The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are. The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.
Interpretation
Freedom often comes with costs, and giving in to challenges is not an option.
This quote by John F. Kennedy emphasizes the inevitability of challenges in the pursuit of freedom. Kennedy recognizes that while the journey toward freedom may be fraught with danger and high costs, it is crucial for Americans to resist the temptation of surrender or submission, highlighting the resilience and determination required to uphold those freedoms.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of resilience in the face of adversity.
The great battleground for the defense and expansion of freedom today is the whole southern half of the globe... the lands of the rising peoples. Their revolution is the greatest in human history. They seek an end to injustice, tyranny and exploitation. More than an end, they seek a beginning.
I had always enjoyed the title of Commander-in-Chief until I was informed ... that the only forces that cannot be transferred from Washington without my express permission are the members of the Marine Corps Band. Those are the only forces I have. I want it announced that we propose to hold the White House against all odds at least for some time to come.
I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children - not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women - not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.
I just received the following wire from my generous Daddy; Dear Jack, Don't buy a single vote more than is necessary. I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for a landslide.
Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.
Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.
If you will tell me when God permits a Christian to lay aside his armour, I will tell you when Satan has left off temptation. Like the old knights in war time, we must sleep with helmet and breastplate buckled on, for the arch-deceiver will seize our first unguarded hour to make us his prey. The Lord keep us watchful in all seasons, and give us a final escape from the jaw of the lion and the paw of the bear.
I'd been in jail, and I'd been beat. I had been to a voter registration workshop, you know, to - they were just training and teaching us how to register, to pass the literacy test.
The Black Panther Party stood up and said that we don't care what anybody says. We don't think fighting fire with fire is best; we think you fight fire with water best.
The power of good is shown not by triumphantly conquering evil, but by continuing to resist evil while facing certain defeat.
You lose nothing when fighting for a cause ... In my mind the losers are those who don't have a cause they care about.
My parents witnessed firsthand in Haiti that if you stop speaking up, one day you'll wake up afraid to speak. They came to America so they'd never be afraid of speaking up again.
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