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Habitat Has Opened Up Unprecedented Opportunities For Me To Cross The Chasm That Separates Those Of Us Who Are Free, Safe, Financially Secure, Well Fed And Housed, And Influential Enough To Shape Our Own Destiny From Our Neighbors Who Enjoy Few, If Any, Of These Advantages Of Life.
-Jimmy Carter
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Habitat Has Opened Up

Jimmy Carter
Habitat Has Opened Up Unprecedented Opportunities For Me To Cross The Chasm That Separates Those Of Us Who Are Free, Safe, Financially Secure, Well Fed And Housed, And Influential Enough To Shape Our Own Destiny From Our Neighbors Who Enjoy Few, If Any, Of These Advantages Of Life.
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Topic
Opportunity
Destiny
Safe
More From Jimmy Carter
People Who Have Lust In Their Heart As Just As Guilty As Those Who Commit Adultery.
Heart
People
Lust
From The Beginning, The United States Has Enjoyed Close And Valued Ties With The Muslim World.
Ties
Islam
United States
Whether The Borders That Divide Us Are Picket Fences Or National Boundaries, We Are All Neighbors In A Global Community.
Community
Borders
Boundaries
If You Have A Task To Perform And Are Vitally Interested In It, Excited And Challenged By It, And Then You Will Exert Maximum Energy. But In The Excitement, The Pain Of Fatigue Dissipates, And The Exuberance Of What You Hope To Achieve Overcomes The Weariness.
Inspirational
Pain
Overcoming
Being President Is As Difficult As Writing The Perfect Poem. And Being President Is As Effortless As Writing The Perfect Poem. Always A Reckoning, My First Collection Of Poetry, Was Described By Booklist As 'keenly Evocative.'
Writing
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When We Go To The Bible We Should Keep In Mind That The Basic Principles Of The Bible Are Taught By God, But Written Down By Human Beings Deprived Of Modern Day Knowledge. So There Is Some Fallibility In The Writings Of The Bible. But The Basic Principles Are Applicable To My Life And I Don't Find Any Conflict Among Them.
Writing
Mind
Principles
I Am Pro-israeli, Not Because Of Political Expediency, But Because I Believe Israel Is The Fulfillment Of Biblical Prophecy.
Believe
Biblical
Israel
Acknowledging The Physical Realities Of Our Planet Does Not Mean A Dismal Future Of Endless Sacrifice. In Fact, Acknowledging These Realities Is The First Step In Dealing With Them. We Can Meet The Resource Problems Of The World - Water, Food, Minerals, Farmlands, Forests, Overpopulation, Pollution - If We Tackle Them With Courage And Foresight.
Future
Mean
Sacrifice
We Have Seven And A Half Times As Many People In Prison. And We Have Eight Times As Many Black Women In Prison Now As We Did In 1981, When I Left The White House. So That's Been One Of The Major Concerns I've Had As A Non-lawyer, To Criticize The American Justice System, Which Is Highly Biased Against Black People And Poor People. And It Still Is.
Eight
White
Justice
I'll Never Tell A Lie. I'll Never Make A Misleading Statement. I'll Never Betray The Confidence That Any Of You Had In Me. And I'll Never Avoid A Controversial Issue.
Lying
Issues
Controversial
Because We Are Free, We Can Never Be Indifferent To The Fate Of Freedom Elsewhere.
Fate
Indifferent
Elsewhere
A Christian Should Know That God Is A Creator, That God Is An Entity That Is All-powerful And All Knowledgeable, God Is Everywhere And God Is An Entity Filled With Grace, Love, Compassion And Forgiveness, That Jesus Is The Son Of God And Jesus Came On Earth To Explain To People In A Very Revolutionary Way The Nature Of God, That God Was Not A Stern Judge Who Was Keeping Track Of 600 Or So Rules And Regulations That You Had To Keep In Order To Be Acceptable To God.
Christian
Jesus
Powerful
The Truth Is That Male Religious Leaders Have Had - And Still Have - An Option To Interpret Holy Teachings Either To Exalt Or Subjugate Women. They Have, For Their Own Selfish Ends, Overwhelmingly Chosen The Latter.
Religious
Fear
Selfish
We Become Not A Melting Pot But A Beautiful Mosaic. Different People, Different Beliefs, Different Yearnings, Different Hopes, Different Dreams.
Beautiful
Dream
America
I Would Say The Biggest Handicap We Have Right Now Is Some Nutcases In Our Country That Don't Believe In Global Warming. I Think They Are Going To Change Their Position Because Of Pressure From Individuals, Because The Evidence Of The Ravages Of Global Warming Is Already There.
Country
Believe
Thinking
I Believe That We Are Given An Order By Jesus. One Of The Last Things He Did Was To Spread The Word Of God And He Being The Basis For Our Salvation. Christians Are Supposed To Be Evangelicals. And I Am.
Christian
Jesus
Believe
I Come Out Of The Environment Of The Deep South, Where I Had Seen The Millstone Of Racial Discrimination Weighting Down My People, Both The Black People And The White People; And I Had Seen The Enormous Progress That We Were Able To Make After We Removed The Legal Restraints Of A Two-class Society, With The Whites Superior And Blacks Inferior. So I Was Very Convinced Before I Became President That Basic Human Rights, Equality Of Opportunity, The End Of Abuse By Governments Of Their People, Was A Basic Principle On Which The United States Should Be An Acknowledged Champion.
Opportunity
Rights
Government
All I Want Is The Same Thing You Want. To Have A Nation With A Government That Is As Good And Honest And Decent And Competent And Compassionate And As Filled With Love As Are The American People.
Honesty
Government
People
We Can Drift Along As Though There Were Still A Cold War, Wasting Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars On Weapons That Will Never Be Used, Ignoring The Problems Of People In This Country And Around The World, Being One Of The Worst Environmental Violators On Earth, Standing Against Any Sort Of Viable Programs To Protect The World's Forests Or To Cut Down On Acid Rain Or The Global Warming Or Ozone Depletion. We Can Ignore Human Rights Violations In Other Countries, Or We Can Take These Things On As True Leaders Ought To And Accept The Inspiring Challenge Of America For The Future.
Country
War
Rain
