John F. Kennedy

It is time for a new generation of leadership, to cope with new problems and new opportunities. For there is a new world to be won.

The New Frontier I speak of is not a set of promises - it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intent to ask of them.

Too often we . . . enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

Sometimes party loyalty asks too much.

Our task now is not to fix the blame for the past, but fix the course for the future.

Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. And however undramatic the pursuit of peace, the pursuit must go on.

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

But peace does not rest in the charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. So let us not rest all our hopes on parchment and on paper, let us strive to build peace, a desire for peace, a willingness to work for peace in the hearts and minds of all of our people. I believe that we can. I believe the problems of human destiny are not beyond the reach of human beings.

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses, for art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstone of our judgement.