"Today the challenge of political courage looms larger than ever before. For our everyday life is becoming so saturated with the tremendous power of mass communications that any unpopular or unorthodox course arouses a storm of protests such as John Quincy Adams – under attack in 1807 – could never have envisioned. Our political life is becoming so expensive, so mechanized and so dominated by professional politicians and public relations men that the idealist who dreams of independent statesmanship is rudely awakened by the necessities of election and accomplishment... And thus, in the days ahead, only the very courageous will be able to take the hard and unpopular decisions necessary for our survival in the struggle with a powerful enemy – an enemy with leaders who need give little thought to the popularity of their course, who need pay little tribute to the public opinion they themselves manipulate, and who may force, without fear of retaliation at the polls, their citizens to sacrifice present laughter for future glory."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Presidents of the United StatesDemocratic Party (United States) politiciansMembers of the United States SenatePoliticians from BostonUnited States presidential candidates, 1960
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Source: Profiles in Courage Excerpts. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Archived from the original on August 17, 2025. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Related Quotes
"Na muci se poznaju junaci."
"A rising tide lifts all boats."
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
"The green beret' is again becoming a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for…"
"I think it is most appropriate that the President of the United States, whose business place is in Washington, should…"
"The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived and dishonest — but the myth — persist…"
"I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together…"
"Secondly, what does justice require? In the end, it requires liberty."
"And Prince Bismarck was even more specific. One third, he said, of the students of German universities broke down fro…"
"While geography has made us neighbors, tradition has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity h…"