Quote of the day: John F Kennedy's timeless words of wisdom — 'If free society cannot help poor, it cannot….'

Thirty fifth US President John F Kennedy during his inaugural address on 20 January 1961 highlighted the interconnectedness of social welfare as he emphasized that a free society must support the poor to protect the rich.

Quote of the day: John F Kennedy's words of wisdom — “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”

Kennedy, who was assassinated during the peak of his tenure on 23 November 1963, believed that a society's ability to aid the poor is crucial for the preservation of wealth among the rich. The quote suggests a society's freedom is collective determined by different economic sections. Fates of the rich and poor are interlinked implying that upliftment of the poor becomes a survival strategy, not a moral luxury.

Born in Brookline, Massachusetts

Also known as JFK, John Fitzgerald Kennedy served as the US President from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. The youngest elected US president, at 43 years, was born into the prominent Kennedy family in Brookline, Massachusetts. The first Catholic president, Kennedy graduated from Harvard University in 1940 and joined the US Naval Reserve the following year.

He became a war hero after he survived capsized boat PT-109 and even managed successful rescue of fellow sailors despite severe injuries. Due to his bravery, he was awarded with the Navy and Marine Corps Medal.

Kennedy, who backed Democratic Party, represented a working-class Boston district in the US House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953. In 1953, he was elected to the US Senate and served as the junior senator from Massachusetts till 1960. During his tenure as senator, he published a book on bravery and integrity titled “Profiles in Courage” which won a Pulitzer Prize. He defeated Republican opponent Richard Nixon, the incumbent vice president in the 1960 presidential election.

Top John F Kennedy quotes

• "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
• “Mankind must put an end to war – or war will put an end to mankind.”
• “The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.”
• “A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.”
• “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
• “There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.”
• “We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came.”
• “Domestic policy can only defeat us; foreign policy can kill us.”
• “Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.”