Habitat Has Opened Up Unprecedented Opportunities For Me To Cross The Chasm That Separates Those Of Us Who Are Free, Safe, Financially Secure, Well Fed And Housed, And Influential Enough To Shape Our Own Destiny From Our Neighbors Who Enjoy Few, If Any, Of These Advantages Of Life.
Opportunity
Destiny
Safe
My Esteem In This Country Has Gone Up Substantially. It Is Very Nice Now When People Wave At Me, They Use All Their Fingers.
Country
Nice
People
Failure Is A Reality; We All Fail At Times, And It's Painful When We Do. But It's Better To Fail While Striving For Something Wonderful, Challenging, Adventurous, And Uncertain Than To Say, " I Don't Want To Try Because I May Not Succeed Completely.
Failure
Reality
Challenges
With Overwhelming Military Strength Now Deployed Against Him And With Intense Monitoring From Space Surveillance And The U.n. Inspection Team On The Ground, Any Belligerent Move By Saddam Against A Neighbor Would Be Suicidal....if Iraq Does Possess Such Concealed Weapons, As Is Quite Likely, Saddam Would Use Them Only In The Most Extreme Circumstances, In The Face Of An Invasion Of Iraq, When All Hope Of Avoiding The Destruction Of His Regime Is Lost.
Military
Team
Moving
I Thought Then And I Think Now That The Invasion Of Iraq Was Unnecessary And Unjust And I Think The Premises On Which It Was Launched Were False.
Thinking
Iraq
Unjust
Jesus Never Said A Word About Homosexuality. In All Of His Teachings About Multiple Things - He Never Said That Gay People Should Be Condemned. I Personally Think It Is Very Fine For Gay People To Be Married In Civil Ceremonies.
Jesus
Teaching
Gay
I'd Like To Be Remembered As Someone Who Was A Champion Of Peace And Human Rights.
Rights
Champion
Humans
You Can Do What You Have To Do, And Sometimes You Can Do It Even Better Than You Think You Can.
Life
Determination
Commitment
The World Is Safer Without Saddam [hussein]. Certainly The People Of Iraq Are Better Without Saddam.
Iraq
People
World
When I Reflect Upon My Blessings During My Very Nice Lifetime, I Am Inspired To Make Sure That I Spend The Balance Of The Days Of My Existence In A Productive Way.
Nice
Blessing
Balance
The Situation In Gaza Is Intolerable. Not One Destroyed House Has Been Rebuilt Ppl Cannot Live W The Dignity They Deserve
House
Dignity
Situation
If Any Agreement Between Two Nations Is To Last, It Must Serve The Best Interests Of Both Nations.
Two Nations
Agreement
Lasts
Well, As You Know, There Are Many Things In Life That Are Not Fair, That Wealthy People Can Afford And Poor People Cant. But I Dont Believe That The Federal Government Should Take Action To Try To Make These Opportunities Exactly Equal, Particularly When There Is A Moral Factor Involved.
Life
Believe
Opportunity
I'm Going To Stay Active As Long As I Can Politically, And With The Carter Center Primarily, And If I'm Able Mentally And Physically, Will Continue To Be Quite Active.
Long
Able
Carter
But Love Must Be Aggressively Translated Into Simple Justice.
Love
Simple
Justice
I'm An Expert Cook When It Comes To Preparing The Quail, Ducks, Geese And Wild Turkeys That I Hunt On The Farm.
Turkeys
Ducks
Experts
No Matter Where You Go In The World In Any Country In Africa Or Latin America And Other Place, You Will Find That China Is Very Deeply Involved In The Affairs Of That Country.
Country
Latin
America
We Will Not Learn How To Live Together In Peace By Killing Each Other's Children.
Veterans Day
Peace
Children
I Think All Of Us Could Insist On Preserving The Truth And Preserving The Peace. We Could Insist That Political Candidates Tell The Truth About Controversial Issues. And Secondly, We Should Be Sure To Encourage Our Political Leaders, After They're Elected, To Preserve The Peace.
Thinking
Issues
Leader
When Your Troops Go To War, The Prime Minister Or The President Change Overnight From An Administrator, Dealing With Taxation And Welfare And Health And Deteriorating Roads, Into The Commander-in-chief. And It's Just Become Almost Unpatriotic To Describe Bush's Fallacious And Ill-advised And Mistaken And Sometimes Misleading Actions.
Change
War
President
If One Of Our Fellow Citizens Can Be Executed With So Much Doubt Surrounding His Guilt, Then The Death Penalty System In Our Country Is Unjust And Outdated.
Country
Doubt
Guilt
When The Laws Are Written And Administered By The Most Powerful Leaders In A Society, It Is Human Nature For Them To Understand, Justify, And Protect The Interests Of Themselves And People Like Them. Many Injustices Arise From This Natural Human Failing.
Powerful
Law
Justice
It's Abominable, And It's A Disgrace To A Great Democracy To See What's Happened In Our Country. The Main Reason For That Has Been The Enormous Infusion Of High Quantities Of Money To Campaigns - Governors, Congress, President And The U.s. Senate.
Country
President
Democracy
Then When [isis] Moved Into Iraq, The Sunni Muslims Didn’t Object To Their Being There And About A Third Of The Territory In Iraq Was Abandoned.
Isis
Iraq
Territory
If I Were President, I'd Be Very Glad To See The Palestinians Have A Nation Recognized By The United Nations. There's No Downside To It.
Israel
President
Palestinian
There's Always An Element Of Self Delusion Among People Who Believe They Ought To Be President. There's An Underestimation Of Your Opponent And An Overestimation Of Your Own Abilities. This Is Compatible With Being Rich And Powerful, The Idea That We Were Blessed By God Because We Deserve To Be Blessed.
Powerful
Believe
Blessed
There's Always Enough To Fill Up The Headlines In A Newspaper, The Evening News Broadcasts. I'm Always Grateful When I Get The Weekly News Magazines On Monday Morning And Don't See My Picture On The Front.
Monday
Morning
Grateful
The Election Of Barack Obama Was A Very Wonderful Step Forward For America, Which Has Unfortunately Been Tainted By The Ugly Reaction Of Some Right Wing Activist Who Are Doing Their Best To Cast Aspersions On His Character And To Question His Religion And Citizenship.
Character
Wings
America
I Have A Great Deal Of Confidence In Myself And In My Faith.
Deals
This Afternoon, I've Arranged For This Ceremony To Be Illuminated By Solar Power.
Illumination
Afternoon
Ceremony
I Think It's Alright If The Government Wants To Say, In The State Of Massachusetts, In The State Of New York, In The State Of California, That Civil Ceremonies Should Be Accepted, I Think That Should Be Fine. I Don't Think That Even Those States That Believe In Civil Marriages Between Homosexuals Or Ordained In A Church Should Perform Civil Ceremonies.
