John F. Kennedy Quotes

We find the people to be no better than their laws.

The conceptions which any nation or individual entertains of the God of its popular worship may be inferred from their own actions and opinions, which are the subjects of their approbation among their fellow-men.

One of the advantages of having laws is the pleasure one may take in breaking them.

The long-established and noble rule of Law, one of the greatest products of the character and tradition of British history, has suffered a deadly blow. Blackmail has become respectable.

In any society that is governed by the rule of law, some form of morality is always imposed. It's inescapable.

Societies depend on agreed rules.

Morals are in all countries the result of legislation and government; they are not African or Asian or European: they are good or bad.

Connections and relationships are important everywhere, anywhere - of course in China, because the rule of law it is not as strong as in the West, so a lot would rely on personal relationships.

You have to accept the rule of law, even when it's inconvenient, if you're going to be a country that bides by the rule of law.

People are, well, only human. We know that. The rule of law is borne out in identifying, condemning, and punishing those who violate the standards on which we all agree. This is exactly what we do in America.

Society is constantly recalibrating, redefining what it considers to be moral and immoral.

We must weed out corruption and build a strong system of justice that the people can trust.

What is crime among the multitude is only vice among the few.

The law has to be, in part, a teacher.

It's very much simpler to get rid of any written rule you choose than it is an item of customary morality... while laws are preserved on tablets of wood or stone, customary morality is engraved deep in our living souls

The general right of the whole decides what is good and what is evil

There is endless variety in the details of the customs and laws which prevail of the world at large.

Society's mores have changed, and what used to be thought not to be cruel and unusual now is thought to be cruel and unusual.

In my years, I had the opportunity to observe peoples and countries. I see some countries doing well, others failing, and my analysis of things is that whether you fail or succeed is a function of your value system.

Culture is a reflection of values.

A country is not only what it does but what it tolerates.

Style is about the choices you make to create the aspects of civilization that you wish to uphold.

We must be governed by the force of law, not by the law of force.

What is law? Is it what is on the books, or what is actually enacted and obeyed in a society? Or is law what must be enacted and obeyed, whether or not it is on the books, if things are to go right?

Laws that do not embody public opinion can never be enforced.