We, today, stand on the shoulders of our predecessors who have gone before us. We, as their successors, must catch the torch of freedom and liberty passed on to us by our ancestors. We cannot lose in this battle.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of acknowledging our predecessors and continuing their legacy of freedom and liberty.
Benjamin E. Mays highlights the connection between generations, reminding us that we are the beneficiaries of the struggles and achievements of those who came before us. It calls for a sense of responsibility to carry forward the ideals of freedom and liberty, suggesting that we have the strength to prevail in this endeavor as we honor the legacy of our ancestors.
In practice
In a motivational speech at a graduation ceremony.
The tragedy of life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. It isn't a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream...It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for. Not failure, but low aim is sin.
In this perilous world, if a black boy wanted to live a halfway normal life and die a natural death he had to learn early the art of how to get along with white folks.
It isn't more light we need, it isn't more truth, and it isn't more scientific data. It is more Christ, more courage, more spiritual insight to act on the light we have.
A child must learn early to believe that she is somebody worthwhile, and that she can do many praiseworthy things.
Whatever you do,strive to do it so well that no man living and no man dead and no man yet to be born could do it any better.
Many well-meaning intelligent people have argued since the May 17, 1954, decision of the United States Supreme Court outlawing segregation in the public schools that communication between the races has broken down.
Steve Jobs was a great friend as well as a trusted advisor. His legacy will extend far beyond the products he created or the businesses he built. It will be the millions of people he inspired, the lives he changed, and the culture he defined.
I know this world is far from perfect. I am not the type to mistake a streetlight for the moon. I know our wounds are deep as the Atlantic. But every ocean has a shoreline and every shoreline has a tide that is constantly returning to wake the songbirds in our hands, to wake the music in our bones, to place one fearless kiss on the mouth of that new born river that has to run through the center of our hearts to find its way home.
A great man is a torch in the darkness, a beacon in superstition's night, an inspiration and a prophecy.
Free, only want to be free, we huddle close, hang on to a dream.
As we produce work that becomes pure poetry, we impact and influence our teammates, we wow our suppliers, we inspire customers and strangers. And we lead our industry.
To boldly go where no one has gone before
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