I Am Not Here As A Public Official, But As A Citizen Of A Troubled World Who Finds Hope In A Growing Consensus That The Generally Accepted Goals Of Society Are Peace, Freedom, Human Rights, Environmental Quality, The Alleviation Of Suffering, And The Rule Of Law.

-Jimmy Carter

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I Am Not Here

Jimmy Carter

Topic

Peace

Freedom

Rights

More From Jimmy Carter

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

The Existing And Long-standing Use Of The Word 'evolution' In Our State's Textbooks Has Not Adversely Affected Georgians' Belief In The Omnipotence Of God As Creator Of The Universe, There Can Be No Incompatibility Between Christian Faith And Proven Facts Concerning Geology, Biology, And Astronomy. There Is No Need To Teach That Stars Can Fall Out Of The Sky And Land On A Flat Earth In Order To Defend Our Religious Faith.

Christian

Religious

Stars

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

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

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

I Tried To Eliminate The Need For Israel To Strike Out, Militarily, By Removing Its Major Threat And Attacker, And That Was Egypt. I've Written A Few Books On The Subject. There's No Doubt That The Best Way To Resolve Israel's Problems Is To Negotiate Peace Between Israel And Its Immediate Neighbors, Particularly The Palestinians. And That's Something That's Not Going To Be Achieved, In My Opinion, Without The Strong Involvement Of The American President.

Strong

Book

Israel

For This Generation, Ours, Life Is Nuclear Survival, Liberty Is Human Rights, The Pursuit Of Happiness Is A Planet Whose Resources Are Devoted To The Physical And Spiritual Nourishment Of Its Inhabitants.

Life

Spiritual

Patriotic

Unfortunately, Some Of The African Leaders Employ Various Nefarious Means To Remain In Office Far Beyond What Their Constitutions Permit.

Mean

Office

Leader

We Are A Purely Idealistic Nation But Let No One Confuse Our Idealism With Weakness.

Weakness

Idealism

Nations

Southerners, Whose Ancestors A Hundred Years Ago Knew The Horrors Of A Homeland Devastated By War, Are Particularly Determined That War Shall Never Come To Us Again. All Americans Understand The Basic Lessons Of History: That We Need To Be Resolute And Able To Protect Ourselves, To Prevent Threats And Domination By Others.

War

Years

Needs

We Know That A Peaceful World Cannot Long Exist, One-third Rich And Two-thirds Hungry.

Two

Long

Peaceful

I Think With The Advent Of Reagan, And Subsequently, Both Parties, There's Been A Strong Move Towards The Advantage Given To The Richer People, In Taxation And Grants And Supplements And Things Of That Kind. Primarily Exacerbated More Recently By The Supreme Court's Stupid Ruling On Citizens United, And Now There's A Massive Flood Of Money Into The Political System That I Think Has Subverted The Essence Of A Moral And Ethical Standard That Used To Permeate American Democracy. Now It's Not An Admirable Process. I Think We've Gone Backwards.

Strong

Stupid

Party

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

Our Goals Are Also The Same, To Have A Just System Of Economics And Politics, To Let The People Of The World Share In Growth, In Peace, In Personal Freedom, And In The Benefits To Be Derived From The Proper Utilization Of Natural Resources. We Believe In Enhancing Human Rights. We Believe That We Should Enhance, As Independent Nations, The Freedom Of Our Own People.

Believe

Independent

Rights

I Wish I Had Known When I Was In The White House What I Know Now About The Third World.

White

House

Wish

Standing Alone Among Great Democratic Nations In Imposing The Death Penalty Is Another Moral Decision That Americansare Being Forced To Confront.

Decision

Death Penalty

Moral

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

To Work For Better Understanding Among People, One Does Not Have To Be A Former President Sitting At A Fancy Conference Room Table. Peace Can Be Made In The Neighborhoods, The Living Rooms, The Playing Fields, And The Classrooms Of Our Country.

Country

People

Understanding

The Love Of Liberty Is A Common Blood That Flows In Our American Veins.

Blood

Liberty

Veins

Life Is Just Too Short To Go Quail Hunting With The Wrong People.

Hunting

People

Bird

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

It's Very Difficult For The American People To Believe That Our Government, One Of The Richest On Earth, Is Also One Of The Stingiest On Earth.

Believe

Memorable

Government

(doctors) Collectively Have Done More To Block Adequate Medical Care For People Of This Country Than Any Other Single Group.

Country

Block

Dark

And So I Say To You And To Others Around The World, Whether They Wish Us Well Or Ill - Do Not Underestimate Us Americans. We Lack Neither Strength Nor Wisdom.

Wish

World

Underestimate

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

We Have The Deepest Respect And Reverence For Islam And All Who Share The Faith Of Islam.

Islam

Reverence

During The Period Of The Saturn-apollo Missions We Were Pilgrims In Space, Ranging From Home In Search Of Knowledge. Now We Will Become Shepherds Tending Our Technological Flocks, But Like The Shepherds Of Old, We Will Keep Our Eyes Fixed On The Heavens.

