Background Image

...

I Think When We Talk About Corporal Punishment, And We Have To Think About Our Own Children, And We Are Rather Reluctant, It Seems To Me, To Have Other People Administering Punishment To Our Own Children, Because We Are Reluctant, It Puts A Special Obligation On Us To Maintain Order And To Send Children Out From Our Homes Who Accept The Idea Of Discipline. So I Would Not Be For Corporal Punishment In The School, But I Would Be For Very Strong Discipline At Home So We Don't Place An Unfair Burden On Our Teachers.

-John F. Kennedy

...

Please Wait....
Translating....

I Think When We

John F. Kennedy

...

I Think When We Talk About Corporal Punishment, And We Have To Think About Our Own Children, And We Are Rather Reluctant, It Seems To Me, To Have Other People Administering Punishment To Our Own Children, Because We Are Reluctant, It Puts A Special Obligation On Us To Maintain Order And To Send Children Out From Our Homes Who Accept The Idea Of Discipline. So I Would Not Be For Corporal Punishment In The School, But I Would Be For Very Strong Discipline At Home So We Don't Place An Unfair Burden On Our Teachers.

Views: 4

Topic

More From John F. Kennedy

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

Nuclear Disarmament

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.

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

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.

Whether I Serve One Or Two Terms In The Presidency, I Will Find Myself At The End Of That Period At What Might Be Called The Awkward Age-too Old To Begin A New Career And Too Young To Write My Memoirs.

The World Is Very Different Now. For Man Holds In His Mortal Hands The Power To Abolish All Forms Of Human Poverty, And All Forms Of Human Life.

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 Mere Absence Of War Is Not Peace.

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.

I Believe In An America Where Religious Intolerance Will Someday End... Where Every Man Has The Same Right To Attend Or Not Attend The Church Of His Choice.

Intelligence And Skill Can Only Function At The Peak Of Their Capacity When The Body Is Healthy And Strong.

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.

It Is Extremely Important That Adequate Provision Be Made For Reasonable Levels Of Income To Them, For The Care Of The Children Which They Must Leave At Home Or In School, And For Protection Of The Family Unit. One Of The Prime Objectives Of The Commission On The Status Of Women, Which I Appointed 18 Months Ago, Is To Develop A Program To Accomplish These Purposes.

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.

A Child Miseducated Is A Child Lost.

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.

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

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.

When Power Corrupts, Poetry Cleanses

One-third Of The World, It Has Been Said, May Be Free- -but One-third Is The Victim Of Cruel Repression--and The Other One- Third Is Rocked By The Pangs Of Poverty, Hunger And Envy. More Energy Is Released By The Awakening Of These New Nations Than By The Fission Of The Atom Itself.

America Has Tossed Its Cap Over The Wall Of Space.

Don't Pray For An Easy Life, Pray To Be A Stronger Man.

Life Being Hard

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

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 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 Complacent, The Self-indulgent, The Soft Societies Are About To Be Swept Away With The Debris Of History.

Failure Has No Friends.

Anyone Who Is Honestly Seeking A Job And Can't Find It, Deserves The Attention Of The United States Government, And The People.

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

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.

If (my Grandfather) Hadn't Left, I'd Be Working Over Here At The Albatross Company.

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

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.

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.

This Increase In The Life Span And In The Number Of Our Senior Citizens Presents This Nation With Increased Opportunities: The Opportunity To Draw Upon Their Skill And Sagacityand The Opportunity To Provide The Respect And Recognition They Have Earned. It Is Not Enough For A Great Nation Merely To Have Added New Years To Lifeour Objective Must Also Be To Add New Life To Those Years.

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.

If The Economy Of Today Were Operating Close To Capacity Levels With Little Unemployment, Or If A Sudden Change In Our Military Requirements Should Cause A Scramble For Men And Resources, Then I Would Oppose Tax Reductions As Irresponsible And Inflationary; And I Would Not Hesitate To Recommend A Tax Increase If That Were Necessary.

The World Has Been Close To War Before - But Now Man, Who Has Survived All Previous Threats To His Existence, Has Taken Into His Mortal Hands The Power To Exterminate The Entire Species Some Seven Times Over.

For I Can Assure You That We Love Our Country, Not For What It Was, Though It Has Always Been Great - Not For What It Is, Though Of This We Are Deeply Proud - But For What It Someday Can, And, Through The Efforts Of Us All, Someday Will Be.

