If freedom makes social progress possible, so social progress strengthens and enlarges freedom. The two are inseparable partners in the great adventure of humanity.
Robert KennedyRead
Within the United States, we have put great emphasis upon political freedoms. Because it has been our experience that these freedoms can lead to others.
Interpretation
Political freedoms are foundational to the development of other freedoms in society.
Robert Kennedy highlights the importance of political freedoms in the United States, suggesting that when individuals are afforded the right to express their political beliefs, it lays the groundwork for broader freedoms in various aspects of life. He underscores a belief that the liberty to engage in political discourse fosters an environment where other rights and freedoms can flourish.
In practice
During a speech on civil rights, I might use this quote to emphasize the connection between political and civil liberties.
If freedom makes social progress possible, so social progress strengthens and enlarges freedom. The two are inseparable partners in the great adventure of humanity.
Elections remind us not only of the rights but the responsibilities of citizenship in a democracy.
It is one thing to open job opportunities. It is another to train people to fill them, or to persuade American enterprise to seek Negro as well as white applicants.
Our attitude towards immigration reflects our faith in the American ideal. We have always believed it possible for men and women who start at the bottom to rise as far as the talent and energy allow. Neither race nor place of birth should affect their chances.
The Gross National Product measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile, and it can tell us everything about America - except whether we are proud to be Americans.
The United States was born in revolution and nurtured by struggle. Throughout our history, the American people have befriended and supported all those who seek independence and a better way of life.
Either in conflict with others or in harmony with them, we go through life like a runaway horse, unable to stop.
The fear of punishment, the desire of reward, the sense of duty, are all useful arguments, in their way, to persuade people to holiness. But they are all weak and powerless, until a person loves Christ.
Looking at the world from other species' points of view is a cure for the disease of human self-importance. You suddenly realize that consciousness - which we value and we consider the crowning achievement of nature, human consciousness - is really just another set of tools for getting along in the world.
I began to get a feeling familiar to me from my bartending days of being the only sane man in a nuthouse. It doesn't make you feel superior but depressed and scared, because there is nobody you can contact.
No sceptical philosopher can ask any questions that may not equally be asked by a tired child on a hot afternoon.
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
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