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No President Should Fear Public Scrutiny Of His Program. For From That Scrutiny Comes Understanding; And From That Understanding Comes Support Or Opposition And Both Are Necessary. I Am Not Asking Your Newspapers To Support The Administration, But I Am Asking Your Help In The Tremendous Task Of Informing And Alerting The American People. For I Have Complete Confidence In The Response And Dedication Of Our Citizens Whenever They Are Fully Informed.

-John F. Kennedy

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No President Should Fear

John F. Kennedy

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No President Should Fear Public Scrutiny Of His Program. For From That Scrutiny Comes Understanding; And From That Understanding Comes Support Or Opposition And Both Are Necessary. I Am Not Asking Your Newspapers To Support The Administration, But I Am Asking Your Help In The Tremendous Task Of Informing And Alerting The American People. For I Have Complete Confidence In The Response And Dedication Of Our Citizens Whenever They Are Fully Informed.

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Football Today Is Far Too Much A Sport For The Few Who Can Play It Well; The Rest Of Us, And Too Many Of Our Children, Get Out Exercise From Climbing Up The Seats In Stadiums, Or From Walking Across The Room To Turn On Our Television Sets.

Lets Talk To One Another Instead Of About One Another.

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

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

The Problem Of Power Is How To Achieve Its Responsible Use Rather Than Its Irresponsible And Indulgent Use; Of How To Get Men Of Power To Live For The Public Rather Than Off The Public.

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

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.

All This Will Not Be Finished In The First One Hundred Days. Nor Will It Be Finished In The First One Thousand Days . . .nor Even Perhaps In Our Lifetime On This Planet. But Let Us Begin.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

It Is A Paradoxical Truth That Tax Rates Are Too High And Tax Revenues Are Too Low And The Soundest Way To Raise The Revenues In The Long Run Is To Cut The Rates Now Cutting Taxes Now Is Not To Incur A Budget Deficit, But To Achieve The More Prosperous, Expanding Economy Which Can Bring A Budget Surplus.

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

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

Those Who Dare To Fail Miserably Can Achieve Greatly.

I Think This Is The Most Extraordinary Collection Of Talent, Of Human Knowledge, That Has Ever Been Gathered At The White House - With The Possible Exception Of When Thomas Jefferson Dined Alone.

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.

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.

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.

This Is A Great Country And Requires A Good Deal Of All Of Us, So I Can Imagine Nothing More Important Than For All Of You To Continue To Work In Public Affairs And Be Interested In Them, Not Only To Bring Up A Family, But Also Give Part Of Your Time To Your Community, Your State, And Your Country.

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

We Can Have Faith In The Future Only If We Have Faith In Ourselves.

World Peace, Like Community Peace, Does Not Require That Each Man Love His Neighbor - It Requires Only That They Live Together With Mutual Tolerance, Submitting Their Disputes To A Just And Peaceful Settlement.

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.

Let Us Welcome Controversial Books And Controversial Authors.

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.

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

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

If I Had To Live My Life Over Again, I Would Have A Different Father, A Different Wife And A Different Religion.

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

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

Privilege Is Here, And With Privilege Goes Responsibility.

Let Us Never Negotiate Out Of Fear. But Let Us Never Fear To Negotiate.

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

One Of The Best Ways To Expand His Horizon Is Through A Regular Reading Program.

No One Has Been Barred On Account Of His Race From Fighting Or Dying For America, There Are No White Or Colored Signs On The Foxholes Or Graveyards Of Battle.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Let The Word Go Forth From This Time And Place, To Friend And Foe Alike, That The Torch Has Been Passed To A New Generation Of Americans - Born In This Century, Tempered By War, Disciplined By A Hard And Bitter Peace.

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?

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.

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.

I Can Assure You That Every Degree Of Mind And Spirit That I Possess Will Be Devoted To The Long-range Interests Of The United States And To The Cause Of Freedom Around The World.

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.

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.

No President Should Fear Public Scrutiny Of His Program. For From That Scrutiny Comes Understanding; And From That Understanding Comes Support Or Opposition And Both Are Necessary. I Am Not Asking Your Newspapers To Support The Administration, But I Am Asking Your Help In The Tremendous Task Of Informing And Alerting The American People. For I Have Complete Confidence In The Response And Dedication Of Our Citizens Whenever They Are Fully Informed.

