John Fitzgerald Kennedy, (1917-1963), 35th US President Quotes
Our responsibility is not discharged by the announcement of virtuous ends.
Most of us are conditioned for many years to have a political viewpoint -- Republican or Democratic, liberal, conservative, or moderate. The fact of the matter is that most of the problems that we now face are technical problems, are administrative problems. They are very sophisticated judgments, which do not lend themselves to the great sort of passionate movements which have stirred this country so often in the past. They deal with questions which are now beyond the comprehension of most men.
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.
Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breath the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.
Every area of trouble gives out a ray of hope, and the one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable.
We are under-exercised as a nation. We look instead of play. We ride instead of walk. Our existence deprives us of the minimum of physical activity essential for healthy living.
I have just received the following wire from my generous Daddy. It says, "Dear Jack: Don't buy a single vote more than is necessary. I'll be damned if I am going to pay for a landslide.
When written in Chinese, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters -- one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.
With a good conscience our only sure reward... let us go forth to lead the land we love... knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.
If we cannot end our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity.