Kennedy Edward Moore - Set your compass true: the wisdom of John, Robert & Edward Kennedy

SET YOUR
COMPASS TRUE THE WISDOM OF
JOHN, ROBERT &
EDWARD KENNEDY Reflections on Leading an Inspired Life COMPILED BY SIGNE BERGSTROM For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die. EDWARD M. K ENNEDY A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers. JOHN F. KENNEDY Contents CELEBRATING THE AMERICAN SPIRIT AND DREAM What matters about this country cannot be put into simple slogans; it is a process, a way of doing things and dealing with people, a way of life. ROBERT F.

KENNEDY Yes, we are all Americans. This is what we do. We reach the moon. We scale the heights. I know it. Ive seen it.

Ive lived it. And we can do it again. EDWARD M. KENNEDY I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit. JOHN F. KENNEDY The motto of Americais the Latin phrase e pluribus unumout of many, onethe whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

The diversity of America is Americas greatest strength. EDWARD M. KENNEDY The American, by nature, is optimistic. He is experimental, an inventor, and a builder who builds best when called upon to build greatly. JOHN F. KENNEDY We know full well the faults of our democracythe handicaps of freedomthe inconvenience of dissent.

But I know of no American who would not rather be a servant in the imperfect house of freedom, than be a master of all the empires of tyranny. ROBERT F. KENNEDY We hold the view that the people make the best judgment in the long run. JOHN F. KENNEDY The real strength of our democracy lies not in its institutions, but in the opportunities it creates for our people. Our laws, it is said, are the wise restraints that make us free.

Its the American people who have made this nation great and who have risen to great challenges in each new era. EDWARD M. KENNEDY America is a nation founded on hope and the constant quest for a better tomorrow. EDWARD M. KENNEDY Every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would like to be treated, as one would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children be treated. JOHN F.

KENNEDY [Martin Luther King Jr.] will never see that dream, but the moment we realize his dream is our dream and work to make it ours, the nation can survive. EDWARD M. KENNEDY Time and time again the American people, facing danger and seemingly insurmountable odds, have mobilized the ingenuity, resourcefulness, strength, and bravery to meet the situation and triumph. ROBERT F. KENNEDY We know that freedom has many dimensions. It is the right of the man who tills the land to own the land; the right of the workers to join together to seek better conditions of labor; the right of businessmen to use ingenuity and foresight to produce and distribute without arbitrary interference in a truly competitive economy.

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. It is the right of all our citizens to engage without fear or constraint in the discussion and debate of the great issues which confront us all. We understand this regardless of the extent to which we may differ in our political views. We know that argument in the open is one of the sources of our national strength. ROBERT F. JOHN F. JOHN F.

KENNEDY Ours is a vision of an America where every person has an equal chance, where freedom is paramount and where there is room for the cultivation of the human spirit. EDWARD M. KENNEDY Everything that makes mans life worthwhilefamily, work, education, a place to rear ones children and a place to rest ones headall this depends on decisions of government; all can be swept away by a government which does not heed the demands of its people. Therefore, the essential humanity of men can be protected and preserved only where government must answernot just to the wealthy, not just to those of a particular religion, or a particular race, but to all its people. ROBERT F. KENNEDY An election is the most important event in our democracy, and today we reaffirmed that every citizen should have an equal voice on Election Day.

There is nothing more American than voting, and every American should have the right to vote. EDWARD M. KENNEDY It should be clear that, if one mans rights are denied, the rights of all are in dangerthat if one man is denied equal protection of the law, we cannot be sure that we will enjoy freedom of speech or any other of our fundamental rights. ROBERT F. KENNEDY This nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. JOHN F. JOHN F.

KENNEDY We are no more entitled to oppress a man for his color than to shoot a man for his belief. EDWARD M. KENNEDY Health care should be a basic right for all, not an expensive privilege for the few. EDWARD M. KENNEDY In fact, our values are still our greatest strength. EDWARD M. EDWARD M.

KENNEDY The glory of justice and the majesty of the law are created not just by the Constitutionnor by the courtsnor by the officers of the lawnor by the lawyersbut by the men and women who constitute our societywho are protectors of the law as they are themselves protected by the law. ROBERT F. KENNEDY With [John Kennedys] gift of compassion, he touched the hearts of peoples everywhere who believed in this nations destiny of freedom and opportunity and sought it for themselves. EDWARD M. KENNEDY America has a choice. We can continue to be buffeted by the harsh winds of the global economy.

Or we can think anew, and guide the currents of globalization with a progressive vision that strengthens the nation and prepares our people to move more confidently to the future. In a very real sense, it means revitalizing the American Dream, so that if people work hard and play by the rules, they can succeed in life EDWARD M. KENNEDY Our father used to say that he couldnt have done any of the things he did, and we couldnt have lived the way we did, in any other country. He said we owed a great debt to the government and that is why we ought to work for it. ROBERT F. ROBERT F. ROBERT F.

KENNEDY My brother Bob doesnt want to be in governmenthe promised Dad hed go straight. JOHN F. KENNEDY People like myself cant go around making nice speeches all the time. We cant just keep raising expectations. We have to do some damn hard work, too. ROBERT F.

KENNEDY Mothers all want their sons to grow up to be president, but they dont want them to become politicians in the process. JOHN F. KENNEDY President Kennedy loved to tell the story of the famous Gallup Poll of his day, which found that parents wanted their children to be presidentas long as they didnt have to be involved in politics. It was a line that always got a laughbut to Jack it was hardly a laughing matter. He loved and lived by the famous words of John Bunyan in Pilgrims Progress , that: Public life is the crown of a career, and to young persons it is the worthiest ambition. Politics is still the greatest and most honorable adventure.