Top 500 John F. Kennedy Quotes (2023 Update)
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151. “Moral courage is more a rare commodity than bravery in a battle or great intelligence.”

— John F. Kennedy

152. “Success has many fathers.”

— John F. Kennedy

153. “Domestic policy can only defeat us; foreign policy can kill us.”

— John F. Kennedy

154. “What really counts is not the immediate act of courage or of valor, but those who bear the struggle day in and day out – not the sunshine patriots but those who are willing to stand for a long period of time.”

— John F. Kennedy

155. “We would like to live as we once lived, but history will not permit it.”

— John F. Kennedy

156. “The supreme reality of our time is the vulnerability of our planet.”

— John F. Kennedy

157. “The Jewish people, ever since David slew Goliath, have never considered youth as a barrier to leadership.”

— John F. Kennedy

158. “I would rather be accused of breaking precedents than breaking promises.”

— John F. Kennedy

159. “Life in freedom is not easy, and democracy is not perfect.”

— John F. Kennedy

160. “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

161. “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.”

— John F. Kennedy

162. “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

163. “A country is as strong, really, as its citizens. And I think that mental and physical health – mental and physical vigor – go hand in hand.”

— John F. Kennedy

164. “When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.”

— John F. Kennedy

165. “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

166. “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.”

— John F. Kennedy

167. “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

168. “We in this country, in this generation, are, by destiny rather than choice, the watchmen on the walls of world freedom.”

— John F. Kennedy

169. “Those who do nothing are inviting shame as well as violence. Those who act boldly are recognizing right as well as reality.”

— John F. Kennedy

170. “There’s an old saying. Never send a boy to do a man’s job, send a lady.”

— John F. Kennedy

171. “Democracy is never a final achievement. It is a call to an untiring effort.”

— John F. Kennedy

172. “Compromise does not mean cowardice.”

— John F. Kennedy

173. “It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war.”

— John F. Kennedy

174. “This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor.”

— John F. Kennedy

175. “Our privileges can be no greater than our obligations. The protection of our rights can endure no longer than the performance of our responsibilities.”

— John F. Kennedy

176. “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

177. “Ask not that the journey be easy; ask instead that it be worth it.”

— John F. Kennedy

178. “Show me a man with a great golf game, and I’ll show you a man who has been neglecting something.”

— John F. Kennedy

179. “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

180. “Knowledge of the oceans is more than a matter of curiosity. Our very survival may hinge upon it.”

— John F. Kennedy

181. “Aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged, ultimately leads to war.”

— John F. Kennedy

182. “Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors.”

— John F. Kennedy

183. “The US Airforce assures me that UFO’s pose no threat to National Security.”

— John F. Kennedy

184. “A wall is a hell of a lot better than a war.”

— John F. Kennedy

185. “In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility – I welcome it.”

— John F. Kennedy

186. “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.”

— John F. Kennedy

187. “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.”

— John F. Kennedy

188. “The basis of effective government is public confidence, and that confidence is endangered when ethical standards falter or appear to falter.”

— John F. Kennedy

189. “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

190. “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.”

— John F. Kennedy

191. “Libraries should be open to all – except the censor.”

— John F. Kennedy

192. “Race has no place in American life or law.”

— John F. Kennedy

193. “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

194. “The state is the servant of the citizen, and not his master.”

— John F. Kennedy

195. “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.”

— John F. Kennedy

196. “Art is the great democrat, calling forth creative genius from every sector of society, disregarding race or religion or wealth or color.”

— John F. Kennedy

197. “If you want to truly understand something, try to change it.”

— John F. Kennedy

198. “The only significance of analyzing the past is that it does give us some key to the future.”

— John F. Kennedy

199. “Our problems are manmade – therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man’s reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable – and we believe they can do it again.”

— John F. Kennedy

200. “We go into space because whatever mankind must undertake, free men must fully share.”

— John F. Kennedy