President John F. Kennedy: Remarks at Amherst College, October 26, 1963

The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility Against an intrusive society and an officious state
He has, as Frost said, a lover's quarrel with the world
In pursuing his perceptions of reality
He must often sail against the currents of his time
This is not a popular role
Yet in retrospect, we see how the artist's fidelity has strengthened the fibre of our national life
If sometimes our great artists have been the most critical of our society
It is because their sensitivity
And their concern for justice, which must motivate any true artist
Makes him aware that our Nation falls short of its highest potential
I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist
If art is to nourish the roots of our culture
Society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him
We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda,
it is a form of truth
For poets, there is nothing worse for our trade than to be in style
In free society art is not a weapon
and it does not belong to the spheres of polemic and ideology
The highest duty of the writer, the composer,
the artist is to remain true to himself
And to let the chips fall where they may
In serving his vision of the truth, the artist best serves his nation. And the nation which disdains the mission of art invites the fate of Robert Frost's hired man, the fate of having "nothing to look backward to with pride, and nothing to look forward to with hope."