Top 500 John F. Kennedy Quotes (2025 Update)
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51. “Without debate, without criticism no administration and no country can succeed and no republic can survive.”

— John F. Kennedy

52. “We must use time as a tool, not as a couch.”

— John F. Kennedy

53. “Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life.”

— John F. Kennedy

54. “Physical Fitness is the basis for all other forms of excellence.”

— John F. Kennedy

55. “The human mind is our fundamental resource.”

— John F. Kennedy

56. “A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.”

— John F. Kennedy

57. “If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.”

— John F. Kennedy

58. “Intelligence and skill can only function at the peak of their capacity when the body is healthy and strong.”

— John F. Kennedy

59. “It is not our wealth that built our roads, but it is our roads that built our wealth.”

— John F. Kennedy

60. “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

61. “Real men stay faithful. They don’t have time to look for other women because they’re too busy looking for new ways to love their own.”

— John F. Kennedy

62. “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

63. “According to the ancient Chinese proverb, A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

— John F. Kennedy

64. “If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be of no help.”

— John F. Kennedy

65. “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.”

— John F. Kennedy

66. “The problems with this world cannot possibly be solved by sceptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need people who can dream of things that never were.”

— John F. Kennedy

67. “We can have faith in the future only if we have faith in ourselves.”

— John F. Kennedy

68. “There’s a plot in this country to enslave every man, woman, and child. Before I leave this high and noble office, I intend to expose this plot.”

— John F. Kennedy

69. “I think the success of any school can be measured by the contribution the alumni make to our national life.”

— John F. Kennedy

70. “Everywhere immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life.”

— John F. Kennedy

71. “Great crises produce great men and great deeds of courage.”

— John F. Kennedy

72. “I’m an idealist without illusions.”

— John F. Kennedy

73. “The only reason to give a speech is to change the world.”

— John F. Kennedy

74. “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

75. “So let us begin anew – remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof.”

— John F. Kennedy

76. “Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.”

— John F. Kennedy

77. “Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.”

— John F. Kennedy

78. “We must seek, above all, a world of peace; a world in which peoples dwell together in mutual respect and work together in mutual regard.”

— John F. Kennedy

79. “Here on earth, God’s work must surely be our own.”

— John F. Kennedy

80. “Sincerity is always subject to proof.”

— John F. Kennedy

81. “Only an educated and informed people will be a free people.”

— John F. Kennedy

82. “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.”

— John F. Kennedy

83. “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.”

— John F. Kennedy

84. “We must abolish nuclear weapons, or they will abolish us.”

— John F. Kennedy

85. “The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.”

— John F. Kennedy

86. “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

87. “The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.”

— John F. Kennedy

88. “The future promise of any nation can be directly measured by the present prospects of its youth.”

— John F. Kennedy

89. “The best road to progress is freedom’s road.”

— John F. Kennedy

90. “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

91. “Time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life.”

— John F. Kennedy

92. “When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.”

— John F. Kennedy

93. “Liberty without Learning is always in peril and Learning without Liberty is always in vain.”

— John F. Kennedy

94. “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

95. “Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.”

— John F. Kennedy

96. “The greater our knowledge increases the more our ignorance unfolds.”

— John F. Kennedy

97. “Failure has no friends.”

— John F. Kennedy

98. “Those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.”

— John F. Kennedy

99. “The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your powers along lines of excellence.”

— John F. Kennedy

100. “Everything changes but change itself.”

— John F. Kennedy