Sunday, November 16, 2014

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

Photo of John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.
[John F. Kennedy: "Proclamation 3560 - Thanksgiving Day, 1963," November 5, 1963. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=9511] Added 11/16/2014

If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
[Inaugural Address, Washington D.C., January 20, 1961] (JFK Library). Added 11/14/2014

Let us not despair but act. Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past - let us accept our own responsibility for the future.
(JFK Library). (Loyola College Alumni Banquet, Baltimore, Maryland, February 18, 1958," box 899, Senate Speech Files, John F. Kennedy Papers, Pre-Presidential Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library/) Added 10/14/2013

Ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country.
(USHistory.org) [John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Addresss, January 20, 1961]. Added 7/11/2012

This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor.
 [Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union, January 14, 1963] (JFK Library). Added 7/9/2012


For more information on John F. Kennedy visit the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum Website.

Photo: The portrait of John F. Kennedy in this post is in the Public Domain.


Saturday, November 15, 2014

Henry James (1843-1916)

Henry James

Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind (Randomactsofkindness.org).  Added 11/15/2014

Photo: The photo of Henry James is in the Public Domain.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Jimmy Carter (b. 1924)



In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we've discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We've learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose (Wikiquote, The Crisis of Confidence, July 15, 1979). Added 10/7/2014

We should live our lives as though Christ was coming this afternoon (Goodreads.com). Added 8/20/2013

My faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference (Guideposts.org). Added 7/1/2013


The left photo of Jimmy Carter is in the Public Domain and the right photo is in the Creative Commons of Wikipedia.