The destiny of our land, the air we breathe, the water we drink is not in the mystical hands of an uncontrollable agent, it is in our hands. A future which brings the balancing of our resources-preserving quality with quantity - is a future limited only by the boundaries of our will to get the job done.
Interpretation
We must take responsibility for our environment and future, as it is within our control.
Richard M. Nixon emphasizes the importance of human agency in shaping the future of our planet. He argues that rather than leaving our fate to chance or uncontrollable forces, it is our responsibility to manage and balance the resources of our land, air, and water to ensure a sustainable future. This quote serves as a call to action, urging us to recognize our power and willingness to make necessary changes for the betterment of our environment.
In practice
At an environmental conference discussing sustainability initiatives.
The recent upsurge of public concern over environmental questions reflects a belated recognition that man has been too cavalier in his relations with nature. Unless we arrest the depredations that have been inflicted so carelessly on our natural systems-which exist in an intricate set of balances-we face the prospect of ecological disaster.
The ability to be cool, confident, and decisive in crisis is not an inherited characteristic but is the direct result of how well the individual has prepared himself for the battle.
If you take no risks, you will suffer no defeats. But if you take no risks, you win no victories.
If the President does it, it can't be illegal.
We cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another - until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices.
Never has so much military and economic and diplomatic power been used so ineffectively, and if after all of this time, and all of this sacrifice, and all of this support, there is still no end in sight, then I say the time has come for the American people to turn to new leadership not tied to the mistakes and policies of the past.
In times of rapid change, experience could be your worst enemy.
How can we effect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?
There is nothing permanent except change.
It should be borne in mind that there is nothing more difficult to arrange, more doubtful of success, and more dangerous to carry through than initiating changes. The innovator makes enemies of all those who prospered under the old order, and only lukewarm support is forthcoming from those who would prosper under the new. Their support is lukewarm ... partly because men are generally incredulous, never really trusting new things unless they have tested them by experience.
The world will not evolve past its current state of crisis by using the same thinking that created the situation.
Psychology cannot tell people how they ought to live their lives. It can however, provide them with the means for effecting personal and social change.
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