Home

Eye

Space

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

As A Christian, A Trained Engineer And Scientist, And A Professor At Emory University, I Am Embarrassed By Superintendent Kathy Cox's Attempt To Censor And Distort The Education Of Georgia's Students.... There Is No Need To Teach That Stars Can Fall Out Of The Sky And Land On A Flat Earth In Order To Defend Our Religious Faith.

Christian

Religious

Stars

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.

People

Process

Implied

Billy Graham Is One Of My Great Lifetime Heroes. I Think He Epitomizes The Essence Of What A Christian Leader Should Be. I Have Participated In Some Of His Crusades A Couple Of Times In Atlanta. I've Seen The Profound Impact He's Had On Me Personally, And On Other People Who Were Not Christians And Accepted Christ As Savior.

Christian

Couple

Hero

There Should Be An Honest Attempt At The Reconciliation Of Differences Before Resorting To Combat.

Peace

War

Differences

I Let God Be The Judge And I Believe That We Worship A Just And Fair God Who Won't Punish Innocent People Unnecessarily.

Letting Go

Believe

People

If Any Agreement Between Two Nations Is To Last, It Must Serve The Best Interests Of Both Nations.

Two Nations

Agreement

Lasts

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

I Want To Make It Clear,if There Is Ever A Conflict [between Environmental Quality And Economic Growth], I Will Go For Beauty, Clean Air, Water, And Landscape.

Air

Environmental Quality

Water

We All Know Grandparents Whose Values Transcend Passing Fads And Pressures, And Who Possess The Wisdom Of Distilled Pain And Joy.

Pain

Grandparent

Joy

Jerry Falwell Can Go Straight To Hell - And I Mean That In A Christian Way.

Christian

Religious

Mean

I Think What's Going On In Guantanamo Bay And Other Places Is A Disgrace To The U.s.a. I Wouldn't Say It's The Cause Of Terrorism, But It Has Given Impetus And Excuses To Potential Terrorists To Lash Out At Our Country And Justify Their Despicable Acts.

Country

Thinking

Confusion

I Don't Laugh At People Any More When They Say They've Seen Ufos. I've Seen One Myself!

People

Laughing

Ufo

We Are Of Course A Nation Of Differences. Those Differences Don't Make Us Weak. They're The Source Of Our Strength.

Life

Strength

Kids

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.

Balance

Acting

Energy

I Guess My Biggest Failure Was Not Getting Re-elected. And I Learned Two Things; One Is That You Ought Not To Ever Let American Hostages Be Held For 444 Days In A Foreign Country Without Extracting Them. I Did The Best I Could, But I Failed.

Country

Loss

Taught

What Are The Things That You Can't See That Are Important? I Would Say Justice, Truth, Humility, Service, Compassion, Love...they're The Guiding Lights Of A Life.

Humility

Helping Others

Compassion

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. And America Is Constantly At War.

Jesus

War

Thinking

If I Become President, I'll Make Every Piece Of Information This Country Has About Ufo Sightings Available To The Public, And The Scientists. I Am Convinced That Ufos Exist Because I've Seen One.

Country

President

Pieces

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.

Hate

Gay

Men

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

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

This War Has Been Motivated By Pride Or Arrogance, By A Desire To Control Oil Wealth, By A Desire To Implant Our Programs. (talking About The Iraq War)

War

Pride

Power

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

We Can't Equate Democracy With Christianity Because The Largest Democracy On Earth Is India, Which Is Primarily Hindu. The Third Largest Democracy Is Indonesia, Which Is Islamic. Democracy And Freedom Are Not Dependent On Christian Beliefs.

Christian

Islamic

Democracy

When Men In Secular Life, Who Might Be Religious Or Not, See Women Being Treated As Secondary In The Eyes Of God, They Assume That It's Ok For Them To Do It.

Religious

Eye

Men

I Can't Think Of A Man More Worthy Of The Presidency Then My Good Friend Sam Nunn.

Good Friend

Men

Thinking

I Have A Great Respect For The Flag, (but) If The Government Passed A Law Saying That I Had To Pledge Allegiance To The Flag, I Don't Think I Would Do It. I've Always Felt That I Lived In A Country...where If I Wanted To Worship God As A Baptist, I Could Do So. If I Were An Atheist, I Could Be One. If I Wanted To Be A Catholic But Was Born A Jew, There's No Condemnation...from A Government Authority.

Country

Atheist

Thinking

On Balance, My Life Has Been A Constant Stream Of Blessings Rather Than Disappointments And Failures And Tragedies. I Wish I Had Been Re-elected. I Think I Could Have Kept Our Country At Peace. I Think I Could Have Consolidated What We Achieved At Camp David With A Treaty Between Israel And The Palestinians.

Country

Disappointment

Blessing

I'm A Peanut Farmer At Heart, Still Grow Peanuts On My Farm In Georgia.

Heart

Georgia

Peanuts

In Order For Us Human Beings To Commit Ourselves Personally To The Inhumanity Of War, We Find It Necessary First To Dehumanize Our Opponents, Which Is In Itself A Violation Of The Beliefs Of All Religions. Once We Characterize Our Adversaries As Beyond The Scope Of God's Mercy And Grace, Their Lives Lose All Value.

