110+ John F. Kennedy Quotes On Democracy, Change And Roads

John F. Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the youngest person to be elected to the office and the first Roman Catholic president. He was known for his charisma and ability to inspire the nation with his powerful speeches. Following is our collection on famous quotes by John F. Kennedy on democracy, leadership, change.

Top 10 John F. Kennedy Quotes

1. Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.
2. Don't ever take a fence down until you know the reason why it was put up.
3. This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor.
4. No responsibility of government is more fundamental than the responsibility of maintaining the highest standard of ethical behavior for those who conduct the public business.
5. Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.
6. 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.
7. Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
8. Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.
9. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
10. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.

John F. Kennedy Short Quotes

• Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.
• Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.
• Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.
• One person can make a difference and everyone should try.
• Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.
• I will splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it into the winds.
• Hold fast to the best of the past and move fast to the best of the future.
• I would rather be accused of breaking precedents than breaking promises.
• We must use time as a tool, not as a couch.
• Sometimes party loyalty asks too much.

John F. Kennedy Quotes About Democracy

The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all. — John F. Kennedy

Democracy may not be perfect, but at least I don't have to build a wall to keep my people in. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

Our labor unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups. They have raised wages, shortened hours, and provided supplemental benefits. Through collective bargaining and grievance procedures, they have brought justice and democracy to the shop floor. — John F. Kennedy

Democracy is the superior form of government, because it is based on a respect for man as a reasonable being. — John F. Kennedy

We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

There is an old saying that the course of civilization is a race between catastrophe and education. In a democracy such as ours, we must make sure that education wins the race. — John F. Kennedy

Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put up a wall to keep our people in. — John F. Kennedy

Justice delayed is democracy denied. — John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Quotes About Leadership

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

It is time for a new generation of leadership. — John F. Kennedy

It is time for a new generation of leadership, to cope with new problems and new opportunities. For there is a new world to be won. — John F. Kennedy

The leadership of the American Legion has not had a constructive thought for the benefit of this country since 1918. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space. — John F. Kennedy

The only valid test of leadership is the ability to lead, and lead vigorously. — John F. Kennedy

I was born an American, I live like an American, I will die an American. — John F. Kennedy

The Jewish people, ever since David slew Goliath, have never considered youth as a barrier to leadership. — John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Quotes About Change

A great change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all. — John F. Kennedy

In a time of turbulence and change, it is more true than ever that knowledge is power. — John F. Kennedy

Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. — John F. Kennedy

Time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. — John F. Kennedy

Let us resolve to be masters, not the victims, of our history, controlling our own destiny without giving way to blind suspicions and emotions. — John F. Kennedy

Everything changes but change itself. — John F. Kennedy

Nuclear weapons are so destructive and ballistic missiles are so swift, that any substantially increased possibility of their use or any sudden change in their deployment may well be regarded as a definite threat to peace. — John F. Kennedy

There is nothing more certain and unchanging than uncertainty and change. — John F. Kennedy

For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future. — John F. Kennedy

The only reason to give a speech is to change the world. — John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Quotes About Roads

The best road to progress is freedom's road. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

Just because we cannot see clearly te end of the road, that is no reason for not setting out on the essential journey. — John F. Kennedy

It is not our wealth that built our roads, but it is our roads that built our wealth. — John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Quotes About Education

The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth. — John F. Kennedy

All of us do not have equal talent, but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop our talent. — John F. Kennedy

Liberty without Learning is always in peril and Learning without Liberty is always in vain. — John F. Kennedy

Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource. — John F. Kennedy

Intelligence and skill can only function at the peak of their capacity when the body is healthy and strong. — John F. Kennedy

Remember that our nation's first great leaders were also our first great scholars. — John F. Kennedy

The earth, the sea and air are the concern of every nation. And science, technology, and education can be the ally of every nation. — John F. Kennedy

Not everyone has equal abilities, but everyone should have equal opportunity for education. — John F. Kennedy

Harvard gave me an education, but Junior Chamber gave me an education for life. — John F. Kennedy

It might be said now that I have the best of both worlds: a Harvard education and a Yale degree. — John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Quotes About Communism

For if Freedom and Communism were to compete for mans allegiance in a world at peace, I would look to the future with ever increasing confidence. — John F. Kennedy

Communism has never come to power in a country that was not disrupted by war or corruption, or both. — John F. Kennedy

The most powerful single force in the world today is neither Communism nor Capitalism, neither the H-bomb nor the guided missile -- it is man's eternal desire to be free and independent. — John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Quotes About War

Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind. — John F. Kennedy

It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war. — John F. Kennedy

War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

We will not prematurely or unnecessarily risk the costs of a worldwide nuclear war in which even the fruits of victory would be ashes in our mouth - but neither shall we shrink from that risk any time it must be faced. — John F. Kennedy

The war against hunger is truly mankind's war of liberation. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Quotes About Peace

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. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

Anyone who can solve the problems of water will be worthy of two Nobel prizes - one for peace and one for science. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

Events of October 1962 indicated, as they had all through history, that control of the sea means security. Control of the seas can mean peace. Control of the seas can mean victory. The United States must control the seas if it is to protect your security. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

Food is strength, and food is peace, and food is freedom, and food is a helping hand to people around the world whose good will and friendship we want. — John F. Kennedy

I speak of peace, therefore, as the necessary rational end of rational men. I realize the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war... But we have no more urgent task. — John F. Kennedy

[War] can no longer be of concern to great powers alone. — John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Quotes About Vision

We need men who can dream of things that never were. — John F. Kennedy

If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

In serving his vision of the truth, the artist best serves his nation. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

I see little of more importance to the future of our country and of civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist. If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. — John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Quotes About World