Now The Trumpet Summons Us Again - Not As A Call To Bear Arms, Though Arms We Need; Not As A Call To Battle, Though Embattled We Are; But A Call To Bear The Burden Of A Long Twilight Struggle, Year In And Year Out, 'rejoicing In Hope, Patient In Tribulation', A Struggle Against The Common Enemies Of Man: Tyranny, Poverty, Disease And War Itself.

In A Time Of Turbulence And Change, It Is More True Than Ever That Knowledge Is Power.

Knowledge Is Power

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

The Family Of Man Is More Than 3 Billion Strong. It Lives In More Than 100 Nations. Most Of Its Members Are Not White. Most Of Them Are Not Christians. Most Of Them Know Nothing About Free Enterprise Or Due Process Of Law Or The Australian Ballot.

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.

Let Every Nation Know, Whether It Wishes Us Well Or Ill, That We Shall Pay Any Price, Bear Any Burden, Meet Any Hardship, Support Any Friend, Oppose Any Foe To Assure The Survival And The Success Of Liberty.

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.

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

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.

When Things Don't Go Well They Like To Blame Presidents; And That's Something That Presidents Are Paid For.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

The Wave Of The Future Is Not The Conquest Of The World By A Single Dogmatic Creed But The Liberation Of The Diverse Energies Of Free Nations And Free Men.

So Let Us Here Resolve That Dag Hammarskjold Did Not Live, Or Die, In Vain. Let Us Call A Truce To Terror. Let Us Invoke The Blessings Of Peace. And, As We Build An International Capacity To Keep Peace, Let Us Join In Dismantling The National Capacity To Wage War.

The United States Of America Has No Intention Of Finishing Second In Space. This Effort Is Expensive-but It Pays Its Way For Freedom And For America.

Everywhere Immigrants Have Enriched And Strengthened The Fabric Of American Life.

We Had A Dog Who Was Named Pushinka, Who Was Given To My Father By A Soviet Official. And We Trained That Dog To Slide Down The Slide We Had In The Back Of The White House. Sliding The Dog Down That Slide Is Probably My First Memory.

I See No Magic In Tax Dollars Which Are Sent To Washington And Then Returned. I Abhor The Waste And Incompetence Of Large-scale Federal Bureaucracies In This Administration As Well As In Others. I Do Not Favor State Compulsion When Voluntary Individual Effort Can Do The Job And Do It Well.

Individual Effort

Now Is The Time...for This Nation To Take A Clearly Leading Role In Space Achievement, Which In Many Ways May Hold The Key To Our Future On Earth.

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)

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Not Everyone Has Equal Abilities, But Everyone Should Have Equal Opportunity For Education.

You're In There With Me. Personally.

The Great Battleground For The Defense And Expansion Of Freedom Today Is The Whole Southern Half Of The Globe... The Lands Of The Rising Peoples. Their Revolution Is The Greatest In Human History. They Seek An End To Injustice, Tyranny And Exploitation. More Than An End, They Seek A Beginning.

I Hear It Said That West Berlin Is Militarily Untenable - And So Was Bastogne, And So, In Fact, Was Stalingrad. Any Danger Spot Is Tenable If Men - Brave Men - Will Make It So.

If Anyone Is Crazy Enough To Want To Kill A President Of The United States, He Can Do It. All He Must Be Prepared To Do Is Give His Life For The President's.

Automation Does Not Need To Be Our Enemy. I Think Machines Can Make Life Easier For Men, If Men Do Not Let The Machines Dominate Them.

National Parks And Reserves Are An Integral Aspect Of Intelligent Use Of Natural Resources. It Is The Course Of Wisdom To Set Aside An Ample Portion Of Our Natural Resources As National Parks And Reserves, Thus Ensuring That Future Generations May Know The Majesty Of The Earth As We Know It Today.

Our Task Is Not To Fix Blame For The Past, But To Fix The Course For The Future.

But 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. 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. As Winston Churchill Said On Taking Office Some Twenty Years Ago: If We Open A Quarrel Between The Present And The Past, We Shall Be In Danger Of Losing The Future.

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

There Are Many People In The World Who Really Don't Understand-or Say They Don't-what Is The Great Issue Between The Free World And The Communist World. Let Them Come To Berlin!