New York
Believe
Thinking
After All These Years, I Still Feel Like A Boy When I'm On A Stream
Boys
Fishing
Rivers
I Think That, Regardless Of Our Culture, Age, Or Even Personal Handicaps, We Can Still Strive For Something Exceptional. Why Not Expand Our Sights Instead Of Restricting Our Lives And Accepting The Lowest Common Denominator Of A Dormant Existence? Faith. . . Will Permit Us To Take A Chance On A New Path, Perhaps Different From The One We Now Follow. It May Be Surprising Where It Leads.
Faith
Thinking
Sight
I Think I Governed Effectively. I Don't Have Any Doubts About That. I Had The Benefit, When I Was In Office, Of Having An Excellent Relationship With The Republican Party. We Had Superb Bipartisan Support And We Had The Highest Batting Average Of Any President Since The Second World War, Except Lyndon Johnson. He Had A Little Better Average Than I Did.
War
Party
Thinking
Our Values Are Not Luxuries, But Necessities. They Are Not The Salt In Our Bread, But The Bread Itself.
Luxury
Salt
Bread
I Am Not Going To Use The Federal Government's Authority Deliberately To Circumvent The Natural Inclination Of People To Live In Ethnic Homogeneous Neighborhoods.
Government
People
Use
Christmas Has Been A Season Of Mixed Interests And Meanings, But The Very Foundation, Of Course, Is Its Religious Significance. No Matter What Other Personal Desires Or Crises We Have Faced, I've Never Forgotten That This Is The Time To Celebrate The Birth Of The Baby Jesus, And The Impact Of This Event On The History Of The World.
Baby
Religious
Jesus
There Were Two Unpleasant Surprises [about Washington]. One Was The Inertia Of Congress, The Length Of Time It Takes To Get A Complicated Piece Of Legislation Through ... And The Other Was The Irresponsibility Of The Press.
Two
Pieces
Surprise
My Life Since The White House Has Been Much More All-encompassing, Much More Enjoyable. The Main Thing That I've Acquired Has Been Access To The Poorest And Most Destitute, Forgotten, And Suffering People On Earth. It's Not Possible For A President To Actually Know Them.
White
People
House
Although Military, Economic And Political Strength Certainly Favors The More Powerful Side, The Matter Of Simple Justice Is A Counterbalancing Factor.
Powerful
Military
Simple
We've Got To Stop Crying And Start Sweating, Stop Talking And Start Walking, Stop Cursing And Start Praying. The Strength We Need Will Not Come From The White House, But From Every House In America.
Talking
White
America
My Favourite President, And The One I Admired Most, Was Harry Truman.
Harry Truman
President
Truman
Because I Know About The Holy Land, I've Taught Lessons About The Holy Land All My Life, And - But You Can't Bring Peace To Israel Without Giving The Palestinian Also Peace. And Lebanon And Jordan And Syria As Well.
Israel
Land
Giving
Too Many Of Us Now Tend To Worship Self Indulgence And Consumption.
Self
Racism
Gay Marriage
A Country Will Have Authority And Influence Because Of Moral Factors, Not Its Military Strength; Because It Can Be Humble And Not Blatant And Arrogant; Because Our People Want To Serve Others And Not Dominate Others. And A Nation Without Morality Will Soon Lose Its Influence Around The World.
Country
Military
Humble
I Think I Would Have Been Much More Attuned To The Concerns Of People Who Were Desperately In Need. I Was Unfamiliar, For Instance, With The Plight Of Those Living In The Small Villages In The Deserts And The Jungles Of Africa.
Thinking
People
Plight
You Can Already Download Any Of The Religious Texts Onto Electronic Mechanisms Like A Kindle. But I Think Many People Prefer To Hold A Book In Their Hands.
Religious
Book
Thinking
On The Basis Of Both Values And Interests, The Natural Relationship Between Islam And The United States Is One Of Friendship.
Islam
United States
Natural
My Position Has Always Been, Along With Many Other People, That Any Differences Be Resolved In A Nonviolent Way.
Differences
People
Way
It's A Terrible And Tragic And Counterproductive Policy To Avoid Communicating With People Who Disagree With Us.
Communication
People
Tragic
Great American Power And Responsibility Are Not Unprecedented, And Have Been Used With Restraint And Great Benefit In The Past. We Have Not Assumed That Super Strength Guarantees Super Wisdom, And We Have Consistently Reached Out To The International Community To Ensure That Our Own Power And Influence Are Tempered By The Best Common Judgment.
Responsibility
Power
Past
The Relationship Between Government And Art Must Necessarily Be A Delicate One. It Would Not Be Appropriate For The Government To Try To Define What Is Good Or What Is True Or What Is Beautiful. But Government Can Provide Nourishment To The Ground Within Which These Ideas Spring Forth From The Seeds Of Inspiration Within The Human Mind.
Beautiful
Art
Spring
I Had Very Good Support From Democrats And Republicans All Throughout My Administration. I Had A Very High Batting Average. We Added More Jobs Per Year In My Four Years Than Any Other President Since The Second World War.
Jobs
War
Average
I Can't Think Of A Man More Worthy Of The Presidency Then My Good Friend Sam Nunn.
Good Friend
Men
Thinking
I'm 86, And Too Old To Be President.
President
Our Decision About Energy Will Test The Character Of The American People And The Ability Of The President And The Congress To Govern This Nation. This Difficult Effort Will Be The Moral Equivalent Of War, Except That We Will Be Uniting Our Efforts To Build And Not To Destroy.
War
Character
People
When People Are Intimidated About Having Their Own Opinions, Oppression Is At Hand.
Hands
People
Opinion
One Of My Greatest Pleasures Is Being On The Farmland That's Been In The Family Since 1833.
Pleasure
Greatest Pleasures
Farmland
I Think An Overwhelming Portion Of The Intensely Demonstrated Animosity Toward President Barack Obama Is Based On The Fact That He Is A Black Man, That He's African American.
Men
Thinking
African American
And I'm Asking You For Your Good And For Your Nation's Security To Take No Unnecessary Trips, To Use Carpools Or Public Transportation Whenever You Can, To Park Your Car One Extra Day Per Week, To Obey The Speed Limit, And To Set Your Thermostats To Save Fuel. Every Act Of Energy Conservation Like This Is More Than Just Common Sense-i Tell You It Is An Act Of Patriotism.
