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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.

— John F. Kennedy

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More quotes by John F. Kennedy

A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death.

While we shall never weary in the defense of freedom, neither shall we ever abandon the pursuit of peace.

This nation has tossed its cap over the wall of space, and we have no choice but to follow it.

A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.

Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed — and no republic can survive.

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Only the dead have seen the end of war.

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Wars produce many stories of fiction, some of which are told until they are believed to be true.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: John F. Kennedy (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.