John F. Kennedy on War
1917–1963 United States
← All quotes by John F. Kennedy
18 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In a world of danger and trial, peace is our deepest aspiration, and when peace comes we will gladly convert not our swords into plowshares, but our bombs into peaceful reactors, and our planes into space vessels. "Pursue peace," the Bible tells us, and we shall pursue it with every effort and every energy that we possess. But it is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war.
A wall is a hell of a lot better than a war.
Attributed
What would Lincoln have been without the Civil War? Just another railroad lawyer!
Attributed