would Require Me To Either Violate My Conscience Or Violate The National Interest, Then I Would Resign The Office; And I Hope Any Conscientious Public Servant Would Do The Same.

There Are Those Who Regard This History Of Past Strife And Exile As Better Forgotten. But, To Use The Phrase Of Yeats, Let Us Not Casually Reduce "that Great Past To A Trouble Of Fools." For We Need Not Feel The Bitterness Of The Past To Discover Its Meaning For The Present And The Future.

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.

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

For Only When Our Arms Are Sufficient Beyond Doubt Can We Be Certain Beyond Doubt That They Will Never Be Employed.

Food Is Strength, And Food Is Peace, And Food Is Freedom, And Food Is A Helping Hand To People Around The World Whose Good Will And Friendship We Want.

First I Believe That This Nation Should Commit Itself To Achieving The Goal, Before This Decade Is Out, Of Landing A Man On The Moon.

Time And The World Do Not Stand Still. Change Is The Law Of Life.

Future Thinking

To Each Of Us Is Entrusted The Heavy Responsibility Of Guiding The Affairs Of A Democratic Nation Founded On Christian Ideals.

The Rights Of Every Man Are Diminished When The Rights Of One Man Are Threatened.

There Are Indications Because Of New Inventions, That 10, 15, Or 20 Nations Will Have A Nuclear Capacity, Including Red China, By The End Of The Presidential Office In 1964. This Is Extremely Serious. I Think The Fate Not Only Of Our Own Civilization, But I Think The Fate Of World And The Future Of The Human Race, Is Involved In Preventing A Nuclear War.

A Police State Finds That It Cannot Command The Grain To Grow.

Liberty Without Learning Is Always In Peril And Learning Without Liberty Is Always In Vain.

The Time Is Not Far Off When Many Nations In Many Parts Of The World Of Many Political Shades And Commitments Will Possess Nuclear Or Even Thermonuclear Weapons.

Those Who Dare To Fail Miserably Can Achieve Greatly.

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.

A Wall Is A Hell Of A Lot Better Than A War.

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

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

I Must Say That Though Other Days May Not Be So Bright, As We Look Toward The Future, That The Brightest Days Will Continue To Be Those We Spent With You Here In Ireland.

Remember That Our Nation's First Great Leaders Were Also Our First Great Scholars.

The World Knows That America Will Never Start A War. This Generation Of Americans Has Had Enough Of War And Hate... We Want To Build A World Of Peace Where The Weak Are Secure And The Strong Are Just.

Our Economy Today Depends Upon Women In The Labor Force. One Out Of Three Workers Is A Woman. Today, There Are Almost 25 Million Women Employed, And Their Number Is Rising Faster Than The Number Of Men In The Labor Force.

There Is A Connection, Hard To Explain Logically But Easy To Feel, Between Achievement In Public Life And Progress In The Arts.

If We Are Strong, Our Strength Will Speak For Itself. If We Are Weak, Words Will Be Of No Help.

We Must Face The Fact That The United States Is Neither Omnipotent Nor Omniscient, That We Cannot Impose Our Will Upon The Other 94 Percent Of Mankind, That We Cannot Right Every Wrong Or Reverse Every Adversity, And That Therefore There Cannot Be An American Solution To Every World Problem.

In Whatever Area In Life One May Meet The Challenges Of Courage, Whatever May Be The Sacrifices He Faces If He Follows His Conscience - The Loss Of His Friends, His Fortune, His Contentment, Even The Esteem Of His Fellow Men - Each Man Must Decide For Himself The Course He Will Follow. 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.

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.

The United States Has To Move Very Fast To Even Stand Still.

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

Every Inhabitant Of This Planet Must Contemplate The Day When This Planet May No Longer Be Habitable .. The Weapons Of War Must Be Abolished Before They Abolish Us.

Nuclear Disarmament

Nuclear Proliferation

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.

