Barack Obama

“And my grandparents explained that folks in these parts, they didn’t like show-offs. They didn’t admire braggarts or bullies. They didn’t respect mean-spiritedness, or folks who were always looking for shortcuts in life. Instead, what they valued were traits like honesty and hard work, kindness, courtesy, humility, responsibility, helping each other out. That’s what they believed in. True things. Things that last. The things we try to teach our kids.”

“...[R]esilience ...the only thing that is the end of the world is the end of the world...I believe in this country. I believe in the American people. I believe that people are more good than bad. I believe tragic things happen. I think there’s evil in the world, but I think at the end of the day, if we work hard and if we’re true to those things in us that feel true and feel right, that the world gets a little better each time.”

“There's something about the solemn responsibilities of that office, the extraordinary demands that are placed on the United States -- not just by its own people but by people around the world -- that forces you to focus, that demands seriousness. And if you're not serious about the job, then you probably won't be there very long because it will expose problems.”

“Learning to stand in somebody else's shoes, to see through their eyes, that's how peace begins. Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world.”

“The strongest weapon against hateful speech is not repression; it is more speech...because, in the end, lies and misinformation are no match for the truth...Ideologies are not defeated with guns, they're defeated by better ideas...If you want a society that is free and vibrant and successful, part of that formula is the free flow of information [and] ideas, and that requires a free press. A free press is a foundation for any democracy...A great nation doesn't shy from the truth. It strengthens us. It emboldens us.”

“Human dignity is not just a universal aspiration, but a human right. Dignity begins with the most basic of needs -- a life free of hunger and disease and want.”

“Government can't stand on the sidelines in our efforts. Because government is us. It can and should reflect our deepest values and commitments.”

“Our system of self-government depends on ordinary citizens doing the hard, frustrating but always essential work of citizenship -- of being informed. Of understanding that the government isn't some distant thing, but is you. Of speaking out when something is not right. Of helping fellow citizens when they need a hand. Of coming together to shape our country's course.”

“Democracy grinds to a halt without a willingness to compromise or when even basic facts are contested or when we listen only to those who agree with us. Our public life withers when only the most extreme voices get all the attention. And most of all, democracy breaks down when the average person feels their voice doesn't matter; that the system is rigged in favor of the rich or the powerful or some special interest...The cure for what ails our democracies is greater engagement by our citizens -- not less.”

“The ideals that are the starting point for every revolution -- America's revolution, Cuba's revolution, the liberation movements around the world -- those ideals find their truest expression, I believe, in democracy. Not because American democracy is perfect, but precisely because we're not. And we -- like every country -- need the space that democracy gives us to change. It gives individuals the capacity to be catalysts to think in new ways, and to reimagine how our society should be, and to make them better...We welcome the scrutiny of the world - because what you see in America is a country that has steadily worked to address our problems and make our union more perfect.”

“We're not done perfecting our union, or living up to our founding creed that all of us are created equal; all of us are free in the eyes of God...Now, as a nation, we don't promise equal outcomes, but we were founded on the idea everybody should have an equal opportunity to succeed. No matter who you are, what you look like, where you come from, you can make it. That's an essential promise of America. Where you start should not determine where you end up.”

“[Shimon Peres] understood that it is better to live to the very end of his time on Earth with a longing not for the past but for the dreams that have not yet come true.”

“It was the labor movement that helped secure so much of what we take for granted today. The 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, family leave, health insurance, Social Security, Medicare, retirement plans. The cornerstones of the middle-class security all bear the union label.”

“In a world of complex threats, our security and leadership depends on all elements of our power -- including strong and principled diplomacy.”

“After a century of trying, we declared that healthcare in America is not a privilege for a few, it is a right for everybody.”

“What makes us Americans is our shared commitment to an ideal - that all of us are created equal, and all of us have the chance to make of our lives what we will.”

“You have shown what history teaches us — that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington.”

“We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.”

“Hope is the bedrock of this nation. The belief that our destiny will not be written for us, but by us, by all those men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is, who have the courage to remake the world as it should be.”

“If you look out over the arc of history, human beings should be filled not with fear but with hope.”

“You can't let your failures define you. You have to let your failures teach you...We choose hope over fear. We see the future not as something out of our control, but as something we can shape for the better through concerted and collective effort. We reject fatalism or cynicism when it comes to human affairs.”

“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don't wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope...If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress.”

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek...I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting...The future rewards those who press on. I don't have time to feel sorry for myself. I don't have time to complain. I'm going to press on...”

“We're not a fragile people. We're not a frightful people. Our power doesn't come from some self-declared savior promising that he alone can restore order as long as we do things his way. We don't look to be ruled.”

“It was not a religion that attacked us that September day. It was al-Qaeda. We will not sacrifice the liberties we cherish or hunker down behind walls of suspicion and mistrust.”
[This is very naive, like saying that we didn't really fight communism in Korea -- just people. Reality is more complicated; and it often takes sincere effort to not settle for oversimplifications. Clearly Islamic terrorists use their naive religious beliefs to rationalize their hatred for us.]

“Today we are engaged in a deadly global struggle for those who would intimidate, torture, and murder people for exercising the most basic freedoms. If we are to win this struggle and spread those freedoms, we must keep our own moral compass pointed in a true direction.”

“Part of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now and facts and science and argument does not seem to be winning the day all the time is because we're hardwired not to always think clearly when we're scared. And the country's scared.”

“This is the moment when we must come together to save this planet. Let us resolve that we will not leave our children a world where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands.”

“We need to steer clear of this poverty of ambition, where people want to drive fancy cars and wear nice clothes and live in nice apartments but don't want to work hard to accomplish these things. Everyone should try to realize their full potential.”

“If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists - to protect them and to promote their common welfare - all else is lost.”

“If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help... Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business - you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen.”

“The Internet didn't get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet. The point is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.”

“A nation ringed by walls would only imprison itself.”

“No, you can't deny women their basic rights and pretend it's about your 'religious freedom'. If you don't like birth control, don't use it. Religious freedom doesn't mean you can force others to live by your own beliefs.”

“There's not a liberal America and a conservative America - there's the United States of America.”

“We need to internalize this idea of excellence. Not many folks spend a lot of time trying to be excellent.”

“American leadership in this world really is indispensable. It's up to us, through action and example, to sustain the international order that's expanded steadily since the end of the Cold War, and upon which our own wealth and safety depend. Third, we are just temporary occupants of this office. That makes us guardians of those democratic institutions and traditions -- like rule of law, separation of powers, equal protection and civil liberties -- that our forebears fought and bled for. Regardless of the push and pull of daily politics, it's up to us to leave those instruments of our democracy at least as strong as we found them.”

“Democracy is a garden that has to be tended.”

“Promoting science isn't just about providing resources, it's about protecting free and open inquiry. It's about ensuring that facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology. It's about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it's inconvenient, especially when it's inconvenient. Because the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us.”

BarackObama.com


Address to the British Parliament 42:23


2015 White House Correspondents' Dinner 22:09