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?-

There Is, In Addition To A Courage With Which Men Die; A Courage By Which Men Must Live.

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

We Must Live Our Lives In Such A Way That Our Children, And Their Children After Them, Will Form A Natural And Lasting Commitment To The Vigorous Life. Only In This Way Can We Be Assured That The Spirit And Strength Of America Will Be Constantly Replenished.

Whether They Be Young In Spirit, Or Young In Age, The Members Of The Democratic Party Must Never Lose That Youthful Zest For New Ideas And For A Better World, Which Has Made Us Great.

We Stand Today On The Edge Of A New Frontier - The Frontier Of The 1960's - A Frontier Of Unknown Opportunities And Perils - A Frontier Of Unfulfilled Hopes And Threats.

Let's Not Talk So Much About Vice. I'm Against Vice In All Forms.

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.

We Must Seek, Above All, A World Of Peace; A World In Which Peoples Dwell Together In Mutual Respect And Work Together In Mutual Regard.

Working Together

As They Say On My Own Cape Cod, A Rising Tide Lifts All The Boats. And A Partnership, By Definition, Serves Both Partners, Without Domination Or Unfair Advantage. Together We Have Been Partners In Adversitylet Us Also Be Partners In Prosperity.

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.

I Know My Republican Friends Were Glad To See My Wife Feeding An Elephant In India. She Gave Him Sugar And Nuts. But Of Course The Elephant Wasn't Satisfied.

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.

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.

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 Great Free Nations Of The World Must Take Control Of Our Monetary Problems If These Problems Are Not To Take Control Of Us.

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 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.

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

In The Years Since Man Unlocked The Power Stored Up Within The Atom, The World Has Made Progress, Halting, But Effective, Toward Bringing That Power Under Human Control. The Challenge May Be Our Salvation. As We Begin To Master The Destructive Potentialities Of Modern Science, We Move Toward A New Era In Which Science Can Fulfill Its Creative Promise And Help Bring Into Existence The Happiest Society The World Has Ever Known.

Each Success Brings With It The Potential Of Failure And Each Failure Brings With It The Potential Of Success.

I Am Glad That Congress Has Recently Authorized $800,000 To State Welfare Agencies To Expand Their Day-care Services During The Remainder Of This Fiscal Year. But We Need Much More. We Need The $8 Million In The 1965 Budget For The Department Of Health, Education, And Welfare Allocated To This Purpose.

Health Education

For Man Holds In His Mortal Hands The Power To Abolish All Forms Of Human Poverty And All Forms Of Human Life. And Yet The Same Revolutionary Beliefs For Which Our Forebears Fought Are Still At Issue Around The Globe -- The Belief That The Rights Of Man Come Not From The Generosity Of The State, But From The Hand Of God.

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

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 Processes Of Growth Are Gradual, Bearing Fruit In A Decade, Not A Day.

My Fellow Americans, Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You, Ask What You Can Do For Your Country.

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.

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, Because That Goal Will Serve To Organize And Measure The Best Of Our Energies And Skills, Because That Challenge Is One That We Are Willing To Accept, One We Are Unwilling To Postpone, And One Which We Intend To Win.

While It May Be Theoretically Possible To Demonstrate The Risks Inherent In Any Treaty... The Far Greater Risk To Our Security Are The Risks Of Unrestricted Testing, The Risks Of A Nuclear Arms Race, The Risks Of New Nuclear Powers.

In The Dark Days And Darker Nights When England Stood Alone-and Most Men Save Englishmen Despaired Of England's Life-he [churchill] Mobilized The English Language And Sent It Into Battle.

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

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

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.

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

I Believe In Human Dignity As The Source Of National Purpose, Human Liberty As The Source Of National Action, The Human Heart As The Source Of National Compassion, And In The Human Mind As The Source Of Our Invention And Our Ideas

I Have Seen In Many Places Housing Which Has Been Developed Under Government Influences, But I Have Never Seen Any Projects In Which Governments Have Played Their Part Which Have Fountains And Statues And Grass And Trees, Which Are As Important To The Concept Of The Home As The Roof Itself.

Bring The Absolute Power To Destroy Other Nations Under The Absolute Control Of All Nations. Weapons Of War Must Be Abolished Before They Abolish Us...no Longer Is The Quest For Disarmament A Sign Of Weakness, (nor) The Destruction Of Arms A Dream - It Is A Practical Matter Of Life Or Death. The Risks Inherent In Disarmament Pale In Comparison To The Risks Inherent In An Unlimited Arms Race.