That Is Why The Aethenian Law Makers So Decreed It A Crime For Any Citizen To Shrink From Controversy. I Am Asking Your Help In The Tremendous Task Of Informing And Alerting The American People. Confident That With Your Help, Man Will Be What He Was Born To Be, Free And Independent.

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.

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.

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

Motivational Sports

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

The Most Effective Means Of Upholding The Law Is Not The State Policeman Or The Marshals Or The National Guard. It Is You. It Lies In Your Courage To Accept Those Laws With Which You Disagree As Well As Those With Which You Agree.

In Serving His Vision Of The Truth, The Artist Best Serves His Nation.

Sometimes Party Loyalty Asks Too Much.

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

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

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

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.

Harvard Gave Me An Education, But Junior Chamber Gave Me An Education For Life.

I'm An Idealist Without Illusions.

Democracy May Not Be Perfect, But At Least I Don't Have To Build A Wall To Keep My People In.

May Not Be Perfect

My Call Is Not To Those Who Believe They Belong To The Past. My Call Is To Those Who Believe In The Future.

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

O God, Thy Sea Is So Great And My Boat Is So Small.

I Ask Particularly That Those Of You Who Are Now In School Will Prepare Yourselves To Bear The Burden Of Leadership Over The Next 40 Years Here In The United States, And Make Sure That The United States - Which I Believe Almost Alone Has Maintained Watch And Ward For Freedom - That The United States Meet Its Responsibility. That Is A Wonderful Challenge For Us As A People.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

And This Nation, For All Its Hopes And All Its Boasts, Will Not Be Fully Free Until All Its Citizens Are Free.

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.

This Country Cannot Afford To Be Materially Rich And Spiritually Poor.

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.

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.

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

I Am Talking About Genuine Peace, The Kind Of Peace That Makes Life On Earth Worth Living, The Kind That Enables Men And Nations To Grow And To Hope And To Build A Better Life For Their Children - Not Merely Peace For Americans But Peace For All Men And Women - Not Merely Peace In Our Time But Peace For All Time.

Probably The Greatest Concentration Of Talent And Genius In This House Except For Perhaps Those Times When Thomas Jefferson Ate Alone.

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.

It Is Time For A New Generation Of Leadership.

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

Compromise Does Not Mean Cowardice.

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.

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

Future Thinking

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.

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

If More Politicians Knew Poetry, And More Poets Knew Politics, I Am Convinced The World Would Be A Little Better Place In Which To Live.

The World Was Not Meant To Be A Prison In Which Man Awaits His Execution.

Were Not Meant To Be

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

To Further The Appreciation Of Culture Among All The People, To Increase Respect For The Creative Individual, To Widen Participation By All The Processes And Fulfillments Of Artthis Is One Of The Fascinating Challenges Of These Days.

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.

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

'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.

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

I Dont Think That Unless A Greater Effort Is Made By The Government To Win Popular Support That The War Can Be Won Out There. In The Final Analysis, It Is Their War. They Are The Ones Who Have To Win It Or Lose It. We Can Help Them, We Can Give Them Equipment, We Can Send Our Men Out There As Advisers, But They Have To Win It, The People Of Viet-nam, Against The Communists.

The Chinese Use Two Brush Strokes To Write The Word 'crisis.' One Brush Stroke Stands For Danger; The Other For Opportunity. In A Crisis, Be Aware Of The Danger--but Recognize The Opportunity.

Last Year, More Americans Went To Symphonies Than Went To Baseball Games. This May Be Viewed As An Alarming Statistic, But I Think That Both Baseball And The Country Will Endure.

Never Have The Nations Of The World Had So Much To Lose, Or So Much To Gain. Together We Shall Save Our Planet, Or Together We Shall Perish In Its Flames.

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

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.

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

Life Being Hard

Whatever The Political Affiliation Of Our Next President, Whatever His Views May Be On All The Issues And Problems That Rush In Upon Us, He Must Above All Be The Chief Executive In Every Sense Of The Word.

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.

I Am Not The Catholic Candidate For President. I Am The Democratic Party's Candidate For President, Who Happens Also To Be A Catholic.

If We Cannot Now End Our Differences, At Least We Can Help Make The World Safe For Diversity.

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

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

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

Physical Fitness Is The Basis For All Other Forms Of Excellence.

Physical Fitness

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

Great Crises Produce Great Men, And Great Deeds Of Courage.

The Greater Our Knowledge Increases The More Our Ignorance Unfolds.

