Background Image

...

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.

-John F. Kennedy

...

Please Wait....
Translating....

This Is One Country.

John F. Kennedy

...

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.

Views: 97842

Topic

More From John F. Kennedy

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

Compromise Does Not Mean Cowardice.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

The Leadership Of The American Legion Has Not Had A Constructive Thought For The Benefit Of This Country Since 1918.

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.

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

Diplomacy And Defense Are Not Substitutes For One Another. Either Alone Would Fail.

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.

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.

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.

To State The Facts Frankly Is Not To Despair The Future Nor Indict The Past. The Prudent Heir Takes Careful Inventory Of His Legacies And Gives A Faithful Accounting To Those Whom He Owes An Obligation Of Trust.

And So It Is That I Carry With Me From This State To That High And Lonely Office To Which I Now Succeed More Than Fond Memories And Fast Friendships. The Enduring Qualities Of Massachusetts - The Common Threads Woven By The Pilgrim And The Puritan, The Fisherman And The Farmer, The Yankee And The Immigrant - Will Not Be And Could Not Be Forgotten In The Nations Executive Mansion. They Are An Indelible Part Of My Life, My Convictions, My View Of The Past, My Hopes For The Future.

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.

The Very Word 'secrecy' Is Repugnant In A Free And Open Society; And We Are As A People Inherently And Historically Opposed To Secret Societies, To Secret Oaths, And To Secret Proceedings.

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.

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.

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

If All Of You Had Voted The Other Way - There's About 5500 Of You Here Tonight - I Would Not Be The President Of The United States.

This Nation Was Founded By Men Of Many Nations And Backgrounds. It Was Founded On The Principle That All Men Are Created Equal, And That The Rights Of Every Man Are Diminished When The Rights Of One Man Are Threatened ... It Ought To To Be Possible, In Short, For Every American To Enjoy The Privileges Of Being American Without Regard To His Race Or His Color.

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

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.

My Fellow Americans, Let Us Take That First Step. Let Us...step Back From The Shadow Of War And Seek Out The Way Of Peace. And If That Journey Is A Thousand Miles, Or Even More, Let History Record That We, In This Land, At This Time, Took The First Step.

Courage--judgment--integrity--dedication--these Are The Historic Qualities Of The Bay Colony And The Bay State....and These Are The Qualities Which, With God's Help, This Son Of Massachusetts Hopes Will Characterize Our Government's Conduct In The Four Stormy Years That Lie Ahead.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

The Civil Rights Movement Should Thank God For Bull Connor. He's Helped It As Much As Abraham Lincoln.

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.

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!'

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

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.

We Stand Today On The Edge Of A New Frontier.

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

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

Were Not Meant To Be

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Sometimes Party Loyalty Asks Too Much.

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.

Wherever There Is Smoke There Is A Good Smoke Machine.

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.

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

Those Who Foolishly Sought Power By Riding The Back Of The Tiger Ended Up Inside

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

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

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.

I Would Encourage Every American To Walk As Often As Possible. It's More Than Healthy; It's Fun.

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

Third, And Finally, The Educated Citizen Has An Obligation To Uphold The Law. This Is The Obligation Of Every Citizen In A Free And Peaceful Society--but The Educated Citizen Has A Special Responsibility By The Virtue Of His Greater Understanding. For Whether He Has Ever Studied History Or Current Events, Ethics Or Civics, The Rules Of A Profession Or The Tools Of A Trade, He Knows That Only A Respect For The Law Makes It Possible For Free Men To Dwell Together In Peace And Progress.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

It Takes Two To Make Peace.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

A Journey To Thousand Miles Begins With One Step

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

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.

Nothing Compares To The Simple Pleasure Of A Bike Ride.

Riding Your Bike

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

The Basis Of Effective Government Is Public Confidence.

Ethical Standards

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

I Really Don't Know Why It Is That All Of Us Are So Committed To The Sea, Except I Think It Is Because In Addition To The Fact That The Sea Changes And The Light Changes, And Ships Change, It Is Because We All Came From The Sea. And It Is An Interesting Biological Fact That All Of Us Have, In Our Veins The Exact Same Percentage Of Salt In Our Blood That Exists In The Ocean, And, Therefore, We Have Salt In Our Blood, In Our Sweat, In Our Tears. We Are Tied To The Ocean. And When We Go Back To The Sea, Whether It Is To Sail Or To Watch It We Are Going Back From Whence We Came.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Here On Earth, God's Work Must Surely Be Our Own.

Be Strong And Of Good Courage; Be Not Afraid, Neither Be Thou Dismayed.

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.

America Has Tossed Its Cap Over The Wall Of Space.

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

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

With All Of The History Of War, And The Human Race's History Unfortunately Has Been A Good Deal More War Than Peace, With Nuclear Weapons Distributed All Through The World, And Available, And The Strong Reluctance Of Any People To Accept Defeat, I See The Possibility In The 1970's Of The President Of The United States Having To Face A World In Which 15 Or 20 Or 25 Nations May Have These Weapons.

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

Political Action Is The Highest Responsibility Of A Citizen.