Common Sense
Car
Alternatives
I Think It Will Take Years Before We Can Repair The Damage Done By That Statement.
Thinking
Years
Done
Energy Will Be The Immediate Test Of Our Ability To Unite This Nation, And It Can Also Be The Standard Around Which We Rally. On The Battlefield Of Energy We Can Win For Our Nation A New Confidence, And We Can Seize Control Again Of Our Common Destiny.
Winning
Destiny
Energy
War May Sometimes Be A Necessary Evil. But No Matter How Necessary, It Is Always An Evil, Never A Good. We Will Not Learn How To Live Together In Peace By Killing Each Other's Children.
Inspirational
Veterans Day
Peace
Giving People Equal Access To Enjoying The Benefits Of America Is The Biggest Problem That We're Not Making Any Progress In Resolving.
America
People
Giving
We Have No Desire To Be The World's Policeman. But America Does Want To Be The World's Peacemaker.
America
Desire
Doe
I'm Feeling Better Than Anybody Expected Me To So I'm Still Maintaining A Pretty Normal Schedule, I'd Say.
Feel Better
Feelings
Schedules
There Has Never Been Any Evidence That The Death Penalty Reduces Capital Crimes Or That Crimes Increased When Executions Stopped. Tragic Mistakes Are Prevalent...it Is Clear That There Are Overwhelming Ethical, Financial, And Religious Reasons To Abolish The Death Penalty.
Religious
Mistake
Execution
When I Was President, I Announced And I Still Maintain That I Can Live With Roe V. Wade. I Did Everything I Possibly Could As President Under That Ruling, Which I Don't Think Ought To Be Changed, To Minimize The Need For Abortions. I Think Every Abortion Is A Result Of A Horrible Series Of Errors On The Part Of People Involved.
Thinking
Errors
People
The Respect For Human Rights Is One Of The Most Significant Advantages Of A Free And Democratic Nation In The Peaceful Struggle For Influence, And We Should Use This Good Weapon As Effectively As Possible.
Freedom
Struggle
Rights
I Think The Only Way That Political System Can Be Corrected Is For The American People To See Very Vividly That It Needs Repair. If Things Are Going To Worse In The Future, The American People, In Every Congressional District In The Land, Might Demand That Reforms Take Place In The Political System.
Thinking
Land
People
Prostitution Thrives In The United States. We Focus In This Country On Punishing The Girls. For Every Brothel Owner Or Pimp Or Male Customer, There Are 50 Girls Who Are Arrested For Being Prostitutes. Other Countries Have Tried The Other Way Around, And It Works Beautifully...they Bring The Charges Against The Brothel Owners And The Pimps And The Male Customers, And They Do Not Prosecute The Girls, Who Quite Often Are Brought Into That Trade Involuntarily. It Works Quite Well, By The Way.
Girl
Country
Reality
The Measure Of A Society Is Found In How They Treat Their Weakest And Most Helpless Citizens.
Citizens
Poverty
Treats
The Energy Crisis Has Not Yet Overwhelmed Us, But It Will If We Do Not Act Quickly. It's A Problem That We Will Not Be Able To Solve In The Next Few Years, And It's Likely To Get Progressively Worse Through The Rest Of This Century. We Must Not Be Selfish Or Timid If We Hope To Have A Decent World For Our Children And Grandchildren. We Simply Must Balance Our Demand For Energy With Our Rapidly Shrinking Resources. By Acting Now We Can Control Our Future Instead Of Letting The Future Control Us.
Children
Selfish
Years
I Think That The Best Approach Would Be If The American People Ever Insist That We Cut Down On The Massive Amounts Of Money That Moves Into The Campaigns From Special Interest Groups, And If We Resist Publicly By Saying "no More Negative Advertisements That Destroy The Reputations Of One's Opponents." In The Meantime, Just Don't Pay Any Attention To Negative Ads, If You Can Avoid Them, And Try To Focus On The Issues.
Moving
Cutting
Thinking
I Don't Think That Israel Has Any Legal Or Moral Justification For Their Massive Bombing Of The Entire Nation Of Lebanon.
Thinking
Israel
Lebanon
The Abuse Of Women And Girls Is The Most Pervasive And Unaddressed Human Right Violation On Earth.
Girl
Powerful
Abuse
I Think The Most Challenging Thing For Me In My Life And In The Bible Is That We Worship Jesus As The Prince Of Peace.
Jesus
Thinking
Challenges
I'm A Peanut Farmer At Heart, Still Grow Peanuts On My Farm In Georgia.
Heart
Georgia
Peanuts
It Is Generally Not Known In The World That, In The Years Preceding 1916, There Was A Concerted Effort Made To Eliminate All The Armenian People, Probably One Of The Greatest Tragedies That Ever Befell Any Group. And There Weren't Any Nuremberg Trials.
Years
People
Effort
They Were More Than Hostile. In The First Place, I Was A South Georgian And I Was Looked Upon As A Fiscal Conservative, And The Atlanta Newspapers Quite Erroneously, Because They Didn't Know Anything About Me Or My Background Here In Plains, Decided That I Was Also A Racial Conservative.
Race
Atlanta
Politics
The Measure Of A Society Is Found In How They Treat Their Weakest And Most Helpless Citizens. As Americans, We Are Blessed With Circumstances That Protect Our Human Rights And Our Religious Freedom, But For Many People Around The World, Deprivation And Persecution Have Become A Way Of Life.
Life
Religious
Freedom
Every Act Of Energy Conservation... Is More Than Just Common Sense: I Tell You It Is An Act Of Patriotism.
Common Sense
Energy
Conservation
It Is The Fundamental Right Of Every American, As Guaranteed By The First Amendment Of The Constitution, To Worship As He Or She Pleases... This Legislation Sets Forth The Policy Of The United States To Protect And Preserve The Inherent Right Of American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut, And Native Hawaiian People To Believe, Express, And Exercise Their Traditional Religions
Believe
Exercise
People
When I Feel Something Very Intensely Or Deeply Or Personally, I Can Go To Extremes Of Self-expression Or Self-analysis By Writing A Poem - More Than I Can Just Talking To Somebody Or Writing Prose.
Writing
Self
Expression
In General The 53 Countries On The Continent Of Africa Have Made Great Progress Towards Freedom And Democracy, And In Terms Of Electing Good, Sound Administrations.
Country