I Have Asked The Secretary Of The Treasury To Report By April 1 On Whether Present Tax Laws May Be Stimulating In Undue Amounts The Flow Of American Capital To The Industrial Countries Abroad Through Special Preferential Treatment.

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

Dont Teach My Boy Poetry, An English Mother Recently Wrote The Provost Of Harrow. Dont Teach My Boy Poetry; He Is Going To Stand For Parliament. Well, Perhaps She Was Rightbut If More Politicians Knew Poetry, And More Poets Knew Politics, I Am Convinced The World Would Be A Little Better Place To Live On This Commencement Day Of 1956.

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.

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

The War Against Hunger Is Truly Mankind's War Of Liberation.

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

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.

The Us Airforce Assures Me That Ufo's Pose No Threat To National Security.

National Security

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.

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.

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... All This Will Not Be Finished In The First 100 Days. Nor Will It Be Finished In The First 1000 Days, Nor In The Life Of This Administration, Nor Even Perhaps In Our Lifetime On This Planet. But Let Us Begin... And So, My Fellow Americans: Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You - Ask What You Can Do For Your Country.

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.

Forgive Your Enemies, But Never Forget Their Names.

It Was Involuntary. They Sank My Boat.

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

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

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

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.

Art Establishes The Basic Human Truths Which Must Serve As The Touchstones Of Our Judgement. The Artist... Faithful To His Personal Vision Of Reality, Becomes The Last Champion Of The Individual Mind And Sensibility Against An Intrusive Society And An Offensive State.

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

The Kennedy Administration's Public Pronouncements On The Matter Suggested That The Presence Of Soviet Nuclear Missiles In Castro's Cuba Would Represent An Unacceptable Strategic Threat To The United States. . . . This Urgent Transformation Of Cuba Into An Important Strategic Base - By The Presence Of These Large, Long-range, And Clearly Offensive Weapons Of Sudden Mass-destruction - Constitutes An Explicit Threat To The Peace And Security Of All The Americas. . . .

Mass Destruction

When We Got Into Office, The Thing That Surprised Me Most Was To Find That Things Were Just As Bad As We'd Been Saying They Were.

Our Constitution Wisely Assigns Both Joint And Separate Roles To Each Branch Of The Government; And A President And A Congress Who Hold Each Other In Mutual Respect Will Neither Permit Nor Attempt Any Trespass.

Forbidden Fruit Tastes Sweet, But Its Aftertaste Is Bitter.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

Most Cities Are Nouns. New York's A Verb.

Now, As Never Before, Hundreds Of Millions Of Men And Women-who Had Formerly Believed That Stoic Resignation In The Face Of Hunger And Disease And Darkness Was The Best One Could Could Do-have Come Alive With A New Sense That The Means Are At Hand With Which To Make For Themselves A Better Life.

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.

Political Action Is The Highest Responsibility Of A Citizen.

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

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 Can Be No Progress If People Have No Faith In Tomorrow.

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!

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

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

Fail Miserably, Achieve Greatly!

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

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

Our Alliance Is Born, Not Of Fear, But Of Hope. It Is An Alliance That Advances What We Are For, As Well As Opposes What We Are Against.

Be Aware Of Danger-but Recognize The Opportunity

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.

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

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

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.

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

The Science Of Weapons And War Has Made Us All One World And One Human Race With One Common Destiny.

I Think The Success Of Any School Can Be Measured By The Contribution The Alumni Make To Our National Life.

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

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.

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 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.'

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.

My Brother Bob Doesn't Want To Be In Government - He Promised Dad He'd Go Straight.

Let Us Resolve To Be Masters, Not The Victims, Of Our History, Controlling Our Own Destiny Without Giving Way To Blind Suspicions And Emotions.

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

Harry Truman Once Said, 'there Are 14 Or 15 Million Americans Who Have The Resources To Have Representatives In Washington To Protect Their Interests, And That The Interests Of The Great Mass Of The Other People - The 150 Or 160 Million - Is The Responsibility Of The President Of The United States, And I Propose To Fulfill It.'

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I Want Every American To Be Free To Stand Up For His Rights, Even If Sometimes He Has To Sit Down For Them.

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.

I Believe In An America ... 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.

I Have Said That Control Of Arms Is A Mission That We Undertake Particularly For Our Children And Our Grandchildren And That They Have No Lobby In Washington.

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.

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.

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.

We Go Into Space Because Whatever Mankind Must Undertake, Free Men Must Fully Share.

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