Top 500 John F. Kennedy Quotes (2025 Update)
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151. “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 of the nation.”

— John F. Kennedy

152. “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.”

— John F. Kennedy

153. “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.”

— John F. Kennedy

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

— John F. Kennedy

155. “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

156. “Diplomacy and defense are not substitutes for one another. Either alone would fail.”

— John F. Kennedy

157. “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

158. “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

159. “It is our task in our time and in our generation, to hand down undiminished to those who come after us, as was handed down to us by those who went before, the natural wealth and beauty which is ours.”

— John F. Kennedy

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

— John F. Kennedy

161. “Moral courage is more a rare commodity than bravery in a battle or great intelligence.”

— John F. Kennedy

162. “We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation.”

— John F. Kennedy

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

— John F. Kennedy

164. “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

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

— John F. Kennedy

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

— John F. Kennedy

167. “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.”

— John F. Kennedy

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

— John F. Kennedy

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

— John F. Kennedy

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

— John F. Kennedy

171. “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

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

— John F. Kennedy

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

— John F. Kennedy

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

— John F. Kennedy

175. “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

176. “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

177. “When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.”

— John F. Kennedy

178. “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

179. “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

180. “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

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

— John F. Kennedy

182. “The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring this endeavor will light our bounty and all who serve it, and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.”

— John F. Kennedy

183. “Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.”

— John F. Kennedy

184. “Jika politik itu kotor, puisi akan membersihkannya. Jika politik bengkok, sastra akan meluruskannya.”

— John F. Kennedy

185. “Forbidden fruit tastes sweet, but its aftertaste is bitter.”

— John F. Kennedy

186. “We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”

— John F. Kennedy

187. “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

188. “Compromise does not mean cowardice.”

— John F. Kennedy

189. “No one gains from fair employment law and legislation if there is no employment to be had.”

— John F. Kennedy

190. “Foreign aid is a method by which the United States maintains a position of influence and control around the world.”

— John F. Kennedy

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

— John F. Kennedy

192. “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

193. “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

194. “Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.”

— John F. Kennedy

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

— John F. Kennedy

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

— John F. Kennedy

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

— John F. Kennedy

198. “A child miseducated is a child lost.”

— John F. Kennedy

199. “Our growing softness, our increasing lack of physical fitness, is a menace to our security.”

— John F. Kennedy

200. “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