Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.

There’s something about death that is comforting. The thought that you could die tomorrow frees you to appreciate your life now.

If you’re a surfer, you just want to surf. You don’t know if anyone’s going to see you, and you don’t really care if they see you. You just live for that feeling.

In terms of my involvement in ‚don’t ask, don’t tell‘ and marriage equality and anti-bullying and social emotional learning in schools – these are all things that arise out of my relationship with the world and with my fans.

There are a lot of good women in New York.

Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint.

Before God we are all equally wise – and equally foolish.

The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood.

You definitely want your kids to understand their heritage, but I don’t want my kids to just focus on being black. They are people. I don’t want them to judge other people or to be judged. I want them to be good people, so good people will treat them accordingly. I preach that to my kids and everything else falls into place.

For me, being raised in a free America made all the difference.

A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.

I believe in the spirit of equality and the spirit of this country as one of love and compassion and kindness.

There is no more independence in politics than there is in jail.

In this country, it doesn’t make any difference where you were born. It doesn’t make any difference who your parents were. It doesn’t make any difference if, like me, you couldn’t even speak English until you were in your twenties.

Freedom is a possession of inestimable value.

Our object in the construction of the state is the greatest happiness of the whole, and not that of any one class.

In too many communities, too many young men of color are left behind and seen only as objects of fear. Through initiatives like My Brother’s Keeper, I’m personally committed to changing both perception and reality.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

I’ve never doubted that apartheid – because it was of itself fundamentally, intrinsically evil – was going to bite the dust eventually.

Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.

Only our individual faith in freedom can keep us free.

A fundamentalist can’t bring himself or herself to negotiate with people who disagree with them because the negotiating process itself is an indication of implied equality.

If all misfortunes were laid in one common heap whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be contented to take their own and depart.

Charity begins at home, and justice begins next door.

I refuse to allow any man-made differences to separate me from any other human beings.

A successful lawsuit is the one worn by a policeman.

The most perfect political community is one in which the middle class is in control, and outnumbers both of the other classes.

I believe that God breathed life into every person and that every person is made in the image of God and you have accept them as they are, on their journey. I’m not here to preach hate or push people down.

The Negro needs the white man to free him from his fears. The white man needs the Negro to free him from his guilt.

I think we must get rid of slavery, or we must get rid of freedom.

What then is freedom? The power to live as one wishes.

You can’t put democracy and freedom back into a box.

Art is to be free. Design is to fix.

The walls, the bars, the guns and the guards can never encircle or hold down the idea of the people.

The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.

All people are born alike – except Republicans and Democrats.

Innovation can only occur where you can breathe free.

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

The men and women of Afghanistan are building a nation that is free, and proud, and fighting terror – and America is honored to be their friend.

If proud Americans can be who they are and boldly stand at the altar with who they love then surely, surely we can give everyone in this country a fair chance at that great American Dream.

Fear clogs; faith liberates.

Freedom is not enough.

We don’t hide our space program. We don’t keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That’s the way freedom is, and we wouldn’t change it for a minute.

I think everybody deserves an equal amount of appreciation whether how old they are, but I mean, I’m cool with the praise. I’m good.

Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom – and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech.

The terrorists are fighting freedom with all their cunning and cruelty because freedom is their greatest fear – and they should be afraid, because freedom is on the march.

What I believe unites the people of this nation, regardless of race or region or party, young or old, rich or poor, is the simple, profound belief in opportunity for all – the notion that if you work hard and take responsibility, you can get ahead.

We are all alike, on the inside.

Man is not the creature of circumstances, circumstances are the creatures of men. We are free agents, and man is more powerful than matter.

The magistrates are the ministers for the laws, the judges their interpreters, the rest of us are servants of the law, that we all may be free.

Nicaragua dealt with the problem of terrorism in exactly the right way. It followed international law and treaty obligations. It collected evidence, brought the evidence to the highest existing tribunal, the International Court of Justice, and received a verdict – which, of course, the U.S. dismissed with contempt.

Stop this attitude that older people ain’t any good anymore! We’re as good as we ever were – if we ever were any good.

And every human being is precious.

Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than Christianity has made them good.

We think the Dred Scott decision is erroneous. We know the court that made it has often overruled its own decisions, and we shall do what we can to have it overrule this.

If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free; if our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed.

A jury consists of twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer.

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.

It is with your aid, as the people, that I think we shall be able to preserve – not the country, for the country will preserve itself, but the institutions of the country – those institutions which have made us free, intelligent and happy – the most free, the most intelligent, and the happiest people on the globe.

I want to do a certain thing in the world, and I am going to do it with unwavering concentration. I am concerning myself with only one essential thing: to set man free. I desire to free him from all cages, from all fears, and not to found religions, new sects, nor to establish new theories and new philosophies.

Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn’t matter which color does the hating. It’s just plain wrong.