Robert Kennedy Quotes

Most memorable quotes from Robert Kennedy.

Robert Kennedy Famous Quotes

Reading Robert Kennedy quotes, download and share images of famous quotes by Robert Kennedy. Righ click to see or save pictures of Robert Kennedy quotes that you can use as your wallpaper for free.

All great questions must be raised by great voices, and the greatest voice is the voice of the people - speaking out - in prose, or painting or poetry or music; speaking out - in homes and halls, streets and farms, courts and cafes - let that voice speak and the stillness you hear will be the gratitude of mankind.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: All great questions must be
Yesterday, we sought telescopes good enough to see all the planets. Today, we seek vehicles good enough to reach them.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Yesterday, we sought telescopes good
Every time you stand up for an ideal, you send forth a tiny ripple of hope.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Every time you stand up
Freedom possesses many meanings. It speaks not merely in terms of political and religious liberty but also in terms of economic and social progress.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Freedom possesses many meanings. It
But suppose God is black? What if we go to Heaven and we, all our lives, have treated the Negro as an inferior, and God is there, and we look up and He is not white? What then is our response?
Robert Kennedy Quotes: But suppose God is black?
It is not more bigness that should be our goal. We must attempt, rather, to bring people back to ... the warmth of community, to the worth of individual effort and responsibility ... and of individuals working together as a community, to better their lives and their children's future.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: It is not more bigness
A high standard of living cannot remain the exclusive possession of the West - and the sooner we can help other peoples to develop their resources, raise their living standards, and strengthen their national independence, the safer the world will be for us all.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: A high standard of living
It is easy to overlook the importance of the young in underdeveloped countries. It is the natural course for nations, and diplomats, and those who publish newspapers, to speak to the established order. Seeking out the young requires a conscious effort.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: It is easy to overlook
It is one thing to open the schools to all children regardless of race. It is another to train the teachers, to build the classrooms, and to attempt to eliminate the effects of past educational deficiencies. It is still another to find ways to feed the incentive to learn and keep children in school.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: It is one thing to
We know that if one man's rights are denied, the rights of all are endangered.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: We know that if one
Every generation inherits a world it never made; and, as it does so, it automatically becomes the trustee of that world for those who come after. In due course, each generation makes its own accounting to its children.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Every generation inherits a world
Our future may lie beyond our vision, but it is not completely beyond our control. It is the shaping impulse of America that neither fate nor nature nor the irresistible tides of history, but the work of our own hands, matched to reason and principle, that will determine our destiny. There is pride in that, even arrogance, but there is also experience and truth. In any event, it is the only way we can live.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Our future may lie beyond
In Massachusetts they [Democratic politicians] steal, in California they feud, and in New York they lie.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: In Massachusetts they [Democratic politicians]
We in Government have begun to recognize the critical work which must be done at all levels-local, State and Federal-in ending the pollution of our waters.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: We in Government have begun
All do not develop in the same manner, or at the same pace. Nations, like men, often march to the beat of different drummers, and the precise solutions of the United States can neither be dictated nor transplanted to others. What is important is that all nations must march toward increasing freedom; toward justice for all; toward a society strong and flexible enough to meet the demands of all its own people, and a world of immense and dizzying change.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: All do not develop in
I dream of things that are not and ask why not.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: I dream of things that
I believe that in this generation those with the courage to enter the conflict will find themselves with companions in every corner of the world.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: I believe that in this
In my judgment, physical fitness is basic to all forms of excellence and to a strong, confident nation.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: In my judgment, physical fitness
In the cases that come before the Department of Justice involving a wide range of unlawful activities, we see repeated evidence of family and community failures.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: In the cases that come
