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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.

-John F. Kennedy

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No Man Who Enters

John F. Kennedy

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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.

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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.

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

Every Area Of Trouble Gives Out A Ray Of Hope; And The One Unchangeable Certainty Is That Nothing Is Certain Or Unchangeable.

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.

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.

We Would Like To Live As We Once Lived, But History Will Not Permit It.

In Free Society Art Is Not A Weapon...artists Are Not Engineers Of The Soul.

Anyone Who Can Solve The Problems Of Water Will Be Worthy Of Two Nobel Prizes - One For Peace And One For Science.

Success Has Many Fathers.

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.

I Know Few Significant Questions Of Public Policy Which Can Safely Be Confided To Computers. In The End, The Hard Decisions Inescapably Involve Imponderables Of Intuition, Prudence, And Judgment.

If I Don't Have A Woman For Three Days, I Get Terrible Headaches.

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.

Art Establishes The Basic Human Truths Which Must Serve As The Touchstone Of Our Judgement.

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

I Believe In An America Where The Rights That I Have Described Are Enjoyed By All, Regardless Of Their Race Or Their Creed Or Their National Origin - Where Every Citizen Is Free To Think And Speak As He Pleases And Write And Worship As He Pleases - And Where Every Citizen Is Free To Vote As He Pleases, Without Instructions From Anyone, His Employer, The Union Leader Or His Clergyman.

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.

... 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.

It Is For These Reasons That I Believe We Must Expand Day-care Centers And Provide Other Assistance Which I Have Recommended To The Congress. At Present, The Total Facilities Of All The Licensed Day-care Centers In The Nation Can Take Care Of Only 185,000 Children. Nearly 500,000 Children Under 12 Must Take Care Of Themselves While Their Mothers Work. This, It Seems To Me, Is A Formula For Disaster.

The Only Significance Of Analyzing The Past Is That It Does Give Us Some Key To The Future.

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

Too Often In The Past, We Have Thought Of The Artist As An Idler And Dilettante And Of The Lover Of Arts As Somehow Sissy And Effete. We Have Done Both An Injustice. The Life Of The Artist Is, In Relation To His Work, Stern And Lonely. He Has Labored Hard, Often Amid Deprivation, To Perfect His Skill. He Has Turned Aside From Quick Success In Order To Strip His Vision Of Everything Secondary Or Cheapening. His Working Life Is Marked By Intense Application And Intense Discipline.

A Nation Reveals Itself Not Only By The Men It Produces But Also By The Men It Honors, The Men It Remembers.

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.

The Efforts Of Governments Alone Will Never Be Enough. In The End, The People Must Choose And The People Must Help Themselves.

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

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.

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.

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

I Believe In An America That Is Officially Neither Catholic, Protestant Nor Jewish; Where No Public Official Either Requests Or Accepts Instructions On Public Policy From The Pope, The National Council Of Churches Or Any Other Ecclesiastical Source; Where No Religious Body Seeks To Impose Its Will Directly Or Indirectly Upon The General Populace Or The Public Acts Of Its Officials; And Where Religious Liberty Is So Indivisible That An Act Against One Church Is Treated As An Act Against All.

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

I Look Forward To An America Which Will Not Be Afraid Of Grace And Beauty, Which Will Protect The Beauty Of Our Natural Environment, Which Will Preserve The Great Old American Houses And Squares And Parks Of Our National Past And Which Will Build Handsome And Balanced Cities For Our Future.

Will Rogers Once Said It Is Not The Original Investment In A Congressman That Counts; It Is The Upkeep.

Persons Are Judged To Be Great Because Of The Positive Qualities They Possess, Not Because Of The Absence Of Faults.

In Giving Rights To Others Which Belong To Them, We Give Rights To Ourselves And To Our Country

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

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.

Art Is The Great Democrat, Calling Forth Creative Genius From Every Sector Of Society, Disregarding Race Or Religion Or Wealth Or Color

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

Israel Was Not Created In Order To Disappear - Israel Will Endure And Flourish. It Is The Child Of Hope And The Home Of The Brave. It Can Neither Be Broken By Adversity Nor Demoralized By Success. It Carries The Shield Of Democracy And It Honors The Sword Of Freedom.

I Am Fully Aware Of The Fact That The Democratic Party, By Nominating Someone Of My Faith, Has Taken On What Many Regard As A New And Hazardous Risk.

