Classic Who: JFK in His Own Words

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Today is the 100th birthday of John F. Kennedy. The young president was struck down less than three years from his inauguration. So we don’t know what he might have accomplished over the course of a likely two terms.

But we do know a lot about him. One thing we know is that he was unusually witty and had a wonderful sense of humor. Today, with the US presided over by a man with a radically different relationship to the English language, Kennedy’s pronouncements carry special poignancy. Here we share some of his more resonant utterances.
These few excerpts display Kennedy’s wit, perception, and originality, and tell us something about the world at the time. The world was very different then — and very much the same.

Remarks of Senator John F. Kennedy on Indochina (Transcript only)

April 6, 1954

But the speeches of President Eisenhower, Secretary Dulles, and others have left too much unsaid, in my opinion—and what has been left unsaid is the heart of the problem that should concern every citizen. For if the American people are, for the fourth time in this century, to travel the long and tortuous road of war—particularly a war which we now realize would threaten the survival of civilization—then I believe we have a right—a right which we should have hitherto exercised—to inquire in detail into the nature of the struggle in which we may become engaged, and the alternative to such struggle. [Emphasis added.]

Acceptance of the Democratic Party Nomination for President

July 15, 1960

Under any circumstances, however, the victory we seek in November will not be easy. We all know that in our hearts. We recognize the power of the forces that will be aligned against us. We know they will invoke the name of Abraham Lincoln on behalf of their candidate—despite the fact that the political career of their candidate [Richard M. Nixon] has often seemed to show charity toward none and malice for all.

Address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association

September 12, 1960

I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute—where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote—where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference—and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him…

For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been, and may someday be again, a Jew—or a Quaker—or a Unitarian—or a Baptist. It was Virginia’s harassment of Baptist preachers, for example, that helped lead to Jefferson’s statute of religious freedom. Today I may be the victim—but tomorrow it may be you—until the whole fabric of our harmonious society is ripped at a time of great national peril.

Inaugural Address

January 20, 1961

So let us begin anew—remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate…

Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms—and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.

Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors…

The President and the Press

April 27, 1961       

The very word “secrecy” is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it. Even today, there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment. [Emphasis added.]

Address to Joint Session of Congress on Space Program

May 25, 1961

Yet it is important to know that our patience at the bargaining table is nearly inexhaustible, though our credulity is limited, that our hopes for peace are unfailing, while our determination to protect our security is resolute. For these reasons I have long thought it wise to meet with the Soviet Premier for a personal exchange of views.