Our National Conservation Effort Must Include The Complete Spectrum Of Resources: Air, Water, And Land; Fuels, Energy, And Minerals; Soils, Forests, And Forage; Fish And Wildlife. Together They Make Up The World Of Nature Which Surrounds Us- Of The American Heritage.

The Margin Is Narrow, But The Responsibility Is Clear.

The Life Of The Arts Is Far From An Interruption, A Distraction, In The Life Of A Nation, Is Close To The Center Of A Nation's Purpose-and Is A Test Of The Quality Of A Nations' Civilization.

We Have Become More And More Not A Nation Of Athletes But A Nation Of Spectators.

It Was Involuntary. They Sank My Boat.

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)

The Best Way To Progress Is The Path Of Freedom.

Lofty Words Cannot Construct An Alliance Or Maintain It; Only Concrete Deeds Can Do That.

When Consumers Purchase More Goods, Plants Use More Of Their Capacity, Men Are Hired Instead Of Laid Off, Investment Increases, And Profits Are High. Corporate Tax Rates Must Also Be Cut To Increase Incentives And The Availability Of Investment Capital.

Budget Deficits Are Not Caused By Wild-eyed Spenders, But By Slow Economic Growth And Periodic Recessions. And Any New Recession Would Break All Deficit Records. In Short, It Is A Paradoxical Truth That Tax Rates Are Too High Today And Tax Revenues Are Too Low, And The Soundest Way To Raise The Revenues In The Long Run Is To Cut The Rates Now.

Aggressive Conduct, If Allowed To Go Unchecked And Unchallenged, Ultimately Leads To War.

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.

Life In Freedom Is Not Easy, And Democracy Is Not Perfect.

It Is True That My Predecessor Did Not Object, As I Do, To Pictures Of One's Golf Skill In Action. But Neither, On The Other Hand, Did He Ever Bean A Secret Serviceman.

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.

Our True Choice Is Not Between Tax Reduction On The One Hand And The Avoidance Of Large Federal Deficits On The Other. It Is Increasingly Clear That No Matter What Party Is In Power, So Long As Our National Security Needs Keep Rising, An Economy Hampered By Restrictive Tax Rates Will Never Produce Enough Revenues To Balance Our Budget, Just As It Will Never Produce Enough Jobs Or Enough Profits.

For Without Belittling The Courage With Which Men Have Died, We Should Not Forget Those Acts Of Courage With Which Men Have Lived.

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 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 Also 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. Confident And Unafraid, We Labor On - Not Toward A Strategy Of Annihilation But Toward A Strategy Of Peace.

The Republican Party Can Lead Any Person To Believe That Their Promises Will Be Fulfilled In The Future. They Follow The Hitler Line – No Matter How Big The Lie; Repeat It Often Enough And The Masses Will Regard It As Truth.

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.

I Do Not Belive That Washington Should Do For The People Wha They Can Do For Themselves Through Local And Private Effort.

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.

The Republican Nominee-to-be, Of Course, Is Also A Young Man. But His Approach Is As Old As Mckinley. His Party Is The Party Of The Past. His Speeches Are Generalities From Poor Richard's Almanac. Their Platform, Made Up Of Left-over Democratic Planks, Has The Courage Of Our Old Convictions. Their Pledge Is A Pledge To The Status Quo-and Today There Can Be No Status Quo.

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 Indivisible, And When One Man Is Enslaved, All Are Not Free.

Any Danger Spot Is Tenable If Men, Brave Men, Will Make It So.

Wealth Is The Means, And People Are The Ends. All Our Material Riches Will Avail Us Little If We Do Not Use Them To Expand The Opportunities Of Our People.

Things Do Not Happen. Things Are Made To Happen.

We Also Need The Provisions In The Tax Bill That Will Permit Working Mothers To Increase The Deduction From Income Tax Liability For Costs Incurred In Providing Care For Their Children While The Mothers Are Working. In October The Commission On The Status Of Women Will Report To Me. This Problem Should Have A High Priority, And I Think That Whatever We Leave Undone This Year We Must Move On This In January.

