“We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world or to make it the last.”

“Never before has man had such capacity to control his own environment,...We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history or the world - or make it the last.”

“The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the nation's greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable.”

“We, in this country, in this generation, are - by destiny rather than by choice - the watchmen on the walls of world freedom.”

“If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.[Commencement Address at American University, June 10 1963]”

“We must face the fact that the United States is neither omnipotent nor omniscient, that we cannot impose our will upon the other 94 percent of mankind, that we cannot right every wrong or reverse every adversity, and that therefore there cannot be an American solution to every world problem.”

“World peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbor—it requires only that they live together in mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement. And history teaches us that enmities between nations, as between individuals, do not last forever . . .”