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. — John F. Kennedy

Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future. — John F. Kennedy

If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. — John F. Kennedy

The basic problems facing the world today are not susceptible to a military solution. — John F. Kennedy

The high office of the President has been used to foment a plot to destroy the American's freedom and before I leave office, I must inform the citizens of this plight. — John F. Kennedy

We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world or to make it the last. — John F. Kennedy

Immigration policy should be generous; it should be fair; it should be flexible. With such a policy we can turn to the world, and to our own past, with clean hands and a clear conscience. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

The wave of the future is not the conquest of the world by a single dogmatic creed but the liberation of the diverse energies of free nations and free men. — John F. Kennedy

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! — John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Quotes About Life

Don't pray for an easy life, pray to be a stronger man. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

I am sorry to say that there is too much point to the wisecrack that life is extinct on other planets because their scientists were more advanced than ours. — John F. Kennedy

Everywhere immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life. — John F. Kennedy

The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your powers along lines of excellence. — John F. Kennedy

Whatever one's religion in his private life may be, for the officeholder, nothing takes precedence over his oath to uphold the Constitution and all its parts - including the First Amendment and the strict separation of church and state. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

Once you say you're going to settle for second, that's what happens to you in life. — John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Quotes About Nation

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. — John F. Kennedy

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 — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

The US Airforce assures me that UFO's pose no threat to National Security. — John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Quotes About People

We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

Anyone who is honestly seeking a job and can't find it, deserves the attention of the United States government, and the people. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

The New Frontier I speak of is not a set of promises -- it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intent to ask of them. — John F. Kennedy

The labor movement is people. Our unions have brought millions of men and women together, made them members one of another, and given them common tools for common goals. Their goals are goals for all America - and their enemies are the enemies for progress. The two cannot be separated. — John F. Kennedy

Members of the Congress, the Constitution makes us not rivals for power but partners for progress. We are all trustees for the American people, custodians of the American heritage. It is my task to report the State of the Union--to improve it is the task of us all. — John F. Kennedy

So let us persevere. Peace need not be impracticable, and war need not be inevitable. By defining our goal more clearly, by making it seem more manageable and less remote, we can help all peoples to see it, to draw hope from it, and to move irresistibly toward it. — John F. Kennedy

Peace does not rest in charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of the people. — John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Famous Quotes And Sayings

The Republican Party can lead any person to believe that their promises will be fulfilled in the future. They follow the Hitler line – no matter how big the lie; repeat it often enough and the masses will regard it as truth. — John F. Kennedy

There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

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, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others. — John F. Kennedy

The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie--deliberate, contrived and dishonest--but the myth--persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are. 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. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

I hope that no American will waste his franchise and throw away his vote by voting either for me or against me solely on account of my religious affiliation. It is not relevant. — John F. Kennedy

According to the ancient Chinese proverb, A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

Every area of trouble gives out a ray of hope; and the one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable. — John F. Kennedy

Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal. — John F. Kennedy

Too often we... enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. — John F. Kennedy

You never know what's hit you. A gunshot is the perfect way. — John F. Kennedy

History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future. To try to hold fast is to be swept aside. — John F. Kennedy

Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the industrial revolution, the first waves of modern invention and the first wave of nuclear power. And this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. We mean to be part of it-we mean to lead it. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

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 — John F. Kennedy

I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end... where every man has the same right to attend or not attend the church of his choice. — John F. Kennedy

A boy spends his time finding a girl to sleep with. A real man spends his time looking for the one worth waking up to. — John F. Kennedy

Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

Civility is not a sign of weakness. — John F. Kennedy

As they say on my own Cape Cod, a rising tide lifts all the boats. And a partnership, by definition, serves both partners, without domination or unfair advantage. Together we have been partners in adversitylet us also be partners in prosperity. — John F. Kennedy

O God, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small. — John F. Kennedy

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.' — John F. Kennedy

I know there is a God - I see the storm coming and I see his hand in it - if he has a place then I am ready - we see the hand. — John F. Kennedy

By the age of six the average child will have completed the basic American education.... From television, the child will have learned how to pick a lock, commit a fairly elaborate bank holdup, prevent wetness all day long, get the laundry twice as white, and kill people with a variety of sophisticated armaments. — John F. Kennedy

The rising tide lifts all the boats. — John F. Kennedy

The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God. — John F. Kennedy

First, what does truth require? It requires us to face the facts as they are, not to involve ourselves in self-deception; to refuse to think merely in slogans. If we are to work for the future of the city, let us deal with the realities as they actually are, not as they might have been, and not as we wish they were. — John F. Kennedy

The unity of freedom has never relied on uniformity of opinion. — John F. Kennedy

When written in Chinese, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

A tax cut means higher family income and higher business profits and a balanced federal budget. — John F. Kennedy

For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe -- the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

Ask not that the journey be easy; ask instead that it be worth it. — John F. Kennedy

We must abolish nuclear weapons, or they will abolish us. — John F. Kennedy

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. — John F. Kennedy

Politics is a jungle-torn between doing the right thing and staying in office. — John F. Kennedy

Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride. — John F. Kennedy

Persons are judged to be great because of the positive qualities they possess, not because of the absence of faults. — John F. Kennedy

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.' — John F. Kennedy

A child miseducated is a child lost. — John F. Kennedy

Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan. — John F. Kennedy

History will never accept difficulties as an excuse. — John F. Kennedy

Life Lessons by John F. Kennedy

1. John F. Kennedy taught us to never give up on our dreams and to always strive for greatness. He also showed us the importance of leading by example and of having the courage to make difficult decisions. Finally, he demonstrated the power of hope and optimism, and how they can be used to inspire and motivate others.