Democracy
Progress
Building Confidence And Constructive Relations Between Sudan And South Sudan Is Urgent
Building
Relation
Constructive
My Opinion Of The Russians Has Changed Most Drastically In The Last Week Than Even (sic) The Two-and-a-half Years Before That. It's Only Now Dawning Upon The World The Magnitude Of The Action That The Soviets Undertook In Invading Afghanistan.
War
Years
Two
At The Carter Center We Work With Victims Of Oppression, And We Give Support To Human Rights Heroes.
Hero
Rights
Giving
Unfortunately, Some Of The African Leaders Employ Various Nefarious Means To Remain In Office Far Beyond What Their Constitutions Permit.
Mean
Office
Leader
Last Night When I Was Commenting On The Fbi And The Cia, The Sound Went Off For 27 Minutes. I Should Have Known Better.
Night
Should Have
Sound
My Mother's Influence To Take On New Challenges And Do What I Though Was Right Even Though Sometimes The Consequences Politically Speaking Were Not Good. My Mother Was Vivacious, She Was Full Of Life, She Got Up Every Morning Looking Forward To The Day, Trying To Figure Out What She Could Do That Was Innovative And Unprecedented And Maybe Controversial.
Mother
Morning
Challenges
We Cannot Speak Of Human Rights In Other Countries Unless We Are Going To Do Our Utmost To Protect The Rights Of Our Own People Here At Home.
Country
Home
Rights
There Is A Strong Religious Commitment To The Sanctity Of Human Life, But, Paradoxically, Some Of The Most Fervent Protectors Of Microscopic Stem Cells Are The Most Ardent Proponents Of The Death Penalty.
Religious
Strong
Commitment
Earlier In My Life I Thought The Things That Mattered Were The Things That You Could See, Like Your Car, Your House, Your Wealth, Your Property, Your Office. But As I've Grown Older I've Become Convinced That The Things That Matter Most Are The Things That You Can't See -- The Love You Share With Others, Your Inner Purpose, Your Comfort With Who You Are.
Love You
Car
Office
It Is Good To Realize That If Love And Peace Can Prevail On Earth, And If We Can Teach Our Children To Honor Nature's Gifts, The Joys And Beauties Of The Outdoors Will Be Here Forever.
Inspirational
Life
Beauty
In The Bible Homosexuality Is Condemned, But Along With Divorce And Greed And Callousness Toward Poor People. So Its Elevation To A Highest Priority Among Some Religious Groups Has Been Very Disturbing To Me.
Religious
Divorce
People
The Reduction Of Nuclear Arsenals And The Removal Of The Threat Of Worldwide Nuclear Destruction Is A Measure, In My Judgment, Ofthe Power And Strength Of A Great Nation.
Strength
Nuclear
Weapons
You Always Get Back Much More Than You Give.
Giving
Get Back
During The 1960s, We Used Twice As Much Oil As During The 1950s. And In Each Of Those Decades, More Oil Was Consumed Than In All Of Mankind's Previous History.
Oil
Environmental
Used
We Cannot Be Both The World's Leading Champion Of Peace And The World's Leading Supplier Of The Weapons Of War.
Peace
War
Memorable
America Is Constantly Involved In Unnecessary Wars.
War
America
Unnecessary
My Wish Is Peace For Israel And For Israel's Neighbors.
Israel
Wish
Neighbor
The Test Of A Government Is Not How Popular It Is With The Powerful And Privileged Few But How Honestly And Fairly It Deals With The Many Who Must Depend On It.
Honesty
Powerful
Government
To Deal With Individual Human Needs At The Everyday Level Can Be Noble Sometimes.
Life
Political
Everyday
Habitat Gives Us An Opportunity Which Is Very Difficult To Find: To Reach Out And Work Side By Side With Those Who Never Have Had A Decent Home-but Work With Them On A Completely Equal Basis. It's Not A Big-shot, Little-shot Relationship. It's A Sense Of Equality.
Home
Opportunity
Giving
I Enjoyed Being President, But The Campaign Against Guinea Worm [horrible Disease] Has Opened Up A Completely New Career That Is Challenging And Unpredictable And Adventurous - And Very Gratifying.
Careers
Challenges
President
I Don't Think The Tea Party People Are Racist, Except Maybe A Tiny Portion Of Them. But There Has Been A Deliberate Effort - Again, Referring To Fox Broadcasting - To Inject The Race Issue Into It. They Have Actually Called Obama A Racist On Television.
Party
Thinking
Race
America Does Not At The Moment Have A Functioning Democracy.
America
Democracy
Doe
The Major Violence Now Is Because Of A Plethora, Explosion Almost, Of Rebel Groups, All Of Whom Oppose The Government, And They're Fighting Each Other, Strangely Precipitated By The Fact That The United Nations And African Union Has Now Planned Peace Talks.
Fighting
Rebel
Violence
In The United States, You Might Say Every County Has Got Its Own Separate System. There's Not Even One Kind Of Ballot That You Use All Over The United States. We Require That In A Foreign Country.
Country
United States
Use
I Hate To See Complacency Prevail In Our Lives When It's So Directly Contrary To The Teaching Of Christ.
Hate
Teaching
Smugness
We Must Adjust To Changing Times And Still Hold To Unchanging Principles.
Inspirational
Change
Presidential
I Am Convinced That Ufos Exist Because I've Seen One.
Flying Saucers
Ufo
Prominent
We Believe That The First Time We're Born, As Children, It's Human Life Given To Us; And When We Accept Jesus As Our Savior, It's A New Life. That's What "born Again" Means.
Life
Jesus
Children
In The Year 2000, The Solar Water Heater Behind Me, Which Is Being Dedicated Today, Will Still Be Here Supplying Cheap, Efficient Energy. A Generation From Now, This Solar Heater Can Either Be A Curiosity, A Museum Piece, An Example Of A Road Not Taken, Or It Can Be Just A Small Part Of One Of The Greatest And Most Exciting Adventures Ever Undertaken By The American People: Harnessing The Power Of The Sun To Enrich Our Lives As We Move Away From Our Crippling Dependence On Foreign Oil.
Life
Taken
Moving
The Founding Of Our Nation Was More Than A Political Event; It Was An Act Of Faith, A Promise To Americans And To The Entire World. The Declaration Of Independence Declared That People Can Govern Themselves, That They Can Live In Freedom With Equal Rights, That They Can Respect The Rights Of Others.
Inspirational Life
Rights
People
You Can Not Divorce Religious Belief And Public Service. I've Never Detected Any Conflict Between God's Will And My Political Duty. If You Violate One, You Violate The Other.
