For the first time in the history of our country the majority of our people believe that the next five years will be worse than the past five years.
Interpretation
This quote reflects a growing pessimism about the future compared to the past.
Jimmy Carter expresses a sense of collective concern among the American populace regarding the future. The acknowledgment that for the first time a majority feels that upcoming years may be more challenging than the previous ones indicates a significant shift in public sentiment, highlighting societal anxieties and mounting challenges faced by the country at that time.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about current events or societal challenges.
Acknowledging the physical realities of our planet does not mean a dismal future of endless sacrifice. In fact, acknowledging these realities is the first step in dealing with them. We can meet the resource problems of the world - water, food, minerals, farmlands, forests, overpopulation, pollution - if we tackle them with courage and foresight.
The preeminent obstacle to peace is Israel's colonization of Palestine.
I would say the biggest handicap we have right now is some nutcases in our country that don't believe in global warming. I think they are going to change their position because of pressure from individuals, because the evidence of the ravages of global warming is already there.
If I were president, I'd be very glad to see the Palestinians have a nation recognized by the United Nations. There's no downside to it.
My understanding of racial discrimination as a child was highly distorted because the most prominent man in Archery was an African-American bishop. When he came home from up north, where he was in charge of A.M.E. churches in five states, it was front-page news. He was the most successful man in my life.
Our American values are not luxuries but necessities, not the salt in our bread, but the bread itself. Our common vision of a free and just society is our greatest source of cohesion at home and strength abroad, greater than the bounty of our material blessings.
A revolution that does not produce a new space has not realized its full potential
We are such docile creatures, normally, that it takes a virus to jolt us out of life's routine. A couple of days in a fever bed are, in a sense, health-giving; the change in body temperature, the change in pulse , and the change of scene have a restorative effect on the system equal to the hell they raise.
My top priority is for people to understand that they have the power to change things themselves.
I believe that every single one of us, celebrity or not, has a responsibility to get involved in trying to make a difference in the world. Our generation faces many challenges, some of which were passed on to us by the past generations, but it's up to us to find solutions today so that we don't keep passing our problems on.
The most positive action we can take about the past is to change our perception of it.
If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.
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