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.

As A Great Democratic Society, We Have A Special Responsibility To The Arts. For Art Is The Great Democrat, Calling Forth Creative Genius From Every Sector Of Society, Disregarding Race Or Religion Or Wealth Or Color. What Freedom Alone Can Bring Is The Liberation Of The Human Mind And A Spirit Which Finds Its Greatest Flowering In The Free Society. I See Of Little More Importance To The Future Of Our Country And Our Civilization Than The Full Recognition Of The Place Of The Artist.

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.

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 Rights Of Man Come Not From The Generosity Of The State But From The Hand Of God.

The Supreme Reality Of Our Time Is The Vulnerability Of Our Planet.

It Shall Be The Policy Of This Nation To Regard Any Nuclear Missile Launched From Cuba As An Attack By The Soviet Union On The United States.

Nuclear Missiles

Nearly Forty Years Ago, A Distinguished Prime Minister Of This Country ... Said, 'they May Not Be Angels But They Are At Least Our Friends.'* I Must Say That I Do Not Think That We Probably Demonstrated In That Forty Years That We Are Angels Yet, But I Hope We Have Demonstrated That We Are At Least Friends.

We Are Opposed Around The World By A Monolithic And Ruthless Conspiracy That Relies Primarily On Covert Means For Expanding Its Sphere Of Influence — On Infiltration Instead Of Invasion, On Subversion Instead Of Elections, On Intimidation Instead Of Free Choice, On Guerrillas By Night Instead Of Armies By Day

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

Ethical Standards

And When At Some Future Date The High Court Of History Sits In Judgment On Each Of Us, Recording Whether In Our Brief Span Of Service We Fulfilled Our Responsibilities To The State, Our Success Or Failure, In Whatever Office We Hold, Will Be Measured By The Answers To Four Questions: First, Were We Truly Men Of Courage... Second, Were We Truly Men Of Judgment... Third, Were We Truly Men Of Integrity... Finally, Were We Truly Men Of Dedication?-

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.

Nothing Compares To The Simple Pleasure Of A Bike Ride.

Riding Your Bike

I Am Sorry To Say That There Is Too Much Point To The Wisecrack That Life Is Extinct On Other Planets Because Their Scientists Were More Advanced Than Ours.

I Think The American People Expect More From Us Than Cries Of Indignation And Attack. The Times Are Too Grave, The Challenge Too Urgent, And The Stakes Too High - To Permit The Customary Passions Of Political Debate.

It Is An Unfortunate Fact That We Can Secure Peace Only By Preparing For War.

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

Whatever One's Religion In His Private Life May Be, For The Officeholder, Nothing Takes Precedence Over His Oath To Uphold The Constitution And All Its Parts - Including The First Amendment And The Strict Separation Of Church And State.

No Government Or Social System Is So Evil That Its People Must Be Considered As Lacking In Virtue.

I Think We're Going To Have To Do Better. Mr. Nixon Talks About Our Being The Strongest Country In The World. I Think We Are Today, But We Were Far Stronger Relative To The Communists 5 Years Ago. And What Is Of Great Concern Is That The Balance Of Power Is In Danger Of Moving With Them. They Made A Breakthrough In Missiles And By 1961, '2, And '3, They Will Be Outnumbering Us In Missiles.

We Prefer World Law In The Age Of Self-determination To World War In The Age Of Mass Extermination.

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)

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

The American Labor Movement Has Consistently Demonstrated Its Devotion To The Public Interest. It Is, And Has Been, Good For All America.

Labour Movement

I Don't Think The Intelligence Reports Are All That Hot. Some Days I Get More Out Of The New York Times.

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

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.

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.

Without Debate, Without Criticism No Administration And No Country Can Succeed And No Republic Can Survive.

While We Shall Never Weary In The Defense Of Freedom, Neither Shall We Ever Abandon The Pursuit Of Peace.

A Tax Cut Means Higher Family Income And Higher Business Profits And A Balanced Federal Budget.

