“The greatest danger of all would be to do nothing.”
John F. Kennedy
Address During The Cuban Missile Crisis (Primary source)
On the evening of October 22, 1962, at 7:00 p.m., Kennedy spoke on television, revealing the evidence of Soviet missiles in Cuba and calling for their removal. He reported that the installations included medium-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead for more than 1,000 nautical miles—each capable of striking Washington, D.C., the Panama Canal, Cape Canaveral, Mexico City, or any other city in the southeastern part of the United States.
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“My fellow citizens: let no one doubt that this is a difficult and dangerous effort on which we have set out. No one can see precisely what course it will take or what costs or casualties will be incurred. Many months of sacrifice and self-discipline lie ahead—months in which our patience and our will will be tested—months in which many threats and denunciations will keep us aware of our dangers. But the greatest danger of all would be to do nothing.”
John F. Kennedy
“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 →
“I have noticed that doctors who fail in the practice of medicine have a tendency to seek one another’s company and aid in consultation. A doctor who cannot take out your appendix properly will recommend to you a doctor who will be unable to remove your tonsils with success.”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary source“It is better to take many injuries, than to give one.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”
— Helen Keller Primary source“Go out into the sunlight and be happy with what you see.”
— Winston Churchill Primary source