Religious
Believe
Divorce
Many Of The Most Highly Publicized Events Of My Presidency Are Not Nearly As Memorable Or Significant In My Life As Fishing With My Daddy.
Memorable
Lakes
Sea
It Was The Darndest Thing I've Ever Seen. It Was Big, It Was Very Bright, It Changed Colors And It Was About The Size Of The Moon.. We Watched It For Ten Minutes, But None Of Us Could Figure Out What It Was. One Thing's For Sure, I'll Never Make Fun Of People Who Say They've Seen Unidentified Objects In The Sky.
Fun
Moon
Color
We Are Grossly Wasting Our Energy Resources And Other Precious Raw Materials As Though Their Supply Were Infinite. We Must Even Face The Prospect Of Changing Our Basic Ways Of Living. This Change Will Either Be Made On Our Own Initiative In A Planned And Rational Way, Or Forced On Us With Chaos And Suffering By The Inexorable Laws Of Nature.
Nature
Animal
Law
In General, In The Matters That Relate To Theology Or Behavior, People To One Another, Paul Was Obviously Biblically Correct. But When He Said That Women Should Always Cover Their Hair Or That Women Should Not Teach Men, Women Should Not Have Leadership Positions In The Church, Women Should Not Speak In The Church, I Don't' Think That Those Writings Of Paul Can Be Extracted By Themselves To Stand Alone. Also, Paul Said That Women Should Be Subservient To Their Husbands But If You Read A Couple Of Verses Down It Says Husbands Should Treat Their Wives As Equals.
Couple
Husband
Writing
I've Looked On Many Women With Lust. I've Committed Adultery In My Heart Many Times. God Knows I Will Do This And Forgives Me.
Crazy
Heart
Patriotic
Except During My Childhood, When I Was Probably Influenced By Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Depiction Of God With A Flowing White Beard, I Have Never Tried To Project The Creator In Any Kind Of Human Likeness. The Vociferous Debates About Whether God Is Male Or Female Seem Ridiculous To Me. I Think Of God As An Omnipotent And Omniscient Presence, A Spirit That Permeates The Universe, The Essence Of Truth, Nature, Being, And Life. To Me, These Are Profound And Indescribable Concepts That Seem To Be Trivialized When Expressed In Words.
God
Thinking
Essence
We Have The Deepest Respect And Reverence For Islam And All Who Share The Faith Of Islam.
Islam
Share
Reverence
God Always Answers Prayers. Sometimes It's 'yes.' Sometimes The Answer Is 'no.' Sometimes It's 'you Gotta Be Kidding.
Prayer
Religion
Answers
The Superfund Legislation Set Up A System Of Insurance Premiums Collected From The Chemical Industry To Clean Up Toxic Wastes. This New Program May Prove To Be As Far-reaching And Important As Any Accomplishment Of My Administration. The Reduction Of The Threat To America's Health And Safety From Thousands Of Toxic-waste Sites Will Continue To Be An Urgent But Bitterly Fought Issue-another Example For The Conflict Between The Public Welfare And The Profits Of A Few Private Despoilers Of Our Nation's Environment.
Health
Science
Toxic Waste
I Am No Big Shot. I Am Not Anybody's Boss. I Want To Be Everybody's Servant.
Boss
Want
Bigs
Each Of Us Must Rededicate Ourselves To Serving The Common Good. We Are A Community. Our Individual Fates Are Linked; Our Futures Intertwined; And If We Act In That Knowledge And In That Spirit Together, As The Bible Says: "we Can Move Mountains."
Moving
Fate
Community
And I Think The Almost Undeviating Support By Great Britain For The Ill-advised Policies Of President Bush In Iraq Have Been A Major Tragedy For The World.
Thinking
Iraq
Support
As A Matter Of Fact, Although We Had Some Terrible Challenges And Temptations When I Was In Office, We Never Dropped A Bomb... We Never Launched A Missile... And We Never Fired A Bullet. I Think That One Of The Main Requirements For A Strong Military, Like A Strong Submarine Force, Is To Prevent War, Not To Cause War.
Strong
Military
War
I'm Much More Introspective Than I Was, Say, Thirty Years Ago.
Years
Thirty
Introspective
Unfortunately, After Sept. 11, There Was An Outburst In America Of Intense Suffering And Patriotism, And The Bush Administration Was Very Shrewd And Effective In Painting Anyone Who Disagreed With The Policies As Unpatriotic Or Even Traitorous.
America
Patriotism
Suffering
I Can't Really Criticize The Tea Party People, Because I Came Into The White House Pretty Much On The Same Basis That They Have Become Popular. That Is Dissatisfaction With The Way Things Are Going In Washington And Disillusionment And Disencouragement About The Government.
Party
White
Government
If We Do Not Learn To Eliminate Waste And To Be More Productive And More Efficient In The Ways We Use Energy, Then We Will Fall Short Of This Goal [for The Nation To Derive 20 Percent Of All The Energy We Use From The Sun, By 2000]. But If We Use Our Technological Imagination, If We Can Work Together To Harness The Light Of The Sun, The Power Of The Wind, And The Strength Of Rushing Streams, Then We Will Succeed.
Fall
Hard Work
Science
Even For The World's Only Superpower, The Ends Don't Always Justify The Means.
Peace
War
Mean
Jesus Never Mentions Abortion. But I Think That Jesus Did Care For The Unborn Child, I Think That Jesus Did Care For People Who Were Completely Helpless, Who Depend On Others For Their Life And Livelihood. I Just Believe That This Should Be Minimized If Possible.
Jesus
Children
Believe
America Has Had The Best University System In The World For A Long Time. And So We Have Been Innovators, Not Only In The Discoveries As Proven By Nobel Prizes In Chemistry And Physics And That Sort Of Thing, But We've Been Able To Put That Into Practical Application With New Gadgets That People Admire.
Discovery
America
Long
Everyone Who Has Run Knows That Its Most Important Value Is In Removing Tension And Allowing A Release From Whatever Other Cares The Day May Bring.
Running
Important Values
Jogging
Within The Stable Economy It's Necessary To Eliminate All Forms Of Sexual Discrimination, And To Provide Women For The First Time In Our History With Economic Opportunities Equal To Those Of Men.
Opportunity
Men
Justice
The Most Important Bible Teaching That I Remembered When I Was In The Navy And When I Was Commander-in-chief, Was That We Worshipped The Prince Of Peace. Jesus Christ Is The Prince Of Peace. So, I Considered Myself, As A Submarine Officer, As Helping To Preserve The Peace. And I Felt The Same Way When I Was President.