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

Guiding Principles

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

At The Start Of 2005 The Idea Of Downloading A Song To A Mobile Phone Was An Idea, By The End Of The Year It Was A Reality.

It Is Time For A New Generation Of Leadership, To Cope With New Problems And New Opportunities. For There Is A New World To Be Won.

You Have, At The Same Time, Placed Your Confidence In Me, And In My Ability To Render A Free, Fair Judgment - To Uphold The Constitution And My Oath Of Office - And To Reject Any Kind Of Religious Pressure Or Obligation That Might Directly Or Indirectly Interfere With My Conduct Of The Presidency In The National Interest.

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

The Torch Has Been Passed To A New Generation Of Americans, Born In This Century... Unwilling To Witness Or Permit The Slow Undoing Of Those Human Rights To Which This Nation Has Always Been Committed, And To Which We Are Committed Today.

Don't Ask 'why', Ask Instead, 'why Not'.

Our Nation Is Founded On The Principal That Observance Of The Law Is The Eternal Safeguard Of Liberty And Defiance Of The Law Is The Surest Road To Tyranny.

Those [presidents] Who Were Strongest Intellectually Were Also Strongest Spiritually.

A Canadian Newspaperman Said Yesterday That This Is The President's "easter Egghead Roll On The White House Lawn." I Want To Deny That!

The White House Was Designed By Hoban, A Noted Irish-american Architect, And I Have No Doubt That He Believed By Incorporating Several Features Of The Dublin Style He Would Make It More Homelike For Any President Of Irish Descent. It Was A Long Wait, But I Appreciate His Efforts.

The Essence Of Vanderbilt Is Still Learning, The Essence Of Its Outlook Is Still Liberty, And Liberty And Learning Will Be And Must Be The Touchstones Of Vanderbilt University And Of Any Free University In This Country Or The World. I Say Two Touchstones, Yet They Are Almost Inseparable, Inseparable If Not Indistinguishable, For Liberty Without Learning Is Always In Peril, And Learning Without Liberty Is Always In Vain.

Let Us Welcome Controversial Books And Controversial Authors.

Political Sovereignty Is But A Mockery Without The Means Of Meeting Poverty And Illiteracy And Disease. Self-determination Is But A Slogan If The Future Holds No Hope.

If There Is One Path Above All Others To War, It Is The Path Of Weakness And Disunity.

Freedom Is Indivisible, And When One Man Is Enslaved, All Are Not Free. When All Are Free, Then We Can Look Forward To That Day When This City Will Be Joined As One And This Country And This Great Continent Of Europe In A Peaceful And Hopeful Globe. When That Day Finally Comes, As It Will, The People Of West Berlin Can Take Sober Satisfaction In The Fact That They Were In The Front Lines For Almost Two Decades. All Free Men, Wherever They May Live, Are Citizens Of Berlin, And, Therefore, As A Free Man, I Take Pride In The Words Ich Bin Ein Berliner.

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

There Is No Other Airport In The World Which Serves So Many People And So Many Airplanes. This Is An Extraordinary Airport. . . It Could Be Classed As One Of The Wonders Of The Modern World.

Is This Nation Stating It Cannot Afford To Spend An Additional $600 Million To Help The Developing Nations Of The World Become Strong And Free And Independentan Amount Less Than This Countrys Annual Outlay For Lipstick, Face Cream, And Chewing Gum?

The Purpose Of Foreign Policy Is Not To Provide An Outlet For Our Own Sentiments Of Hope Or Indignation; It Is To Shape Real Events In A Real World.

Most Of Us Are Conditioned For Many Years To Have A Political Viewpoint - Republican Or Democratic, Liberal, Conservative, Or Moderate. The Fact Of The Matter Is That Most Of The Problems That We Now Face Are Technical Problems, Are Administrative Problems. They Are Very Sophisticated Judgments, Which Do Not Lend Themselves To The Great Sort Of Passionate Movements Which Have Stirred This Country So Often In The Past. - They Deal With Questions Which Are Now Beyond The Comprehension Of Most Men.

