Quotes About American

The debates in the American Congress have little teaching efficacy; it is the characteristic vice of Presidential government to deprive them of that efficacy; in that government a debate in the legislature has little effect, for it cannot turn out the executive, and the executive can veto all it decides.

The conundrum of color is the inheritance of every American, be he/she legally or actually Black or White ... I was trying to locate myself within a specific inheritance and to use that inheritance, precisely, to claim the birthright from which that inheritance had so brutally and specifically excluded me.

One of the most American of attributes: the inability to believe that time is real. It is this inability which makes them so romantic about the nature of society, and it is this inability which has led them into a total confusion about the nature of experience.

I can conceive of no Negro native to this country who has not, by the age of puberty, been irreparably scarred by the conditions of his life.

I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents' dreams live on in my precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible.

But let me perfectly clear, because I know you'll hear the same old claims that rolling back these tax breaks means a massive tax increase on the American people: if your family earns less than $250 000 a year, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. I repeat: not one single dime.

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 American people did not choose this fight. It came to our shores, and started with the senseless slaughter of our citizens.

We believe in equality for all, and privileges for none. This is a belief that each American regardless of background has equal standing in the public forum, all of us. Because we believe this idea so firmly, we are an inclusive, rather than an exclusive party. Let everybody come.

Libraries are the one American institution you shouldn't rip off.

We have the greatest hospitals, doctors, and medical technology in the world - we need to make them accessible to every American.

Women would be disproportionately affected by the privatization of social security. It is one of the most important safety nets for American women in old age, or in times of disability, to insure financial income for their families.

The Englishman, as an American observed, felt himself the best-governed citizen in the world, even when in opposition he believed the incumbents were ruining the country.

Reporters, in the hope of eliciting a witticism, were always asking him for comments on the news of the day. They were not always successful. Asked to comment on a Papal message, he replied, "The overpowering unimportance of this makes me speechless." Asked what was the greatest problem confronting the American people, he replied, "How to dodge a bicycle.

We're losing hope in the idea of trying to convince the American people to pay attention to something that matters. To some extent we are all the enemy, all of us have failed.

Earth Day 1970 was irrefutable evidence that the American people understood the environmental threat and wanted action to resolve it.

There always will be tension between the need to protect the innocent and the obligation to punish the guilty, but the current American system does a tolerable job of both. The fact is, the overwhelming majority of prison inmates are guilty of serious crimes that pose significant risks to the American public. Any argument for a dramatic downscaling of our sentencing policies will have to address these realities of imprisonment.

Thus, for the American Conservative, there is no difficulty in identifying the day's overriding political challenge: it is to preserve and extend freedom.

Happiness does not come from football awards. It's terrible to correlate happiness with football. Happiness comes from a good job, being able to feed your wife and kids. I don't dream football, I dream the American dream - two cars in a garage, be a happy father.

have used it in a highly offensive way and drenched it in fallacious, right-wing "Christian nation" pseudohistory. Worse, they've sponsored "Christians only" prayer events that exclude millions of Americans. (And by "Christians" they mean fundamentalists. Progressive Christians like me got nowhere near the microphone.)

We have got offered some shows in America, but really dopey shows - like reality shows.

A quick glance at the American left reveals a movement in the midst of a nervous breakdown, displaying behavior that goes beyond inconsistency into the realm of bipolar moods and multiple personality disorders.

To the European, it is a characteristic of the American culture that, again and again, one is commanded and ordered to 'be happy.' But happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. One must have a reason to 'be happy.'

Congress can pass reasonable gun safety legislation and save lives. We have a duty to the American people to do our job.