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.

The Labor Movement Is People. Our Unions Have Brought Millions Of Men And Women Together, Made Them Members One Of Another, And Given Them Common Tools For Common Goals. Their Goals Are Goals For All America - And Their Enemies Are The Enemies For Progress. The Two Cannot Be Separated.

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

Justice Delayed Is Democracy Denied.

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.

Only An Educated And Informed People Will Be A Free People.

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.'

Sailing Has Given Me Some Of The Most Pleasant And Exciting Moments Of My Life. It Also Has Taught Me Something Of The Courage, Resourcefulness, And Strength Of Men Who Sail The Seas In Ships.

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.

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 Of The Nation.

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 Our Differences, At Least We Can Help Make The World Safe For Diversity. For, In The Final Analysis, Our Most 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.

Our Goal Is Not Victory Of Might But The Vindication Of Right - Not Peace At The Expense Of Freedom, But Both Peace And Freedom, Here In This Hemisphere And, We Hope, Around The World. God Willing, That Goal Will Be Achieved.

No American Is Ever Made Better Off By Pulling A Fellow American Down, And All Of Us Are Made Better Off Whenever Any One Of Us Is Made Better Off.

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.

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.

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

Student Loans Have Been Helpful To Many. But They Offer Neither Incentive Nor Assistance To Those Students Who, By Reason Of Family Or Other Obligations, Are Unable Or Unwilling To Go Deeper Into Debt. ... It Is, Moreover, Only Prudent Economic And Social Policy For The Public To Share Part Of The Costs Of The Long Period Of Higher Education For Those Whose Development Is Essential To Our National Economic And Social Well-being. All Of Us Share In The Benefits - All Should Share In The Costs.

If You Face A Man's Job, Find A Woman!

We Do Not Seek The Unanimity That Comes To Those Who Water Down All Issues To The Lowest Common Denominator - Or To Those Who Conceal Their Differences Behind Fixed Smiles - Or To Those Who Measure Unity By Standards Of Popularity And Affection, Instead Of Trust And Respect. We Are Allies. This Is A Partnership, Not An Empire. We Are Bound To Have Differences And Disappointments - And We Are Equally Bound To Bring Them Out Into The Open, To Settle Them Where They Can Be Settled, And To Respect Each Other's Views When They Cannot Be Settled.

The Jewish People, Ever Since David Slew Goliath, Have Never Considered Youth As A Barrier To Leadership.

And Lastly, Chairman Khrushchev Has Compared The United States To A Worn-out Runner Living On Its Past Performance, And Stated That The Soviet Union Would Out-produce The United States By 1970. Without Wishing To Trade Hyperbole With The Chairman, I Do Suggest That He Reminds Me Of The Tiger Hunter Who Has Picked A Place On The Wall To Hang The Tiger's Skin Long Before He His Caught The Tiger. This Tiger Has Other Ideas.

One Hundred And Fifty Years Ago The Vacant Lands Of The West Were Opened To Private Use. One Hundred Years Ago The Congress Passed The Homestead Act, Probably The Single Greatest Stimulus To National Development Ever Enacted. Under The Impetus Of That Act And Other Laws, More Than 1.1 Billion Acres Of The Original Public Main Have Been Transferred To Private And Non-federal Public Ownership. The 768 Million Acres Remaining In Federal Ownership Are A Valuable National Asset.

I Look Forward To A Great Future For America - 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.

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

There Are Many People In The World Who Really Don't Understand, Or Say They Don't, What Is The Great Issue Between The Free World And The Communist World. Let Them Come To Berlin. There Are Some Who Say That Communism Is The Wave Of The Future. Let Them Come To Berlin. And There Are Some Who Say In Europe And Elsewhere We Can Work With The Communists. Let Them Come To Berlin. And There Are Even A Few Who Say That It Is True That Communism Is An Evil System, But It Permits Us To Make Economic Progress. Lass' Sie Nach Berlin Kommen. Let Them Come To Berlin.

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

While We Cannot Guarantee That We Shall One Day Be First, We Can Guarantee That Any Failure To Make This Effort Will Make Us Last.

Guarantees That

We Hold The View That The People Make The Best Judgment In The Long Run.