We In This Country, In This Generation, Areby Destiny Rather Than Choicethe Watchmen On The Walls Of World Freedom. We Ask, Therefore, That We May Be Worthy Of Our Power And Responsibility, That We May Exercise Our Strength With Wisdom And Restraint, And That We May Achieve In Our Time And For All Time The Ancient Vision Of Peace On Earth, Good Will Toward Men. That Must Always Be Our Goal, And The Righteousness Of Our Cause Must Always Underlie Our Strength. For As Was Written Long Ago: Except The Lord Keep The City, The Watchman Waketh But In Vain.

It Might Be Said Now That I Have The Best Of Both Worlds. A Harvard Education And A Yale Degree.

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.

Everything Changes But Change Itself.

The Basis Of Self-government And Freedom Requires The Development Of Character And Self-restraint And Perseverance And The Long View. And These Are Qualities Which Require Many Years Of Training And Education.

A Tired Nation, Said David Lloyd George, Is A Tory Nation, And The United States Today Cannot Afford To Be Either Tired Or Tory.

We Must Formulate, With Both Imagination And Restraint, A New Approach To The Middle East - Not Pressing Our Case So Hard That The Arabs Feel Their Neutrality And Nationalism Are Threatened ... While At The Same Time Trying To Hasten The Inevitable Arab Acceptance Of The Permanence Of Israel ... We Must ... Seek A Permanent Settlement Among Arabs And Israelis Based Not On An Armed Truce But On Mutual Self-interest.

The Human Mind Is Our Fundamental Resource.

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

A Country Is As Strong, Really, As Its Citizens. And I Think That Mental And Physical Health - Mental And Physical Vigor - Go Hand In Hand.

An Artist's Working Life Is Marked By Intensive Application And Intense Discipline.

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

Richard Cromwell Was Not Fit To Wear The Mantle Of His Uncle.

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 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.

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.

Politics Is Like Football; If You See Daylight, Go Through The Hole.

Motivational Sports

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.

Of All The Multitudes Who Throughout History Have Spoken For Human Dignity In Times Of Great Suffering And Loss, No Voice Is More Compelling Than That Of Anne Frank.

Je Me Sens Vraiment Entre Amis. (i Feel That I Am Truly Among Friends.)

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.

I Look Forward To An America Which Will Not Be Afraid Of Grace And Beauty.

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

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.

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.

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

We Have Some Of The Most Influential Members Of Congress Here Today, And I Do Hope That We Can Get This Appropriation For These Day-care Centers, Which Seems To Me To Be Money Very Wisely Spent, And Also Under Consideration Of The Tax Bill, That We Can Consider The Needs Of The Working Mothers, And Both Of These Will Be Very Helpful, And I Would Like To Lobby In Their Behalf.

The Great Revolution In The History Of Man, Past, Present And Future, Is The Revolution Of Those Determined To Be Free.

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.

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.

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 This Capsule History Of Our Progress Teaches Us Anything, It Is That Man, In His Quest For Knowledge And Progress, Is Determined And Cannot Be Deterred.

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

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.

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.

We Shall Pay Any Price, Bear Any Burden, To Assure The Survival And The Success Of Liberty.

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

The Pay Is Good And I Can Walk To Work.

Forbidden Fruit Tastes Sweet, But Its Aftertaste Is Bitter.

Now Let Me Make It Clear That I Believe There Can Only Be One Defense Policy For The United States And That Is Summed Up In The Word 'first.' I Do Not Mean First, But. I Do Not Mean First, When. I Do Not Mean First, If. I Mean First - Period.

We Should Not Let Our Fears Hold Us Back From Pursuing Our Hopes.

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

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.

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.

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?-

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

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.

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

Collective Bargaining Has Always Been The Bedrock Of The American Labor Movement. I Hope That You Will Continue To Anchor Your Movement To This Foundation. Free Collective Bargaining Is Good For The Entire Nation. In My View, It Is The Only Alternative To State Regulation Of Wages And Prices - A Path Which Leads Far Down The Grim Road Of Totalitarianism. Those Who Would Destroy Or Further Limit The Rights Of Organized Labor - Those Who Would Cripple Collective Bargaining Or Prevent Organization Of The Unorganized - Do A Disservice To The Cause Of Democracy.

If Somebody Harbours Delusions, I Think That Should Disqualify Them From Office, Regardless Whether The Delusions Are Religious. Letting Someone Who Thinks The God Jehovah Will Bail Him Out Serve In Public Office Is Like Letting A Man Who Believes In Santa Claus Run A Toys 'r Us. The Great Enemy Of The Truth Is Very Often Not The Lie - Deliberate, Contrived And Dishonest, But The Myth, Persistent, Persuasive, And Unrealistic. Belief In Myths Allows The Comfort Of Opinion Without The Discomfort Of Thought.

The Unity Of Freedom Has Never Relied On Uniformity Of Opinion.

