21 Quotes & Sayings By Robert F Kennedy

Robert Francis Kennedy was born on November 20, 1925. He was the second of eight children. His father Joseph was a successful businessman who died when RFK was eight years old. He grew up in a wealthy family with six siblings Read more

 He attended private schools in New York City and graduated from Harvard University in 1947. That year he entered the law school at Harvard, but after graduating he decided to become a lawyer instead of an attorney. After working for two years as a junior lawyer, he entered the U.S.

Navy in 1952, where he served for four years. While in college RFK thought about becoming a priest, but that idea faded when he realized that his chosen profession would be harder than becoming a priest.  When the Navy discharged him, he returned home to work for his brother in Boston's law firm Shea & Gardner.

In 1956, RFK was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives representing Massachusetts' 11th congressional district. There he became one of the youngest members of Congress at age 28 and quickly established himself as an effective politician known for his integrity and great oratory skills.

 The 1960 election marked his first serious foray into politics, when Republican Richard Nixon challenged Democrat John F. Kennedy for president of the United States under the slogan "We choose to go to the moon." As Kennedy's election neared, there were many who did not want him re-elected because they thought that his association with Joseph P. Kennedy meant that he would be more inclined to go along with Roosevelt's plans for increasing federal spending and increasing taxes (which were unpopular).

 During his term in Congress, RFK supported President Eisenhower's civil rights legislation, but also had to fight against the racist policies of Southern politicians seeking federal aid for their region while refusing it to Northern blacks (who had recently gained civil rights).

Fear not the path of Truth for the lack of...
1
Fear not the path of Truth for the lack of People walking on it. Robert F. Kennedy
2
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, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. Robert F. Kennedy
Religion is a salve for confusion and misdirection.
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Religion is a salve for confusion and misdirection. Robert F. Kennedy
Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve...
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Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. Robert F. Kennedy
The sharpest criticism often goes hand in hand with the...
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The sharpest criticism often goes hand in hand with the deepest idealism and love of country. Robert F. Kennedy
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This world demands the qualities of youth; not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the life of ease. Robert F. Kennedy
7
We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization - black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion and love.. 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 and lawlessness, but is 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 whether they be black. Robert F. Kennedy
8
Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. 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, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. Robert F. Kennedy
9
What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents. Robert F. Kennedy
10
All of us might wish at times that we lived in a more tranquil world, but we don't. And if our times are difficult and perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with opportunity. Robert F. Kennedy
11
A hopeless man is a very desperate and dangerous man, almost a dead man. Robert F. Kennedy
12
We have spoken out against inhuman slaughters perpetrated by the Nazis and the Communists. But will we speak out also against the inhuman slaughter in Indonesia, where over 100, 000 alleged Communists have been not perpetrators, but victims? Robert F. Kennedy
13
States' rights, as our forefathers conceived it, was a protection of the right of the individual citizen. Those who preach most frequently about states' rights today are not seeking the protection of the individual citizen, but his exploitation. The time is long past - if indeed it ever existed - when we should permit the noble concept of States' rights to be betrayed and corrupted into a slogan to hide the bald denial of American rights, of civil rights, and of human rights. . Robert F. Kennedy
14
The only sin is pride. Robert F. Kennedy
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The purpose of life is to contribute in some way to making things better. Robert F. Kennedy
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Don't get mad get even. Robert F. Kennedy
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What is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause but what they say about their opponents. Robert F. Kennedy
18
You're happiest while you're making the greatest contribution. Robert F. Kennedy
19
Moral courage is a more rare commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Robert F. Kennedy
20
One fifth of the people are against everything all the time. Robert F. Kennedy