The Credit Of Success Is Claimed By All, While A Disaster Is Attributed To One Alone.

The State Is The Servant Of The Citizen, And Not His Master.

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.

The Exploration Of Space Will Go Ahead, Whether We Join In It Or Not, And It Is One Of The Great Adventures Of All Time, And No Nation Which Expects To Be The Leader Of Other Nations Can Expect To Stay Behind In This Race For Space.

By Calling Attention To 'a Well Regulated Militia,' 'the Security Of The Nation,' And The Right Of Each Citizen 'to Keep And Bear Arms,' Our Founding Fathers Recognized The Essentially Civilian Nature Of Our Economy... The Second Amendment Still Remains An Important Declaration Of Our Basic Civilian-military Relationships In Which Every Citizen Must Be Ready To Participate In The Defense Of His Country. For That Reason I Believe The Second Amendment Will Always Be Important.

No Responsibility Of Government Is More Fundamental Than The Responsibility Of Maintaining The Highest Standard Of Ethical Behavior For Those Who Conduct The Public Business.

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

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.

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

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

Expansion And Modernization Of The Nation's Productive Plant Is Essential To Accelerate Economic Growth And To Improve The International Competitive Position Of American Industry An Early Stimulus To Business Investment Will Promote Recovery And Increase Employment.

We Don't Want To Be Like The Leader In The French Revolution Who Said There Go My People, I Must Find Out Where They Are Going So I Can Lead Them.

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.

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.

I Am The One Person Who Can Truthfully Say, I Got My Job Through The New York Times.

Our Deep Spiritual Confidence That This Nation Will Survive The Perils Of Today - Which May Well Be With Us For Decades To Come - Compels Us To Invest In Our Nation's Future, To Consider And Meet Our Obligations To Our Children And The Numberless Generations That Will Follow.

Race Has No Place In American Life Or Law.

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.

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

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.

There Are Only Two Realities In Life: Death And Laughter. We Can Do Nothing To Change The Former, So We Might As Well Do All We Can To Save The Latter.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

Victory Has A Thousand Fathers, But Defeat Is An Orphan.

There Are Three Things In Life Which Are Real: God, Human Folly And Laughter. Since The First Two Are Beyond Our Comprehension, We Must Do What We Can With The Third.

... The United States Was Not Built By Those Who Waited And Rested And Wished To Look Behind Them. This Country Was Conquered By Those Who Moved Forward, And So Will Space.

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.

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. I Do Not Speak For My Church On Public Matters - And The Church Does Not Speak For Me.

I Believe In An America That Is On The March - An America Respected By All Nations, Friends And Foes Alike - An America That Is Moving, Doing, Working, Trying - A Strong America In A World Of Peace. That Peace Must Be Based On World Law And World Order, On The Mutual Respect Of All Nations For The Rights And Powers Of Others And On A World Economy In Which No Nation Lacks The Ability To Provide A Decent Standard Of Living For All Of Its People.

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 Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Or They Will Abolish Us.

Nuclear Weapons

If Men And Women Are In Chains Anywhere In The World, Then Freedom Is Endangered Everywhere.

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

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

To Sound The Alarm Is Not To Panic But To Seek Action From An Aroused Public.

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.

The Voters Selected Us, In Short, Because They Had Confidence In Our Judgement And Our Ability To Exercise That Judgement From A Position Where We Could Determine What Were Their Own Best Interest, As A Part Of The Nation's Interest.

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.

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

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

I Do Not Speak For My Church On Public Matters; And The Church Does Not Speak For Me.

Fail Miserably, Achieve Greatly!

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

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.

While Much Remains To Be Done To Achieve Full Equality Of Economic Opportunity-for The Average Woman Worker Earns Only 60 Percent Of The Average Wage For Men-this Legislation Is A Significant Step Forward.

In The Long History Of The World, Only A Few Generations Have Been Granted The Role Of Defending Freedom In Its Hour Of Maximum Danger. I Do Not Shrink From This Responsibility - I Welcome It.

Sometimes Party Loyalty Asks Too Much.

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

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

Lower Rates Of Taxation Will Stimulate Economic Activity And So Raise The Levels Of Personal And Corporate Income As To Yield Within A Few Years An Increased - Not A Reduced - Flow Of Revenues To The Federal Government.

Trending Author

Walter Annenberg

Category