There Is Little Value In Insuring The Survival Of Our Nation If Our Traditions Do Not Survive With It. And There Is Very Grave Danger That An Announced Need For Increased Security Will Be Seized Upon By Those Anxious To Expand Its Meaning To The Very Limits Of Official Censorship And Concealment.

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.

The United States, As The World Knows, Will Never Start A War.

All Of Us In The Senate Live In An Iron Lung-the Iron Lung Of Politics, And It Is No Easy Task To Emerge From That Rarified Atmosphere In Order To Breathe The Same Fresh Air Our Constituents Breathe.

We Stand For Freedom. That Is Our Conviction For Ourselves; That Is Our Only Commitment To Others.

If We Fail To Encourage Physical Development And Prowess, We Will Undermine Our Capcity For Thought, For Work, And For Use Of Those Skills Vital To An Expanding And Complex America.

The Great Enemy Of The Truth Is Very Often Not The Lie, Deliberate, Contrived And Dishonest, But The Myth, Persistent, Persuasive And Unrealistic.

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

Once You Say You're Going To Settle For Second, That's What Happens To You In Life.

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

Blight Has Descended On Our Regulatory Agencies - And A Dry Rot, Beginning In Washington, Is Seeping Into Every Corner Of America - In The Payola Mentality, The Expense Account Way Of Life, The Confusion Between What Is Legal And What Is Right.

If This Nation Is To Be Wise As Well As Strong, If We Are To Achieve Our Destiny, Then We Need More New Ideas For More Wise Men Reading More Good Books In More Public Libraries. These Libraries Should Be Open To All — Except The Censor. We Must Know All The Facts And Hear All The Alternatives And Listen To All The Criticisms. Let Us Welcome Controversial Books And Controversial Authors. For The Bill Of Rights Is The Guardian Of Our Security As Well As Our Liberty.

The Basic Problems Facing The World Today Are Not Susceptible To A Military Solution.

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.

But If The Life Will Not Be Easy, It Will Be Rich And Satisfying. For Every Young American Who Participates In The Peace Corps-who Works In A Foreign Land-will Know That He Or She Is Sharing In The Great Common Task Of Bringing To Man That Decent Way Of Life Which Is The Foundation Of Freedom And A Condition Of Peace.

The Farmer Is The Only Man In Our Economy Who Buys Everything At Retail, Sells Everything At Wholesale, And Pays The Freight Both Ways.

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

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.

I Do Not Say That All Men Are Equal In Their Ability, Character And Motivation. I Do Say That Every American Should Be Given A Fair Chance To Develop All The Talents They May Have.

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.

I Had Always Enjoyed The Title Of Commander-in-chief Until I Was Informed ... That The Only Forces That Cannot Be Transferred From Washington Without My Express Permission Are The Members Of The Marine Corps Band. Those Are The Only Forces I Have. I Want It Announced That We Propose To Hold The White House Against All Odds At Least For Some Time To Come.

The Tax On Capital Gains Directly Affects Investment Decisions, The Mobility And Flow Of Risk Capital From Static To More Dynamic Situations, The Ease Or Difficulty Experienced By New Ventures In Obtaining Capital, And Thereby The Strength And Potential For Growth Of The Economy.

United, There Is Little We Cannot Do In A Host Of Cooperative Ventures. Divided, There Is Little We Can Do-for We Dare Not Meet A Powerful Challenge At Odds And Split Asunder.

Genuine Peace Must Be The Product Of Many Nations, The Sum Of Many Acts. It Must Be Dynamic, Not Static, Changing To Meet The Challenge Of Each New Generation. For Peace Is A Process-a Way Of Solving Problems.

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.

The Weapons Of War Must Be Abolished Before They Abolish Us.

Nuclear Disarmament

The Only Reason To Give A Speech Is To Change The World.