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

Should I Become President...i Will Not Risk American Lives...by Permitting Any Other Nation To Drag Us Into The Wrong War At The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time Through An Unwise Commitment That Is Unwise Militarily, Unnecessary To Our Security And Unsupported By Our Allies.

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.

You Know Nothing For Sure...except The Fact That You Know Nothing For Sure.

I Think It Is Appropriate That We Pay Tribute To This Great Constitutional Principle Which Is Enshrined In The First Amendment Of The Constitution: The Principle Of Religious Independence, Of Religious Liberty, Of Religious Freedom.

The Complacent, The Self-indulgent, The Soft Societies Are About To Be Swept Away With The Debris Of History. Only The Strong, Only The Industrious, Only The Determined, Only The Courageous, Only The Visionary Who Determine The Real Nature Of Our Struggle Can Possibly Survive.

The Fact That We Live In A World That Moves Crisis By Crisis Does Not Make A Growing Interest In Outdoor Activities Frivolous, Or Ample Provision For Them Unworthy Of The Nation's Concern.

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 Margin Is Narrow, But The Responsibility Is Clear.

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

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

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.

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.

Lets Talk To One Another Instead Of About One Another.

The Best Road To Progress Is Freedom's Road.

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

You're In There With Me. Personally.

We Believe That If Men Have The Talent To Invent New Machines That Put Men Out Of Work, They Have The Talent To Put Those Men Back To Work.

I'm Always Rather Nervous About How You Talk About Women Who Are Active In Politics, Whether They Want To Be Talked About As Women Or As Politicians.

Empowering Women

If I Don't Have A Woman Every Three Days Or So I Get A Terrible Headache.

A Committee Is Twelve Men Doing The Work Of One.

When Written In Chinese, The Word 'crisis' Is Composed Of Two Characters. One Represents Danger And The Other Represents Opportunity.

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

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.

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.

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 Mere Absence Of War Is Not Peace.

I Am The Man Who Accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy To Paris, And I Have Enjoyed It.

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

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."

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!

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

We Are Confronted Primarily With A Moral Issue... Whether All Americans Are To Be Afforded Equal Rights And Equal Opportunities, Whether We Are Going To Treat Our Fellow Americans As We Want To Be Treated.

Man Will Be What He Was Born To Be: Free And Independent.

Washington Is A City Of Southern Efficiency And Northern Charm.

As Every Past Generation Has Had To Disenthrall Itself From An Inheritance Of Truisms And Stereotypes, So In Our Own Time We Must Move On From The Reassuring Repetition Of Stale Phrases To A New, Difficult, But Essential Confrontation With Reality. For The Great Enemy Of Truth Is Very Often Not The Lie-deliberate, Contrived And Dishonest-but The Myth-persistent, Persuasive And Unrealistic. Mythology Distracts Us Everywhere.

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

Unconditional War Can No Longer Lead To Unconditional Victory. It Can No Longer Serve To Settle Disputes. It Can No Longer Concern The Great Powers Alone. For A Nuclear Disaster, Spread By Wind And Water And Fear, Could Well Engulf The Great And The Small, The Rich And The Poor, The Committed And The Uncommitted Alike. Mankind Must Put An End To War--or War Will Put An End To Mankind.

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

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.

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.

The Success Of This Government, And Thus The Success Of Our Nation, Depends In The Last Analysis Upon The Quality.of Our Career Services. The Legislation Enacted By The Congress, As Well As The Decisions Made By Me And By The Department And Agency Heads, Must All Be Implemented By The Career Men And Women In The Federal Service. In Foreign Affairs, National Defense, Science And Technology, And A Host Of Other Fields, They Face Problems Of Unprecedented Importance And Perplexity. We Are All Dependent On Their Sense Of Loyalty And Responsibility As Well As Their Competence And Energy.

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.

Peaceful Circulation Has Been Interupted By Barbed Wire And Concrete Blocks. For A City Or A People To Be Truly Free, They Must Have The Secure Right, Without Economic, Political Or Police Pressure, To Make Their Own Choices And Live Their Own Lives.

If Art Is To Nourish The Roots Of Our Culture, Society Must Set The Artist Free To Follow His Vision Wherever It Takes Him.

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

For In A Government Of Laws And Not Of Men, No Man, However Prominent Or Powerful, And No Mob However Unruly Or Boisterous, Is Entitled To Defy A Court Of Law. If This Country Should Ever Reach The Point Where Any Man Or Group Of Men By Force Or Threat Of Force Could Long Defy The Commands Of Our Court And Our Constitution, Then No Law Would Stand Free From Doubt, No Judge Would Be Sure Of His Writ, And No Citizen Would Be Safe From His Neighbors.