Jesus
Teaching
Navy
I Have Been In Love With The Palestinian People For Many Years. I Have Two Great-grandsons That Are Rapidly Learning About The People Here And The Anguish And Suffering And Deprivation Of Human Rights That You Have Experienced Ever Since 1948.
Rights
Israel
Years
The Bottom Line Is This: Peace Will Come To Israel And The Middle East Only When The Israeli Government Is Willing To Comply With International Law, With The Roadmap For Peace, With Official American Policy, With The Wishes Of A Majority Of Its Own Citizens - And Honor Its Own Previous Commitments - By Accepting Its Legal Borders. All Arab Neighbors Must Pledge To Honor Israel's Right To Live In Peace Under These Conditions.
Commitment
Law
Government
Before I Became President, In The Aftermath Of The Vietnam War, There Had Been Fairly Dramatic, And I Think Excessive, Reductions In The Capability Of Our Military Forces, And As A Former Military Man Myself - I Was A Professional Naval Officer, A Submarine Officer - I Thought It Was Better, On A Step-by-step, Very Carefully Planned Way, To Increase The Technical, Or Technological, Capability Of Our Weapons Systems.
Military
War
Men
Go Out On A Limb. That's Where The Fruit Is.
Inspirational
Life
Leadership
Let Our Position Be Absolutely Clear: An Attempt By Any Outside Force To Gain Control Of The Persian Gulf Region Will Be Regarded As An Assault On The Vital Interests Of The United States Of America, And Such An Assault Will Be Repelled By Any Means Necessary, Including Military Force.
Military
Mean
America
This Intolerable Dependence On Foreign Oil Threatens Our Economic Independence And The Very Security Of Our Nation. The Energy Crisis Is Real. It Is Worldwide. It Is A Clear And Present Danger To Our Nation. These Are Facts And We Simply Must Face Them.
Real
Oil
Independence
I'm Concerned About The Negative Aspect Of Political Campaigning In American Nation, Which Is A New Phenomenon. When I Ran For President Against Gerald Ford And Later Against Ronald Reagan We Never Referred To Each Other Except As 'my Distinguished Opponent'. And Had We Criticised Personally Our Opponent It Would Have Been Political Suicide, We Would Have Been Castigated And Condemned For It.
Suicide
Political
President
I Believe There Is Complete Equality Between Men And Women. And I Believe Those Passages In The New Testament, Not By Jesus, But By Paul, That Say Women Should Not Adorn Themselves, They Should Always Wear Hats Or Color Their Hair In Church - Things Like That - I Think They Are Signs Of The Times And Should Not Apply To Modern-day Life.
Jesus
Believe
Men
I Enjoyed Being President.
President
Enjoyed
Always I'm Working On Some Of Book. That's The Way I Make A Living.
Book
Way
"solid Wastes" Are The Discarded Leftovers Of Our Advanced Consumer Society. This Growing Mountain Of Garbage And Trash Represents Not Only An Attitude Of Indifference Toward Valuable Natural Resources, But Also A Serious Economic And Public Health Problem.
Attitude
Mountain
Growing
It's Not Necessary To Fear The Prospect Of Failure But To Be Determined Not To Fail.
Inspirational
Morning
Failure
There Is No Other Even Moderately Equal Abuse Than The Murder Of Little Baby Girls - Nothing Else Compares With That, In Horror.
Girl
Baby
Abuse
There Should Be An Honest Attempt At The Reconciliation Of Differences Before Resorting To Combat.
Peace
War
Differences
Penalties Against Possession Of A Drug Should Not Be More Damaging To An Individual Than The Use Of The Drug Itself; And Where They Are, They Should Be Changed. Nowhere Is This More Clear Than In The Laws Against Possession Of Marijuana In Private For Personal Use... Therefore, I Support Legislation Amending Federal Law To Eliminate All Federal Criminal Penalties For The Possession Of Up To One Ounce [28g] Of Marijuana.
Weed
Marijuana
Law
There Are Two Major Peace Agreements. One Is A Comprehensive Peace Agreement That Was Consummated By The Extremely Beneficial Intersession Of The George Bush Administration, Who Called On John Danforth, The Former Senator From Missouri, To Negotiate A Peace Agreement After Eight Years During Which President Clinton Did Not Want To Promote Peace In The Mideast - I Mean, In Sudan. And That's Holding So Far.
Mean
President
Clinton
Unfortunately, Every American Citizen Takes The Same Position... That We Don’t Like Negative Advertisements. But They Work! And, As You See, Many A Candidate Has Prevailed By Tearing Down The Reputation Of An Opponent In A More Advantageous Position.
Negative
Citizens
Opponents
One Of Our Nation's Greatest Leaders Of All Time Was Hubert Horatio Hornblower.
Leader
Horatio
All Time
The Social Security Program Is A Pact Between Workers And Their Employers That They Will Contribute To A Common Fund To Ensure That Those Who Are No Longer Part Of The Work Force Will Have A Basic Income On Which To Live. It Represents Our Commitment As A Society To The Belief That Workers Should Not Live In Dread That A Disability, Death, Or Old Age Could Leave Them Or Their Families Destitute.
Commitment
Age
Income
In Religious And In Secular Affairs, The More Fervent Beliefs Attract Followers. If You Are A Moderate In Any Respect - If You're A Moderate On Abortion, If You're A Moderate On Gun Control, Or If You're A Moderate In Your Religious Faith - It Doesn't Evolve Into A Crusade Where You're Either Right Or Wrong, Good Or Bad, With Us Or Against Us.
Religious
Gun
Abortion
I Believe That We Should Do Anything We Can To Minimize Abortion And Not To Encourage It.
Believe
Abortion
I Believe
Quite Often, The People Who Do Leave Their Own Nation And Come To An Unknown Destination, Like The United States, Are Inherently Adventurous, So We've Had That Adventurous Spirit That Has Embedded Itself Collectively In The American Consciousness.
People
United States
Spirit
The Awareness That Health Is Dependent Upon Habits That We Control Makes Us The First Generation In History That To A Large Extent Determines Its Own Destiny.
Health
Destiny
Marijuana
Today, In Directly Harnessing The Power Of The Sun, We're Taking The Energy That God Gave Us, The Most Renewable Energy That We Will Ever See, And Using It To Replace Our Dwindling Supplies Of Fossil Fuels.
God
Science