I Not Only Could Not Stifle Controversy Among Your Readers.. I Welcome It. This Administration Intends To Be Candid About Its Errors; For As A Wise Man Once Said: "an Error Does Not Become A Mistake Until You Refuse To Correct It." We Intend To Accept Full Responsibility For Our Errors; And We Expect You To Point Them Out When We Miss Them.

The Deadly Arms Race, And The Huge Resources It Absorbs, Have Too Long Overshadowed All Else We Must Do. We Must Prevent That Arms Race From Spreading To New Nations, To New Nuclear Powers And To The Reaches Of Outer Space.

A Medical Revolution Has Extended The Life Of Our Elder Citizens Without Providing The Dignity And Security Those Later Years Deserve.

I Am Grateful To Those Members Of Congress Who Worked So Diligently To Guide The Equal Pay Act Through. It Is A First Step. It Affirms Our Determination That When Women Enter The Labor Force They Will Find Equality In Their Pay Envelopes.

Aeschylus And Plato Are Remembered Today Long After The Triumphs Of Imperial Athens Are Gone. Dante Outlived The Ambitions Of Thirteenth Century Florence. Goethe Stands Serenely Above The Politics Of Germany, And I Am Certain That After The Dust Of Centuries Has Passed Over Cities, We Too Will Be Remembered Not For Victories Or Defeats In Battle Or In Politics, But For Our Contribution To The Human Spirit.

And Only The Very Courageous Will Be Able To Keep Alive The Spirit Of Individualism And Dissent Which Gave Birth To This Nation, Nourished It As An Infant, And Carried It Through Its Severest Tests Upon The Attainment Of Its Maturity.

The Basis Of Effective Government Is Public Confidence.

Ethical Standards

If You Look Throughout Human History ... The Central Epiphany Of Every Religious Tradition Always Occurs In The Wilderness.

Easy Money, Sudden Fortunes, Increasingly Powerful Political Machines And Blatant Corruption Transformed Much Of The Nation; And The Senate, As Befits A Democratic Legislative Body, Accurately Represented The Nation.

I Can Evade Questions Without Help; What I Need Is Answers

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.

Mankind Must Put An End To War Before War Puts An End To Mankind.

America Has Tossed Its Cap Over The Wall Of Space.

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?

A Revolution Is Coming – A Revolution Which Will Be Peaceful If We Are Wise Enough; Compassionate If We Care Enough; Successful If We Are Fortunate Enough – But A Revolution Which Is Coming Whether We Will It Or Not. We Can Affect Its Character; We Cannot Alter Its Inevitability.

This Is One Country. It Has Become One Country Because All Of Us And All The People Who Came Here Had An Equal Chance To Develop Their Talents. We Cannot Say To Ten Percent Of The Population That You Can't Have That Right; That Your Children Cannot Have The Chance To Develop Whatever Talents They Have; That The Only Way That They Are Going To Get Their Rights Is To Go In The Street And Demonstrate. I Think We Owe Them And We Owe Ourselves A Better Country Than That.

There Is Always Inequity In Life. Some Men Are Killed In War And Some Men Are Wounded; Some Men Never Leave The Country, Some Men Are Stationed In The Antarctic And Some Are Stationed In San Francisco. It's Very Hard In Military Or In Personal Life To Assure Complete Equality. Life Is Unfair.

With A Good Conscience Our Only Sure Reward, With History The Final Judge Of Our Deeds, Let Us Go Forth To Lead The Land We Love, Asking His Blessing And His Help, But Knowing That Here On Earth God's Work Must Truly Be Our Own.

If A Beach-head Of Cooperation May Push Back The Jungle Of Suspicion, Let Both Sides Join In Creating A New Endeavor, Not A New Balance Of Power, But A New World Of Law, Where The Strong Are Just And The Weak Secure And The Peace Preserved. All This Will Not Be Finished In The First One Hundred Days. Nor Will It Be Finished In The First One Thousand Days, Nor In The Life Of This Administration, Nor Even Perhaps In Our Lifetime On This Planet. But Let Us Begin.

