“We stated before that men’s ideas change slowly and that a nation’s ideas change even more slowly. It takes shocks—hard shocks—to change a nation’s psychology.”
John F. Kennedy
Why England Slept (Primary source)
Why England Slept by John F. Kennedy is a concise yet incisive analysis of Britain’s military unpreparedness in the years leading up to World War II. Originally written as Kennedy’s senior thesis at Harvard University, the book examines the political, economic, and social factors that contributed to Britain’s failure to rearm and modernize its defenses during the 1930s, despite the growing threat of Nazi Germany.
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“We choose to go to the Moon. We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
— John F. Kennedy Primary source“Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”
— John F. Kennedy Primary source“The idea that Britain loses every battle except the last has proved correct so many times in the past that the average Englishman is unwilling to make great personal sacrifices until the danger is overwhelmingly apparent.”
— John F. Kennedy Primary source“For, in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, ‘holds 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 Primary sourceMore quotes by John F. Kennedy →
“We must be our own [friend] before we can be another’s.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source“Who will let you? That’s not the point. The point is, who will stop me?”
— Ayn Rand Primary source“Never spend your money before you have it.”
— Thomas Jefferson Primary source“Where there’s no law, there’s no bread.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary sourceChange Psychology Ideas Shock Politics