I'm a person who has always believed that you tell people the truth, and they'll make reasonable decisions. Truth is powerful.
John F. KerryRead
For sure, there are times when one may have no choice but to go to war, but it is never something to rush to or accept without exploring every other available option.
Interpretation
War should always be a last resort after all other options are exhausted.
In this quote, John F. Kerry emphasizes the importance of careful consideration and exploration of alternatives before resorting to war. He acknowledges that there are situations where conflict may become unavoidable, but he cautions against hastily embracing violent solutions without first seeking out peaceful resolutions and diplomatic avenues.
In practice
A leader addressing their people about the importance of considering diplomacy over combat.
I'm a person who has always believed that you tell people the truth, and they'll make reasonable decisions. Truth is powerful.
Confronting climate change is, in the long run, one of the greatest challenges that we face, and you can see this duty or responsibility laid down in scriptures, clearly.
Unlike Washington, which is stuck in ideological gridlock, Americans feel the impact of climate change in their own hometowns and they know something must be done.
Here I am in the state of New Mexico. George Bush is still in the state of denial. New Mexico has five electoral votes. The state of denial has none. I like my chances.
Democracy relies on free speech. Yes, say anything you want, but it relies even more on the speech being truthful. It is the truth, after all, that sets us free.
War should be not a war of choice; it should be a war of necessity. And it should be a last resort.
But I despised men who accepted their fate. I shaped mine twenty times and had it broken twenty times in my hands.
When I was raped I lost my virginity and almost lost my life. I also discarded certain assumptions I had held about how the world worked and about how safe I was.
The dog, who had sounded so ferocious in the winter distances, was a female German Shepherd. She was shivering. Her tail was between her legs. She had been borrowed that morning from a farmer. She had never been to war before. She had no idea what game was being played. Her name was Princess.
We must be neither cowardly nor rash but courageous.
Daily I expect to be murdered or betrayed or reduced to slavery if the occasion arises. But I fear nothing, because of the promises of heaven.
As an old soldier, I admit the cowardice: it's as universal as seasickness, and matters just as little.
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