I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children - not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women - not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.
Interpretation
Genuine peace is essential for a fulfilling life, benefiting all people and future generations.
In this quote, John F. Kennedy emphasizes the importance of authentic and universal peace, which goes beyond mere absence of conflict. He envisions a peace that allows for growth, hope, and the building of a better future for everyone, advocating for a long-lasting tranquility that transcends national boundaries and societal divides.
In practice
This quote could be used in a motivational speech about the importance of global cooperation.
The great battleground for the defense and expansion of freedom today is the whole southern half of the globe... the lands of the rising peoples. Their revolution is the greatest in human history. They seek an end to injustice, tyranny and exploitation. More than an end, they seek a beginning.
I had always enjoyed the title of Commander-in-Chief until I was informed ... that the only forces that cannot be transferred from Washington without my express permission are the members of the Marine Corps Band. Those are the only forces I have. I want it announced that we propose to hold the White House against all odds at least for some time to come.
I just received the following wire from my generous Daddy; Dear Jack, Don't buy a single vote more than is necessary. I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for a landslide.
Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.
Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.
The powerful have invoked God at their side in this war, so that we will accept their power and our weakness as something that has been established by divine plan. But there is no god behind this war other than the god of money, nor any right other than the desire for death and destruction... Today there is a βNOβ which shall weaken the powerful and strengthen the weak: the βNOβ to war.
Like any other people, like fathers, mothers, sons and daughters in every land, when the issue of peace or war has been put squarely to the American people, they have registered for peace.
The well-being and the hopes of the peoples of the world can never be served until peace - as well as freedom, honor and self-respect - is secure.
I think that people want peace so much that one of these days government had better get out of their way and let them have it.
There will be no future without forgiveness. Any process of peace is bound to collapse if this is missing. There is no way peace and stability can come through the gun of vengeance.
Each side has legitimate aspirations - and that's part of what makes peace so hard. And the deadlock will only be broken when each side learns to stand in the other's shoes; each side can see the world through the other's eyes. That's what we should be encouraging. That's what we should be promoting.
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