Effort And Courage Are Not Enough Without Purpose And Direction.

I Can't See That It's Wrong To Give Him A Little Legal Experience Before He Goes Out To Practice Law.

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.

Peace Is A Process, A Way Of Solving Problems

Problem Solving

The Freedom Of The City Is Not Negotiable. We Cannot Negotiate With Those Who Say, 'what's Mine Is Mine And What's Yours Is Negotiable.'

If At Times Our Actions Seem To Make Life Difficult For Others, It Is Only Because History Has Made Life Difficult For Us All.

Compromise Does Not Mean Cowardice.

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.

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 Colonialism In Its Harshest Forms Is Not Only The Exploitation Of New Nations By Old, Of Dark Skins By Light, Or The Subjugation Of The Poor By The Rich. My Nation Was Once A Colony, And We Know What Colonialism Means; The Exploitation And Subjugation Of The Weak By The Powerful, Of The Many By The Few, Of The Governed Who Have Given No Consent To Be Governed, Whatever Their Continent, Their Class, Their Color.

We Stand Today On The Edge Of A New Frontier.

The Day Before My Inauguration President Eisenhower Told Me, You'll Find That No Easy Problems Ever Come To The President Of The United States. If They Are Easy To Solve, Somebody Else Has Solved Them. I Found That Hard To Believe, But Now I Know It Is True.

The American, By Nature, Is Optimistic. He Is Experimental, An Inventor And A Builder Who Builds Best When Called Upon To Build Greatly.

Let Both Sides Seek To Invoke The Wonders Of Science Instead Of Its Terrors. Together Let Us Explore The Stars, Conquer The Deserts, Eradicate Disease, Tap The Ocean Depths, And Encourage The Arts And Commerce.

The Federal Budget Can And Should Be Made An Instrument Of Prosperity And Stability, Not A Deterrent To Recovery.

In A World Of Danger And Trial, Peace Is Our Deepest Aspiration.

You Can Milk A Cow The Wrong Way Once And Still Be A Farmer, But Vote The Wrong Way On A Water Tower And You Can Be In Trouble.

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.

To Those Peoples In The Huts And Villages Of Half The Globe Struggling To Break The Bonds Of Mass Misery, We Pledge Our Best Efforts To Help Them Help Themselves, For Whatever Period Is Required - Not Because The Communists May Be Doing It, Not Because We Seek Their Votes, But Because It Is Right. If A Free Society Cannot Help The Many Who Are Poor, It Cannot Save The Few Who Are Rich.

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.

As Science, Of Necessity, Becomes More Involved With Itself, So Also, Of Necessity, It Becomes More International. I Am Impressed To Know That Of The 670 Members Of This Academy

In A Very Real Sense, It Will Not Be One Man Going To The Moon It Will Be An Entire Nation. For All Of Us Must Work To Put Him There.

All Free Men, Wherever They May Live, Are Citizens Of Berlin. And Therefore, As A Free Man, I Take Pride In The Words 'ich Bin Ein Berliner!'

In Seeking The Help Of The Congress And Our Countrymen, I Pledged No Easy Answers. I Pledged, And Asked, Only Toil And Dedication. These The Congress And The People Have Given In Good Measure.

The Federal Government's Most Useful Role Is Not To Rush Into A Program Of Excessive Increases In Public Expenditures, But To Expand The Incentives And Opportunities For Private Expenditures.

The Greater Our Knowledge Increases The More Our Ignorance Unfolds.

No Treaty, However Much It May Be To The Advantage Of All, However Tightly It May Be Worded, Can Provide Absolute Security Against The Risks Of Deception And Evasion. But It Can, If It Is Sufficiently Effective In Its Enforcement And If It Is Sufficiently In The Interests Of Its Signers, Offer Far More Security And Far Fewer Risks Than An Unabated, Uncontrolled, Unpredictable Arms Race.

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.

Trending Author

Category