Power
I Don’t Claim To Be Knowledgeable About Theology. Most Of My Knowledge Comes Out Of My Experience And The Lessons In The Bible. Every Sunday I’m Home I Teach 45 Minutes And We Boiled Them Down To One Page For The New Book, “through The Year With Jimmy Carter.”
Book
Home
Sunday
I Have A Very Real Political Awareness That At Least On A Transient Basis The More Drastic Action Taken By The President, The More Popular It Is.
Real
Taken
Political
Globalization, As Defined By Rich People Like Us, Is A Very Nice Thing... You Are Talking About The Internet, You Are Talking About Cell Phones, You Are Talking About Computers. This Doesn't Affect Two-thirds Of The People Of The World.
Nice
Memorable
Patriotic
I Wish I Had Known When I Was In The White House What I Know Now About The Third World.
White
House
Wish
I Don't Want To Tell President Obama How To Make A Speech. He's A Much Better Speech Maker Than I Am. But I Think Always To Tell The Truth In A Sometimes Blatant Way, Even Though It Might Be Temporarily Unpopular, Is The Best Approach.
Thinking
President
Speech
With This New Stupid Supreme Court Ruling, Secret Money Can Come In On An Unlimited Level From Corporations. Nobody Knows Where It Comes From. That Distorts The Political Situation In Our Country Tremendously. Most Of That Money Is Spent On Negative Advertising That Is Tearing Down The Character And Reputation Of Your Opponent, And It Works, Although Most American People Say, "we Don't Like Negative Advertising," It Works.
Country
Stupid
Character
The Cost Of An On-site Inspection Team Would Be Minuscule Compared To War, Saddam Would Have No Choice Except To Comply, The Results Would Be Certain, Military And Civilian Casualties Would Be Avoided, There Would Be Almost Unanimous Worldwide Support, And The United States Could Regain Its Leadership In Combating The Real Threat Of International Terrorism.
Military
Real
War
We Not Only Brought Peace To Many Countries And People Around The World, But We Never Dropped A Bomb, We Never Launched A Missile, And We Never Fired A Bullet While I Was In Office. Yet We Protected The Interests Of The American People In A Peaceful, But Strong Way.
Country
Strong
Office
All My Playmates Were Black. I Lived In A Little Community Called Archery (ph) In A Rural Area. And I Didn't Have Any White Neighbors At All. So All My Kids With Whom I Fought And Wrestled And Went Fishing And Worked In The Field And So Forth Were African-americans. And That Was My Life. So When I Got To Be School Age, We Had To Separate During The Daytime, But I Always Felt Like I Was In An Alien Environment When I Was In Plains, Georgia With White Kids. I Was Eager To Get Back Where I Belonged With My Black Playmates.
School
Kids
Archery
I Began To Expand My Personal Service In The Church, And To Search More Diligently For A Closer Relationship With God Among My Different Business, Professional And Political Interests.
God
Political
Religion
I’m Not In Favor Of The Government Mandating A Prayer In School Because Our Country Was Founded On The Fact That No Particular Religious Faith Would Have Ascendance Over Or Preferential Treatment Over Any Other.
Country
Religious
Prayer
George Bush Asked Me If There Was Anything He Could Do For Me, And I Said, "yes, You Can Help Promote Peace In Sudan After Eight Years Of Different Policy." And He Said, "i'll Do It." So To Make A Long Story Short, He Did It, Not Necessarily Because I Requested It, But They Were Very Successful.
Successful
Long
Different
We Believe In Separation Of Church And State, That There Should Be No Unwarranted Influence On The Church Or Religion By The State, And Vice Versa.
Believe
Presidential
Church
The Southern Baptist Convention, As You Know, Decided In The Year 2000 That Women Should Not Be Permitted To Be Pastors Or Deacons Or Chaplains In The Military Service. Some Southern Baptist Seminaries Don't Even Permit Women To Teach Male Students. I Don't Agree With That. But They Can Go In And Quote A Few Passages Of Paul That Women Should Be Restricted In Their Services.
Military
Years
Southern
We Don't Have Any Problem Finding Enough Things To Do; The Problem We Have Is Making Sure We Don't Overload Ourselves Inadvertently.
Problem
Enough
The Carter Center Has The Only Existing International Taskforce On Disease Eradication. Which Means A Total Elimination Of A Disease On The Face Of The Earth. In The History Of The World, There's Only Been One Disease Eradicated: Smallpox. The Second Disease, I Think, Is Gonna Be Guinea Worm.
Mean
Thinking
World
When I Was In The White House, I Was Confronted With The Challenge Of The Cold War. Both The Soviet Union And I Had 30,000 Nuclear Weapons That Could Destroy The Entire Earth And I Had To Maintain The Peace.
War
White
House
Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.


2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.


2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.


2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.


3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.


3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.


3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.



4. Proper Usage of Quotes


4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.


4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.


4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).


5. Common Mistakes to Avoid


5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.


5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.


5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.



6. Quotes in Different Contexts


6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.


6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.


6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.



7. Punctuation and Formatting


Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:


Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.


Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.


Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.



8. Ethical Considerations


Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes


Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.



Conclusion


Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.


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