The greatest truth must be recognition that in every man, in every child is the potential for greatness.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: The greatest truth must be
The Gross National Product includes the destruction of the redwoods and the death of Lake Superior. It grows with the production of napalm and missiles and nuclear warheads ... It includes ... the broadcasting of television programs which glorify violence to sell goods to our children.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: The Gross National Product includes
We must recognize the full human equality of all our people - before God, before the law, and in the councils of government. We must do this not because it is economically advantageous - although it is; not because the laws of God and man command it - although they do command it; not because people in other lands wish it so. We must do it for the single and fundamental reason that it is the right thing to do.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: We must recognize the full
Victims of the violence are black and white, rich and poor, young and old, famous and unknown. They are most important of all, human beings whom other human beings loved and needed.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Victims of the violence are
There has been far too much hypocrisy in the field of civil rights. It is easy enough to give rousing speeches or call for legislation which has no possibility of passage.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: There has been far too
If the purpose of the wall was to destroy Berlin, Herr Ulbricht and his cohorts have erred sadly. Berlin is not only going to continue to exist - it's going to grow and grow and grow. Its ties to West Germany will not be severed.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: If the purpose of the
I can understand the Chinese Wall: it was built as a defense against marauders. But a wall such as that in Berlin, built to prevent people from seeking freedom, is almost beyond comprehension.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: I can understand the Chinese
We should, I believe, beware of the pitfalls described by Taine: 'Imagine a man who sets out on a voyage equipped with a pair of spectacles that magnify things to an extraordinary degree. A hair on his hand, a spot on the tablecloth, the shifting fold of a coat, all will attract his attention; at this rate, he will not go far, he will spend his day taking six steps and will never get out of his room.' We have to get out of this room.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: We should, I believe, beware
Sometimes people think that because you have money and position you are immune from the human experience. But I can feel as lonesome and lost as the next man when I turn the key in the door and go into an empty house that is usually full of kids and dogs.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Sometimes people think that because
The road toward equality of freedom is not easy, and great cost and danger march alongside us. We are committed to peaceful and nonviolent change, and that is important for all to understand - though all change is unsettling. Still, even in the turbulence of protest and struggle is greater hope for the future, as men learn to claim and achieve for themselves the rights formerly petitioned from others.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: The road toward equality of
I think we can end the divisions within the United States. What I think is quite clear is that we can work together in the last analysis. And that what has been going on with the United States over the period of that last three years, the divisions, the violence, the disenchantment with our society, the divisions - whether it's between blacks and whites, between the poor and the more affluent, or between age groups, or in the war in Vietnam - that we can work together. We are a great country, an unselfish country and a compassionate country. And I intend to make that my basis for running.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: I think we can end
In truth, the world is now a seamless web from which no nation, large or small, young or old, can disassociate itself. Every attitude and every action of every nation can affect the welfare and security of every other nation around the globe.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: In truth, the world is
Good union leaders make excellent public leaders in the legislative and executive branches.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Good union leaders make excellent
Communism everywhere has paid the price of rigidity and dogmatism. Freedom has the strength of compassion and flexibility. It has, above all, the strength of intellectual honesty.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Communism everywhere has paid the
President Kennedy's election was such an enlargement. It expanded religious freedom to include the highest office in the land. President Kennedy's administration was such an enlargement. It advanced the day when the bars of intolerance against all minority groups will be lifted, not only for the presidency, but for all aspects of our national life.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: President Kennedy's election was such
I'm tired of chasing people.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: I'm tired of chasing people.
