John F. Kennedy Quotes About Responsibility

• Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.

  John F. Kennedy

  4th Of July, Responsibility, Past

  John F. Kennedy's Speech at Loyola College Alumni Banquet, Baltimore, Maryland, www.jfklibrary.org. February 18, 1958.

• My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

  John F. Kennedy

  Inspirational, Inspiring, Country

  Inaugural Address, 20 Jan. 1961

• Liberty without Learning is always in peril and Learning without Liberty is always in vain.

  John F. Kennedy

  Education, Freedom, Learning

  Vanderbilt University 90th Anniversary Convocation Address, delivered 18 May 1963, Vanderbilt University Stadium, Nashville Tennessee

• No responsibility of government is more fundamental than the responsibility of maintaining the highest standard of ethical behavior for those who conduct the public business.

  John F. Kennedy

  Responsibility, Government, Political

  Kennedy, John F. (1962). “Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1961”, p.326, Best Books on

• For in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, "hold office"; every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.

  John F. Kennedy

  Courage, Responsibility, Government

  Selected Quotations from John F. Kennedy's Book "Profiles in Courage", www.jfklibrary.org. 1957.

• Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.

  John F. Kennedy

  Motivational, Inspiring, Leadership

  Biography/Personal Quotes, www.imdb.com.

• We in this country, in this generation, areby destiny rather than choicethe watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of peace on earth, good will toward men. That must always be our goal, and the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength. For as was written long ago: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

  John F. Kennedy

  Country, Peace, Wall

  Undelivered Speech to the Dallas Citizens Council, delivered 22 November 1963, Trade Mart, Dallas, Texas

• And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each of us, recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state, our success or failure, in whatever office we hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions: First, were we truly men of courage... Second, were we truly men of judgment... Third, were we truly men of integrity... Finally, were we truly men of dedication?-

  John F. Kennedy

  Success, Courage, Truth

  Address to Massachusetts legislature, 9 Jan. 1961

• Harry Truman once said, 'There are 14 or 15 million Americans who have the resources to have representatives in Washington to protect their interests, and that the interests of the great mass of the other people - the 150 or 160 million - is the responsibility of the president of the United States, and I propose to fulfill it.'

  John F. Kennedy

  Responsibility, People, Presidential

• Political action is the highest responsibility of a citizen.

  John F. Kennedy

  Responsibility, Political, Citizens

• In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility - I welcome it.

  John F. Kennedy

  Freedom, Responsibility, Long

  Inaugural Address, 20 Jan. 1961

• The margin is narrow, but the responsibility is clear.

  John F. Kennedy

  Responsibility, Voting, Vote

  The New York Times, November 11, 1963.

• As a great democratic society, we have a special responsibility to the arts. For art is the great democrat, calling forth creative genius from every sector of society, disregarding race or religion or wealth or color. What freedom alone can bring is the liberation of the human mind and a spirit which finds its greatest flowering in the free society. I see of little more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than the full recognition of the place of the artist.

  John F. Kennedy

  Music, Country, Art

• There will always be dissident voices heard in the land, expressing opposition without alternatives, finding fault but never favor, perceiving gloom on every side and seeking influence without responsibility.

  John F. Kennedy

  Responsibility, Voice, Land

  Undelivered Speech to the Dallas Citizens Council, delivered 22 November 1963, Trade Mart, Dallas, Texas

• If my church attempted to influence me in a way which was improper or which affected adversely my responsibilities as a public servant sworn to uphold the Constitution, then I would reply to them that this was an improper action on their part. It was one to which I could not subscribe.

  John F. Kennedy

  Responsibility, Atheism, Church

  Greater Houston Ministerial Association Q & A, delivered 12 September 1960 at the Rice Hotel in Houston, TX

• I not only could not stifle controversy among your readers.. I welcome it. This Administration intends to be candid about its errors; for as a wise man once said: "An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it." We intend to accept full responsibility for our errors; and we expect you to point them out when we miss them.

  John F. Kennedy

  Wise, Mistake, Responsibility

  Address to the American Newspaper Publishers, delivered 27 April 1961, Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York

• The success of this Government, and thus the success of our Nation, depends in the last analysis upon the quality.of our career services. The legislation enacted by the Congress, as well as the decisions made by me and by the department and agency heads, must all be implemented by the career men and women in the Federal service. In foreign affairs, national defense, science and technology, and a host of other fields, they face problems of unprecedented importance and perplexity. We are all dependent on their sense of loyalty and responsibility as well as their competence and energy.

  John F. Kennedy

  Loyalty, Responsibility, Technology

  "Special Message to the Congress on Federal Pay Reform". February 20, 1962.

• Privilege is here, and with privilege goes responsibility.

  John F. Kennedy

  Responsibility, Privilege

  Speech at Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts, October 26, 1963.

• The essence of Vanderbilt is still learning, the essence of its outlook is still liberty, and liberty and learning will be and must be the touchstones of Vanderbilt University and of any free university in this country or the world. I say two touchstones, yet they are almost inseparable, inseparable if not indistinguishable, for liberty without learning is always in peril, and learning without liberty is always in vain.

  John F. Kennedy

  Country, Freedom, Responsibility

  Vanderbilt University 90th Anniversary Convocation Address, delivered 18 May 1963, Vanderbilt University Stadium, Nashville Tennessee

• I ask particularly that those of you who are now in school will prepare yourselves to bear the burden of leadership over the next 40 years here in the United States, and make sure that the United States - which I believe almost alone has maintained watch and ward for freedom - that the United States meet its responsibility. That is a wonderful challenge for us as a people.

  John F. Kennedy

  Believe, School, Responsibility

  "Remarks at the Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Washington". September 27, 1963.

• Our privileges can be no greater than our obligations. The protection of our rights can endure no longer than the performance of our responsibilities.

  John F. Kennedy

  Responsibility, Rights, Justice

  Kennedy, John F. (1964). “Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1963”, p.407, Best Books on

• Do you realize the responsibility I carry? I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House.

  John F. Kennedy

  Responsibility, White, House

  John F. Kennedy, Dominique Enright (2003). “The Wicked Wit of John F. Kennedy”, Michael O'Mara Books

• The function and responsibility of the President is to set before the American people the unfinished business, the things we must do if we are going to succeed as a nation.

  John F. Kennedy

  Responsibility, Unfinished Business, People

• Third, and finally, the educated citizen has an obligation to uphold the law. This is the obligation of every citizen in a free and peaceful society--but the educated citizen has a special responsibility by the virtue of his greater understanding. For whether he has ever studied history or current events, ethics or civics, the rules of a profession or the tools of a trade, he knows that only a respect for the law makes it possible for free men to dwell together in peace and progress.

  John F. Kennedy

  Responsibility, Men, Law

  Vanderbilt University 90th Anniversary Convocation Address, delivered 18 May 1963, Vanderbilt University Stadium, Nashville Tennessee

• To each of us is entrusted the heavy responsibility of guiding the affairs of a democratic nation founded on Christian ideals.

  John F. Kennedy

  Christian, Responsibility, Affair

  Kennedy, John F. (1962). “Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1961”, p.28, Best Books on

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