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John F. Kennedy on Veterans Day

1917–1963 United States

← All quotes by John F. Kennedy

23 quotes

War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.

And if there is one path above all others to war, it is the path of weakness and disunity.

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.

Speech at Amherst College (1963)

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.

The world is a very different one now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty, and all forms of human life.

Inaugural address (1961)

In a world of danger and trial, peace is our deepest aspiration … But it is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war.

The task of building the peace lies with the leaders of every nation, large and small. For the great powers have no monopoly on conflict or ambition.

Mankind must put an end to war — or war will put an end to mankind

A war today or tomorrow, if it led to nuclear war, would not be like any war in history.

Today no war has been declared — and however fierce the struggle may be, it may never be declared in the traditional fashion. Our way of life is under attack.

...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.

We must create world-wide law and law enforcement as we outlaw world-wide war and weapons.

We have no wish to war with the Soviet Union--for we are a peaceful people who desire to live in peace with all other peoples.

The 1930's taught us a clear lesson: aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged ultimately leads to war.

Only the very courageous will be able to keep alive the spirit of individualism and dissent which gave birth to this nation, nourished it as an infant, and carried it through its severest tests upon the attainment of its maturity.

Profiles in Courage (1956)

The task of building the peace lies with the leaders of every nation, large and small. … The long labor of peace is an undertaking for every nation — and in this effort none of us can remain unaligned.To this goal none can be uncommitted.

Every inhabitant of this planet must contemplate the day when this planet may no longer be habitable. Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident or miscalculation or by madness. The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

I speak of peace, therefore, as the necessary rational end of rational men. I realize that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war—and frequently the words of the pursuer fall on deaf ears. But we have no more urgent task.

Peace need not be impracticable, and war need not be inevitable. By defining our goal more clearly, by making it seem more manageable and less remote, we can help all peoples to see it, to draw hope from it, and to move irresistibly toward it.

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: John F. Kennedy (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.