John F. Kennedy Quotes About Security

• By calling attention to 'a well regulated militia,' 'the security of the nation,' and the right of each citizen 'to keep and bear arms,' our founding fathers recognized the essentially civilian nature of our economy... The Second Amendment still remains an important declaration of our basic civilian-military relationships in which every citizen must be ready to participate in the defense of his country. For that reason I believe the Second Amendment will always be important.

  John F. Kennedy

  Country, Father, Military

• Events of October 1962 indicated, as they had all through history, that control of the sea means security. Control of the seas can mean peace. Control of the seas can mean victory. The United States must control the seas if it is to protect your security.

  John F. Kennedy

  Mean, Sea, Victory

• The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.

  John F. Kennedy

  Inspirational, Ignorance, Voting

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

• If this nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas for more wise men reading more good books in more public libraries. These libraries should be open to all — except the censor. We must know all the facts and hear all the alternatives and listen to all the criticisms. Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors. For the Bill of Rights is the guardian of our security as well as our liberty.

  John F. Kennedy

  Wise, Strong, Reading

  Saturday Review, p. 44, October 29, 1960.

• It is increasingly clear that no matter what party is in power, so long as our national security needs keep rising, an economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough jobs or enough profits.

  John F. Kennedy

  Jobs, Party, Long

  Address to the Economic Club of New York, delivered 14 December 1962, Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York

• It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war.

  John F. Kennedy

  Peace, War, Humanity

  Speech of at Civic Auditorium, Seattle, Washington, www.presidency.ucsb.edu. September 06, 1960.

• 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.

  John F. Kennedy

  Survival, President, Needs

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

• Our true choice is not between tax reduction on the one hand and the avoidance of large federal deficits on the other. It is increasingly clear that no matter what party is in power, so long as our national security needs keep rising, an economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough revenues to balance our budget, just as it will never produce enough jobs or enough profits.

  John F. Kennedy

  Party, Long, Choices

  Source: www.rushlimbaugh.com

• I do ask every publisher, every editor, and every newsman in the nation to reexamine his own standards, and to recognize the nature of our country's peril. In time of war, the government and the press have customarily joined in an effort based largely on self-discipline, to prevent unauthorized disclosures to the enemy. In time of "clear and present danger," the courts have held that even the privileged rights of the First Amendment must yield to the public's need for national security.

  John F. Kennedy

  Country, War, Mistake

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

• The US Airforce assures me that UFO's pose no threat to National Security.

  John F. Kennedy

  National Security, Threat, Ufo

• Our growing softness, our increasing lack of physical fitness, is a menace to our security.

  John F. Kennedy

  Fitness, Cancer, Exercise

  "Sport at the New Frontier: The Soft American". Sports Illustrated Vol. 13, Issue 26, (pp. 14-17), December 26, 1960.

• What we seek to advance, what we seek to develop in all of our colleges and universities, are educated men and women who can bear the burdens of responsible citizenship, who can make judgments about life as it is, and as it must be, and encourage the people to make those decisions which can bring not only prosperity and security, but happiness to the people of the United Sates and those who depend upon it.

  John F. Kennedy

  College, Men, People

  Kennedy, John F. (1964). “Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1963”, p.718, Best Books on

• While it may be theoretically possible to demonstrate the risks inherent in any treaty... the far greater risk to our security are the risks of unrestricted testing, the risks of a nuclear arms race, the risks of new nuclear powers.

  John F. Kennedy

  Race, Risk, May

  Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Address to the Nation, delivered 26 July 1963

• We support the security of both Israel and her neighbors.

  John F. Kennedy

  Israel, Support, Presidential

  Kennedy, John F. (1964). “Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1963”, p.373, Best Books on

• The Kennedy Administration's public pronouncements on the matter suggested that the presence of Soviet nuclear missiles in Castro's Cuba would represent an unacceptable strategic threat to the United States. . . . This urgent transformation of Cuba into an important strategic base - by the presence of these large, long-range, and clearly offensive weapons of sudden mass-destruction - constitutes an explicit threat to the peace and security of all the Americas. . . .

  John F. Kennedy

  Mass Destruction, America, Long

• No treaty, however much it may be to the advantage of all, however tightly it may be worded, can provide absolute security against the risks of deception and evasion. But it can, if it is sufficiently effective in its enforcement and if it is sufficiently in the interests of its signers, offer far more security and far fewer risks than an unabated, uncontrolled, unpredictable arms race.

  John F. Kennedy

  Race, Risk, Deception

  American University Commencement Address, delivered 10 June 1963

• Should I become President...I will not risk American lives...by permitting any other nation to drag us into the wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time through an unwise commitment that is unwise militarily, unnecessary to our security and unsupported by our allies.

  John F. Kennedy

  War, Commitment, Risk

• A medical revolution has extended the life of our elder citizens without providing the dignity and security those later years deserve.

  John F. Kennedy

  Years, Citizens, Revolution

  Acceptance speech, Democratic National Convention, Los Angeles, 15 July (1960)

• It is with great satisfaction that I have signed into law the Social Security Amendments of 1961. They represent an additional step toward eliminating many of the hardships resulting from old age, disability, or the death of the family wage-earner. A nation's strength lies in the well-being of its people. The Social Security program plays an important part in providing for families, children, and older persons in time of stress, but it cannot remain static. Changes in our population, in our working habits, and in our standard of living require constant revision.

  John F. Kennedy

  Children, Stress, Lying

  "Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1961".

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