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

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

We Dare Not Forget That We Are The Heirs Of That First Revolution.

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

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

But I Think It Is Also Important That We Pay Tribute And Acknowledge Another Great Principle, And That Is The Principle Of Religious Conviction. Religious Freedom Has No Significance Unless It Is Accompanied By Conviction.

... The Athenian Lawmaker Solon Decreed It A Crime For Any Citizen To Shrink From Controversy.

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

Guiding Principles

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

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

The 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.

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.

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

The Very Word "secrecy" Is Repugnant In A Free And Open Society; And We Are As A People Inherently And Historically Opposed To Secret Societies, To Secret Oaths And To Secret Proceedings. We Decided Long Ago That The Dangers Of Excessive And Unwarranted Concealment Of Pertinent Facts Far Outweighed The Dangers Which Are Cited To Justify It. Even Today, There Is Little Value In Opposing The Threat Of A Closed Society By Imitating Its Arbitrary Restrictions. Even Today, There Is Little Value In Insuring The Survival Of Our Nation If Our Traditions Do Not Survive With It.

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

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

[high Income Tax Rates] Not Only Check Consumption But Discourage Investment And Encourage...the Avoidance Of Taxes [rather] Than The Production Of Goods.[...]our Present Tax System...reduces The Financial Incentives For Personal Effort, Investment, And Risk-taking.

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.

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.

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

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 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.

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

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.

Children Are The World's Most Valuable Resource And Its Best Hope For The Future.

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.

According To The Ancient Chinese Proverb, A Journey Of A Thousand Miles Must Begin With A Single Step.

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

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.

A Young Man Who Does Not Have What It Takes To Perform Military Service Is Not Likely To Have What It Takes To Make A Living. Today's Military Rejects Include Tomorrow's Hard-core Unemployed.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Peace Is A Process, A Way Of Solving Problems

Problem Solving

The Education Of Our People Should Be A Lifelong Process By Which We Continue To Feed New Vigor Into The Lifestream Of The Nation Through Intelligent, Reasoned Decisions. Let Us Not Think Of Education Only In Terms Of Its Costs, But Rather In Terms Of The Infinite Potential Of The Human Mind That Can Be Realized Through Education. Let Us Think Of Education As The Means Of Developing Our Greatest Abilities, Because In Each Of Us There Is A Private Hope And Dream Which, Fulfilled, Can Be Translated Into Benefit For Everyone And Greater Strength For Our Nation.

Conformity Is The Jailer Of Freedom And The Enemy Of Growth.

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

It Is Increasingly Clear That No Matter What Party Is In Power, So Long As Our National Security Needs Keep Rising, An Economy Hampered By Restrictive Tax Rates Will Never Produce Enough Jobs Or Enough Profits.

The True Democracy, Living And Growing And Inspiring, Puts Its Faith In The People - Faith That The People Will Not Simply Elect Men Who Will Represent Their Views Ably And Faithfully, But Will Also Elect Men Who Will Exercise Their Conscientious Judgment - Faith That The People Will Not Condemn Those Whose Devotion To Principle Leads Them To Unpopular Courses, But Will Reward Courage, Respect Honor, And Ultimately Recognize Right.

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

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

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

Life Being Hard

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

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.

The Rising Tide Lifts All The Boats.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

Success Has Many Fathers.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

This Government, As Promised, Has Maintained The Closest Surveillance Of The Soviet Military Buildup On The Island Of Cuba. Within The Past Week, Unmistakable Evidence Has Established The Fact That A Series Of Offensive Missile Sites Is Now In Preparation On That Imprisoned Island. The Purpose Of These Bases Can Be None Other Than To Provide A Nuclear Strike Capability Against The Western Hemisphere.

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.

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.

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.

Show Me A Man With A Great Golf Game, And I’ll Show You A Man Who Has Been Neglecting Something.

To Exclude From Positions Of Trust And Command All Those Below The Age Of 44 Would Have Kept Jefferson From Writing The Declaration Of Independence, Washington From Commanding The Continental Army, Madison From Fathering The Constitution, Hamilton From Serving As Secretary Of The Treasury, Clay From Being Elected Speaker Of The House And Christopher Columbus From Discovering America.

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.

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.'

There Is Nothing, I Think, More Unfortunate Than To Have Soft, Chubby, Fat-looking Children Who Go To Watch Their School Play Basketball Every Saturday And Regard That As Their Weeks Exercise.

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.

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.

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.

There Is A Terrific Disadvantage In Not Having The Abrasive Quality Of The Press Applied To You Daily. Even Though We Never Like It, And Even Though We Wish They Didn't Write It, And Even Though We Disapprove, There Isn't Any Doubt That We Could Not Do The Job At All In A Free Society Without A Very, Very Active Press.

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.

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

Only In The Case Of The Negro Has The Melting Pot Failed To Bring A Minority Into The Full Stream Of American Life.

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.

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.

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

I Would Rather Be Accused Of Breaking Precedents Than Breaking Promises.

Broken Promises

Keeping Your Word

Breaking Promises

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 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.

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

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.

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

Future Thinking

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

Knowledge Is Power

Trending Author

William E. Simon

Category