Whenever men take the law into their own hands, the loser is the law. And when the law loses, freedom languishes.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Whenever men take the law
It is one thing to open job opportunities. It is another to train people to fill them, or to persuade American enterprise to seek Negro as well as white applicants.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: It is one thing to
When companies get together secretly to fix prices and attempt to eliminate competition, honest businessmen suffer. I think this is wrong.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: When companies get together secretly
A life without criticism is not worth living.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: A life without criticism is
In the final analysis, poverty is a condition of helplessness - of inability to cope with the conditions of existence in our complex society.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: In the final analysis, poverty
The essential humanity of men can be protected and preserved only where government must answer, not just to the wealthy, not just to those of a particular religion, or a particular race, but to all its people.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: The essential humanity of men
At the heart of western freedom and democracy is the belief that the individual man ... is the touchstone of value, and all society, groups, the state, exist for his benefit. Therefore the enlargement of liberty for individual human beings must be the supreme goal and abiding practice of any western society.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: At the heart of western
Lack of education, old age, bad health or discrimination - these are causes of poverty, and the way to attack it is to go to the root.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Lack of education, old age,
No one needs to tell me about the importance of the free press in a democratic society or about the essential role a newspaper can play in its community.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: No one needs to tell
My views on birth control are somewhat distorted by the fact that I was seventh of nine children.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: My views on birth control
Tolerating organized crime promotes the cheap philosophy that everything is a racket. It promotes cynicism among adults. It contributes to the confusion of the young and to the increase of juvenile delinquency.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Tolerating organized crime promotes the
Hand in hand with freedom of speech goes the power to be heard, to share in the decisions of government which shape men's lives.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Hand in hand with freedom
If freedom makes social progress possible, so social progress strengthens and enlarges freedom.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: If freedom makes social progress
Whenever any American's life is taken by another American unnecessarily - whether it is done in the name of the law or in the defiance of the law, by one man or a gang, in cold blood or in passion, in an attack of violence or in response to violence - whenever we tear at the fabric of the life which another man has painfully and clumsily woven for himself and his children, the whole nation is degraded.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Whenever any American's life is
In my judgment, the slogan "black power" and what has been associated with it has set the civil rights movement back considerably in the United States over the period of the last several months.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: In my judgment, the slogan
The history of antitrust law enforcement shows that successful antitrust prosecutions have often strengthened and brought vitality to extremely large companies and businesses.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: The history of antitrust law
What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: What we need in the
Let me make it clear that the Youth Employment Opportunities Act of 1961 is not primarily concerned with delinquency prevention. Rather, it is designed to help all types of young men or women who suffer deficiencies of training or opportunity which keep them unemployed.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Let me make it clear
One of the primary purposes of civilization - and certainly its primary strength - is the guarantee that family life can flourish in unity, peace, and order.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: One of the primary purposes
The world of sports knows no religious, racial or political differences. Athletes, from whatever land they come, speak the same language. The lessons of competition are lessons for life.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: The world of sports knows
Nations around the world look to us for the leadership not merely by strength of arms but by strength of our convictions.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Nations around the world look
Desegregation of schools does not automatically transform them into better schools. It is only a step. The larger goal is to see that the education of our youth is not merely desegregated, but that it is excellent.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Desegregation of schools does not
American books reflect our common heritage with many other nations and their influence upon our culture. The influences are endless, linking us with the rest of the world. Thus, they are good ambassadors for us.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: American books reflect our common
If our constitution had followed the style of Saint Paul, the First Amendment might have concluded: "But the greatest of these is speech." In the darkness of tyranny, this is the key to the sunlight. If it is granted, all doors open. If it is withheld, none.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: If our constitution had followed
GDP does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play
Robert Kennedy Quotes: GDP does not allow for
I don't believe newspaper reporters can substitute for a district attorney, but a newspaper has a very valid investigative role. Newspaper reports on corruption in government, racketeering and organized crime conditions can be very helpful to your communities and the whole country.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: I don't believe newspaper reporters
Men without hope, resigned to despair and oppression, do not make revolutions. It is when expectation replaces submission, when despair is touched with the awareness of possibility, that the forces of human desire and the passion for justice are unloosed.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Men without hope, resigned to
Every dictatorship has ultimately strangled in the web of repression it wove for its people, making mistakes that could not be corrected because criticism was prohibited.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Every dictatorship has ultimately strangled
Elections remind us not only of the rights but the responsibilities of citizenship in a democracy.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Elections remind us not only
When I was counsel for the Senate Rackets Committee, about 25% of the important leads which our committee developed came from newspapers. This increased my respect for those courageous newspapers which assisted us. It also caused me to look with wonderment at some of the newspapers that did not.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: When I was counsel for
Democracy is no easy form of government. Few nations have been able to sustain it. For it requires that we take the chances of freedom; that the liberating play of reason be brought to bear on events filled with passion; that dissent be allowed to make its appeal for acceptance; that men chance error in their search for the truth.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Democracy is no easy form
Wars of any magnitude release powerful social and economic forces which can change the whole face of the world.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Wars of any magnitude release
Even government by the consent of the governed, as in our own Constitution, must be limited in its power to act against its people; so that there may be no interference with the right to worship, or with the security of the home; no arbitrary imposition of pains or penalties by officials high or low; no restrictions on the freedom of men to seek education or work or opportunity of any kind, so that each man may become all he is capable of becoming.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Even government by the consent
The glory of justice and the majesty of law are created not just by the Constitution - nor by the courts - nor by the officers of the law - nor by the lawyers - but by the men and women who constitute our society - who are the protectors of the law as they are themselves protected by the law.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: The glory of justice and
It is the right of government to protect the weak; it is the right of the weak to find in their courts fair treatment before the law.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: It is the right of
Like it or not we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also more open to the creative energy of men than any other time in history. And everyone here will ultimately be judged - will ultimately judge himself - on the effort he has contributed to building a new world society and the extent to which his ideals and goals have shaped that effort.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Like it or not we
Oh no, oh no ... don't lift me, don't lift me.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Oh no, oh no ...
