“If more politicians
knew poetry,
and more poets
knew politics,
I am convinced
the world would be
a little better place
in which to live.”
-- Speech at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 14
June 1956. Papers of John F. Kennedy. Pre-Presidential
Papers. Senate Files. Series 12.1. Speech Files, 19531960, Box 895, Folder: “Harvard University, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, 14 June 1956,” John F. Kennedy
Presidential Library.
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“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.
”
-- “Radio and Television Address to the American People
on the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (316),”
July 26, 1963, Public Papers of the Presidents:
John F. Kennedy, 1963.
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“To the extent that
artists struggle to express
beauty in form and color
and sound, to the extent
that they write about
man’s struggle with nature
or society, or himself,
to that extent they
strike a responsive chord
in all humanity.”
-- Remarks at a Closed-Circuit Television Broadcast on
Behalf of the National Cultural Center. Nov. 29, 1962.
(527.) Papers of the Presidents: John F. Kennedy.
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“Children are
the world’s
most valuable
resource and its
best hope
for the future.”
-- “Re: United States Committee for UNICEF July 25,
1963.” Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers.
White House Central Files. Chronological File. Series 1.
President’s Outgoing Executive Correspondence,
Box 11, Folder: “July 1963: 16-31,” JFKL.
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“We celebrate
the past to awaken
the future.”
-- Speech at the 25th Anniversary of the Signing of the
Social Security Act, Hyde Park, New York,
14 August 1960. Papers of John F. Kennedy.
Pre-Presidential Papers. Senate Files. Series 12.1.
Speech Files, 1953-1960, Box 910, Folder:
“25th Anniversary of the Signing of the Social Security
Act, Hyde Park, New York, 14 August 1960,” JFKL.
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“A man may die,
nations may rise
and fall, but
an idea lives on.”
-- “Remarks Recorded for the Opening of a USIA
Transmitter at Greenville, North Carolina (55),”
February 8, 1963, Public Papers of the Presidents,
John F. Kennedy, 1963. (This quotation appears before
the Legacy Room near the end of the Museum exhibit
in the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum.)
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“And so, my
fellow Americans,
ask not what
your country
can do for you...
ask what
you can do
for your country.”
-- Inaugural Address (1),” January 20, 1961,
Public Papers of the Presidents:
John F. Kennedy, 1961.
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“For one true
measure of a nation
is its success
in fulfilling
the promise of
a better life for
each of its members.
Let this be
the measure of
our nation.”
-- Special message to the Congress on National Health
Needs (65),” February 27, 1962, Public Papers of the
Presidents: John F. Kennedy, 1962.
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“And if we cannot end now
our differences, at least
we can help make
the world safe for diversity.
For, in the final analysis,
our most basic
common link is that we
all inhabit this small planet.
We all breathe the same air.
We all cherish our
children’s future.
And we are all mortal.”
-- “Commencement Address at American University in
Washington, D.C. (232),” June 10, 1963, Public Papers
of the Presidents: John F. Kennedy, 1963.
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“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…”
-- “Address at Rice University in Houston on the Nation’s
Space Effort (373).” September 12, 1962, Public Papers of
the Presidents: John F. Kennedy, 1962.
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