The community which has neither poverty nor riches will always have the noblest principles.

No one can say, ‚I have dropped out – I am no longer in the system.‘ When you’re in prison, you’re even closer to the system: you feel it more, and you might be in there for whatever reason. You don’t transform the system as an absolute thing.

Democratic societies are unfit for the publication of such thunderous revelations as I am in the habit of making.

Are creeds such simple things like the clothes which a man can change at will and put on at will? Creeds are such for which people live for ages and ages.

Capital punishment is as fundamentally wrong as a cure for crime as charity is wrong as a cure for poverty.

It’s difficult to believe that people are still starving in this country because food isn’t available.

Man can never be a woman’s equal in the spirit of selfless service with which nature has endowed her.

The surest way to remain poor is to be an honest man.

We are rich only through what we give, and poor only through what we refuse.

It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.

Only a man’s character is the real criterion of worth.

Those who have virtue always in their mouths, and neglect it in practice, are like a harp, which emits a sound pleasing to others, while itself is insensible of the music.

Yes, we’ve still got more work to do. More work to do for every American still in need of a good job or a raise, paid leave or a decent retirement; for every child who needs a sturdier ladder out of poverty or a world-class education; for everyone who has not yet felt the progress of these past seven and a half years.

We must make it clear that a platform of ‚I hate gay men and women‘ is not a way to become president of the United States.

Create a ladder of values and priorities in your life, reminding yourself of what really matters to you.

The problem is that the U.S. government is the biggest debtor in the world, and those depending on it to take care of them will only become poorer.

The world is a republic of mediocrities, and always was.

The difference between a moral man and a man of honor is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, even when it has worked and he has not been caught.

Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.

I think that there’s no doubt that as I see friends, families, children of gay couples who are thriving, you know, that has an impact on how I think about these issues.

When I ask OGs why there’s so much division in the streets, nobody never really knows. But you know one thing that everybody always mention? A woman.

Growing up, I decided, a long time ago, I wouldn’t accept any manmade differences between human beings, differences made at somebody else’s insistence or someone else’s whim or convenience.

From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.

My goal is just to be respected as a man when I walk down the street with my family. I don’t care what your job is, you’re not gonna talk down to me, you’re not gonna try to get a rise out of me. I’m a man first. And in establishing that, some interesting things have happened.

I am the son of a freedom fighter, and a son of a freedom fighter automatically imbibes the value of democracy.

Men have become the tools of their tools.

In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.

To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea.

When even one American – who has done nothing wrong – is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth – then all Americans are in peril.

Among us, who is above must be in service of the others. This doesn’t mean we have to wash each other’s feet every day, but we must help one another.

It is better to live rich than to die rich.

The voting booth joint is a great leveler; the whole neighborhood – rich, poor, old, young, decrepit and spunky – they all turn out in one day.

Prices are important not because money is considered paramount but because prices are a fast and effective conveyor of information through a vast society in which fragmented knowledge must be coordinated.

I truly believe that when the history books are written, our age will be remembered for three things: the war on terror, the digital revolution, and what we did – or did not do – to put the fire out in Africa. History, like God, is watching what we do.

The public is a ferocious beast; one must either chain it or flee from it.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.

One must be poor to know the luxury of giving!

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.

It is pretty ironic that the so-called ‚least advanced‘ people are the ones taking the lead in trying to protect all of us, while the richest and most powerful among us are the ones who are trying to drive the society to destruction.

I strongly believe that missionaries make better products. They care more. For a missionary, it’s not just about the business. There has to be a business, and the business has to make sense, but that’s not why you do it. You do it because you have something meaningful that motivates you.

The moral disapprobation of society has an impact on behavior in societies.

To keep your character intact you cannot stoop to filthy acts. It makes it easier to stoop the next time.

The state controlling a woman would mean denying her full autonomy and full equality.

I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights.

Feeling like you’re respected among the people who do the same thing you do is incredible and necessary.

Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no. That’s not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim American kid believing that he or she could be president?

I think many people in my community had very different kinds of mothers: they had mothers who acquiesced in the system of male and white-supremacist domination, and my mother never did. She just could not do it. It just wasn’t in her.

About morals, I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.

We are trying to construct a more inclusive society. We are going to make a country in which no one is left out.

People have never looked so ugly as they do today. We just consume far too much.

For me, money is not my definition of success. Inspiring people is a definition of success.

I do remember how it was to be poor. I do remember that in my early years, we had to grow and raise all of our food, even our animals. And I remember in my early life, we didn’t even have electricity. So it was very, very hard times then.

Everybody should have a fair deal; everybody should have the chance to life in this world. If we were evolved as human beings, we would hopefully be able to alleviate suffering in the world.

My entire childhood was steeped in poverty. For me, poverty, in a way, was the first inspiration of my life, a commitment to do something for the poor.

Where you live in the world should not determine whether you live in the world.

Justice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only as first it resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens.

I think that when you’re making your way up in the music industry, you have all these heroes and the reasons why they are your heroes. As soon as you get into the industry, your guidelines change a little bit. For me, my heroes now are great people first and great artists second.

I never leaf through a copy of National Geographic without realizing how lucky we are to live in a society where it is traditional to wear clothes.

No other country in the world does what we do. On every issue, the world turns to us, not simply because of the size of our economy or our military might – but because of the ideals we stand for, and the burdens we bear to advance them.

Live one day at a time emphasizing ethics rather than rules.

I think tolerance and acceptance and love is something that feeds every community.