It certainly should not surprise us that a young person without any real stake in a legitimate occupation or career may get into trouble more easily. Such persons readily accept the idea that they have been unjustly deprived of money, status, and opportunity.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: It certainly should not surprise
This much is clear: violence breeds violence, repression brings retaliation, and only a cleansing of our whole society can remove this sickness from our soul.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: This much is clear: violence
We develop the kind of citizens we deserve. If a large number of our children grow up into frustration and poverty, we must expect to pay the price.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: We develop the kind of
The intolerant man will not rely on persuasion, or on the worth of the idea. He would deny to others the very freedom of opinion or of dissent which he so stridently demands for himself. He cannot trust democracy.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: The intolerant man will not
All of us might wish at times...
Robert Kennedy Quotes: All of us might wish
Perhaps to some extent we have lost sight of the fact that LSD can be very, very helpful in our society if used properly.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Perhaps to some extent we
The natural state of a human being is dignity.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: The natural state of a
GNP measures neither our courage, our wisdom neither our compassion. It measures everything except what makes life worthwhile
Robert Kennedy Quotes: GNP measures neither our courage,
And as long as America must choose, that long will there be a need and a place for the Democratic Party. We Democrats can run on our record but we cannot rest on it. We will win if we continue to take the initiative and if we carry the message of hope and action throughout the country. Alexander Smith once said, 'A man doesn't plant a tree for himself. He plants it for posterity.' Let us continue to plant, and our children shall reap the harvest. That is our destiny as Democrats.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: And as long as America
I thought they'd get one of us, but Jack, after all he's been through, never worried about it I thought it would be me.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: I thought they'd get one
Ultimately, Communism must be defeated by progressive political programs which wipe out the poverty, misery, and discontent on which it thrives.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Ultimately, Communism must be defeated
It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: It is from numberless diverse
I have told friends and supporters who are urging me to run that I would not oppose President Johnson under any foreseeable circumstances.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: I have told friends and
We in the United States believe in the protection of minorities; we recognize the contributions that they can make and the leadership that they can provide; and we do not believe that any people - whether majority or minority, or individual human beings - are 'expendable' in the cause of theory or of policy.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: We in the United States
Even as my father grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, signs told him: 'No Irish Need Apply.'
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Even as my father grew
Our scientists grapple with the difficulties of placing a man on the moon, but the immediately troubling concern of our society is whether men of different races can sit together at a lunch counter.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Our scientists grapple with the
Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Too much and too long,
Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Each time a man stands
Send forth a tiny ripple of hope.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Send forth a tiny ripple
I think there is an obligation on the part of all of us to stay informed and aware.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: I think there is an
Only those who have the courage to fail greatly achieve greatly.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Only those who have the
It is an unfinished society that we offer the world-a society that is forever committed to change, to improvement and to growth, that will never stagnate in the certitude of ideology or the finalities of dogma.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: It is an unfinished society
The right to vote is the easiest of all rights to grant.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: The right to vote is
Nothing is more false than the notion that the triumph of Communism is inevitable or that the Communists are steadily pushing the free world into a corner.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Nothing is more false than
Every American has the duty to obey the law and the right to expect that the law will be enforced.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Every American has the duty
The Gross National Product measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile, and it can tell us everything about America - except whether we are proud to be Americans.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: The Gross National Product measures
It is immoral to see evil and not act on it.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: It is immoral to see
Courage is the most important attribute of a lawyer.
Robert Kennedy Quotes: Courage is the most important
Robert Keller Quotes «
» Robert Kennedy III Quotes