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We stand for freedom. That is our conviction for ourselves; that is our only commitment to others.
All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin. And therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner!"
Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.
The American, by nature, is optimistic. He is experimental, an inventor and a builder who builds best when called upon to build greatly.
Liberty without learning is always in peril; learning without liberty is always in vain.
There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction
A man does what he must-in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures-and that is the basis of all human morality.
For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.
A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.
History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future. To try to hold fast is to be swept aside.
I know there is a God - I see the storm coming and I see his hand in it - if he has a place then I am ready - we see the hand.
When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.
A nation which has forgotten the quality of courage which in the past has been brought to public life is not as likely to insist upon or regard that quality in its chosen leaders today - and in fact we have forgotten.
I look forward to a great future for America - a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose.
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.
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We dare not forget that we are the heirs of that first revolution.
And so, my fellow Americans... ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
