If you believe in a security strategy - a strategy of more friends and fewer enemies, a strategy of greater cooperation and a strategy of keeping America better at home as we grow more diverse - we have to build the minds and hearts to build this kind of world.
Interpretation
Building a better world requires fostering friendships and cooperation while embracing diversity.
William J. Clinton emphasizes the importance of a security strategy rooted in collaboration and friendship rather than conflict. He suggests that as society becomes more diverse, the focus should shift towards strengthening relationships and understanding among people to create a peaceful and cooperative environment both domestically and internationally.
In practice
In a speech about international relations, this quote can highlight the importance of diplomacy and alliances.
You know, there was a recent poll which said that young people in the generation of the students here felt it was far more likely that they would see a UFO than that they would draw Social Security... It's very important you understand this. Once you understand this, you realize this is not an episode from the X Files, and you're not more likely to see a UFO if you do certain specific things.
When we got organized as a country, [and] wrote a fairly radical Constitution, with a radical Bill of Rights, giving radical amounts of freedom to Americans, it was assumed that Americans who had that freedom would use it responsibly...When personal freedom is being abused, you have to move to limit it.
For too long we've been told about 'us' and 'them.' Each and every election we see a new slate of arguments and ads telling us that 'they' are the problem, not 'us.' But there can be no 'them' in America. There's only us.
There is a huge body of business evidence now showing that energy savings give better service at lower cost with higher profit. We have to tear down barriers to successful markets and we have to create incentives to enter them.
Demand that your government pays more attention. It's immoral that people in Africa die like flies of diseases that no one dies of in the United States. And the more disease there is, the more political unrest there will be, leading to more Darfurs, which the U.S. will have to pay to fix.
I was not elected to produce a pile of vetoes.
A leader is the one who speaks last and acts first.
A president who aspires to be recognized as a global leader should not personally stake out a foreign-policy goal, commit himself eloquently to its attainment, and then yield the ground when confronted by firm opposition.
If I made a commitment, I stood by that commitment - and try to make it real. Because when you become leaders, the most important thing you have is your word, your trust. That's where respect comes from.
It's hard to visualize someone as a leader, if she is always waiting to be told what to do.
Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
You can't be a successful leader or mentor until you have served. You can't serve until you have stepped out of your comfort zone. And you can't step out of your comfort zone unless you have character and keep your word.
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