All My Life Ive Known Better Than To Depend On The Experts. How Could I Have Been So Stupid, To Let Them Go Ahead?

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

Ireland And The Irish

Every President Has Taken Comfort And Courage When Told...that The Lord "will Be With Thee. He Will Not Fail Thee Nor Forsake Thee. Fear Not-neither Be Thou Dismayed."

Foreign Aid Is A Method By Which The United States Maintains A Position Of Influence And Control Around The World

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

The Stories Of Past Courage... Can Offer Hope, They Can Provide Inspiration. But They Cannot Supply Courage Itself. For This Each Man Must Look Into His Own Soul.

Economic Growth Without Social Progress Lets The Great Majority Of The People Remain In Poverty, While A Privileged Few Reap The Benefits Of Rising Abundance.

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.

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.

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.

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

While We Shall Negotiate Freely, We Shall Not Negotiate Freedom.

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 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.'

No Country Can Possibly Move Ahead, No Free Society Can Possibly Be Sustained, Unless It Has An Educated Citizenry Whose Qualities Of Mind And Heart Permit It To Take Part In The Complicated And Increasingly Sophisticated Decisions That Pour Not Only Upon The President And Upon The Congress, But Upon All The Citizens Who Exercise The Ultimate Power.

Each Increase Of Tension Has Produced An Increase Of Arms; Each Increase Of Arms Has Produced An Increase Of Tension.

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

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.

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.

Philanthropy, Charity, Giving Voluntarily And Freely... Call It What You Like, But It Is Truly A Jewel Of An American Tradition.

The First Man-made Satellite To Orbit The Earth Was Named Sputnik. The First Living Creature In Space Was Laika. The First Rocket To The Moon Carried A Red Flag. The First Photograph Of The Far Side Of The Moon Was Made With A Soviet Camera. If A Man Orbits The Earth This Year His Name Will Be Ivan.

The Most Ideal Approach To Advance Is The Way Of Opportunity.

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.

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

Sometimes It Just Amazes Me How Many People Desperately Want To Protect My Personal Information. Ten Thousand Reflections Hide The True Gem. Those Who Make Peaceful Revolution Impossible Will Make Violent Revolution Inevitable.

There Is Always Inequality In Life. Some Men Are Killed In A War And Some Men Are Wounded And Some Men Never Leave The Country. Life Is Unfair.

Let Us Examine Our Attitude Toward Peace Itself. Too Many Of Us Think It Is Impossible. Too Many Think It Unreal. But That Is A Dangerous, Defeatist Belief. It Leads To The Conclusion That War Is Inevitable, That Mankind Is Doomed, That We Are Gripped By Forces We Cannot Control. We Need Not Accept That View. Our Problems Are Manmade; Therefore They Can Be Solved By Man. And Man Can Be As Big As Be Wants. No Problem Of Human Destiny Is Beyond Human Beings.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

The New And Terrible Dangers Which Man Has Created Can Only Be Controlled By Man.

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

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.

But However Close We Sometimes Seem To That Dark And Final Abyss, Let No Man Of Peace And Freedom Despair. For He Does Not Stand Alone.

The Greeks Understood That Mind And Body Must Develop In Harmounious Proportions To Produce A Creative Intelligence.

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

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

The Future Promise Of Any Nation Can Be Directly Measured By The Present Prospects Of Its Youth.

'the Green Beret' Is Again Becoming A Symbol Of Excellence, A Badge Of Courage, A Mark Of Distinction In The Fight For Freedom. I Know The United States Army Will Live Up To Its Reputation For Imagination, Resourcefulness, And Spirit As We Meet This Challenge.

Acting On Our Own, By Ourselves, We Cannot Establish Justice Throughout The World, But Joined With Other Free Nations, We Can ... Assist The Developing Nations To Throw Off The Yoke Of Poverty.

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

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

A Child Miseducated Is A Child Lost.

In Our Democracy Every Young Person Should Have An Equal Opportunity To Obtain A Higher Education, Regardless Of His Station In Life Or Financial Means.

While They Came From A Variety Of Religious Backgrounds And Held A Wide Variety Of Religious Beliefs, Each Of Our Presidents In His Own Way Has Placed A Special Trust In God.

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

Libraries Should Be Open To All - Except The Censor.

Censorship In Books

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

I Am Flatly Opposed To Appointment Of An Ambassador To The Vatican. Whatever Advantages It Might Have In Rome - And I'm Not Convinced Of These - They Would Be More Than Offset By The Divisive Effect At Home.

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.

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.

Be Aware Of Danger-but Recognize The Opportunity

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