Life

War

Order

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

[on The Republican Party] A Party With A Narrow Vision, A Party That Is Afraid Of The Future.

Men

Political

Vision

Ahmadinejad Is Just A Buffoon, Sort Of A Clown On The International Scene Who Tries To Be Provocative So He Can Get His Name In The Paper And His Face On Television.

Names

Trying

Faces

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

The Carter Center Has A Policy Of Doing What Others Do Not Want To Do. We Do Not Compete With The World Health Organization, The United Nations Or The Us Government.

Government

Organization

World

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 Believed What My Father Taught Me About The Separation Of Church And State, So When I Was President I Never Invited Billy Graham To Have Services In The White House Because I Didn't Think That Was Appropriate. He Was Injured A Little Bit, Until I Explained It To Him.

Father

Thinking

White

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

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

We've Uncovered Some Embarrassing Ancestors In The Not-too-distant Past. Some Horse Thieves, And Some People Killed On Saturday Nights. One Of My Relatives, Unfortunately, Was Even In The Newspaper Business.

Horse

Past

Night

On Human Rights, Civil Rights And Environmental Quality, I Consider Myself To Be Very Liberal. On The Management Of Government, On Openness Of Government, On Strengthening Individual Liberties And Local Levels Of Government, I Consider Myself A Conservative. And I Don't See That The Two Attitudes Are Incompatible.

Attitude

Rights

Government

Testing Oneself Is Best When Done Alone.

Done

Well Wishes

Testing

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

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

"adjust To Changing Times But Sticking To Unchanging Principles" - Committing Me And All Americans To Real Ideals Of Justice And Truth, No Matter What Difficulties Faced Us.

Real

Justice

Matter

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

Genocide, In My Opinion - Is An Attempt By A Powerful Group Completely To Eradicate From The Face Of The Earth The Existence Of People Because Of Their Ethnic Makeup Or Because Of Their Race Or Religion, And That Was The Case With Hitler Trying To Exterminate The Jews, And That Was The Case In Rwanda, When The Tutsis Were Attacked And Over 500,000 Were Killed In Two Or Three Days.

Powerful

Makeup

People

I First Came Into The Labor Force In 1941 When The Minimum Wage Was 40 Cents An Hour, And That Was My First Job. And Each Time That We've Tried To Boost The Lower Level Of Salary For The Most Underpaid Workers, There Have Been Predictions Of Catastrophe. But Each Time, In [m]y Opinion, The Change Has Helped Our Nation And Its Economic Strength.

Jobs

Labor Force

Salary

Each One Of Us Is An Individual, Just Like Talk Show Hosts Are Different From One Another, And Newspaper Columnists Are Different From Each Other. So, Former Presidents Are Different From Each Other, Too. Some Have Gone Into Relative Seclusion. Some Have Decided To Teach.

President

Different

Gone

You Can Do What You Have To Do, And Sometimes You Can Do It Even Better Than You Think You Can.

Life

Determination

Commitment

This Is The First National Administration We've Ever Seen Where The Housewife Couldn't Afford To Buy Groceries And The Farmer Couldn't Afford To Grow Them.

Firsts

Administration

Eating

My Constant Prayer, My Number One Foreign Goal, Is To Bring Peace To Israel. And In The Process To Israel's Neighbours.

Prayer

Israel

Numbers

We Should Live Our Lives As Though Christ Were Coming This Afternoon.

Life

Softball

Religion

When Combined, The Small Individual Contributors Of Caring, Friendship, Forgiveness, And Love, Each Of Us Different From Our Next-door Neighbors, Can Form A Phalanx, An Army, With Great Capability.

Army

Caring

Doors

I Say To You Quite Frankly That The Time For Racial Discrimination Is Over.

Time

Racism

Discrimination

I Remember The Last Three Days That I Was President, I Never Went To Bed At All. I Never Went To Bed Until We Had Negotiated The Final Release Of The Hostages.

President

Bed

Finals

Since I Was 18 Years Old, I Have Taught The Bible. For The Last Fifteen Or Twenty Years, I Have Taught Every Sunday When I Was Home Or Near My Own House, So That Would Be 35 Or 40 Times Per Year. Half Of Those Sundays, The Text Comes From The Hebrew Bible. I Have Had A Deep Personal Interest In The Holy Land And In The Teachings Of The Hebrew People. God Has A Special Position For The Jewish People, The Hebrews, Or Whatever. I Know The Difference Between Ancient Israel And Judaea, And I Know The History. I Don't Have Any Problem With The Jewish People.

Teaching

Home

Sunday

One Of Our Nation's Greatest Leaders Of All Time Was Hubert Horatio Hornblower.

Leader

Horatio

All Time

I Just Look At Death As Not A Threat. It's Inevitable, And I Have An Assurance Of Eternal Life.

Death

Religion

Looks

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

Any System Of Economics Is Bankrupt If It Sees Either Value Or Virtue In Unemployment.

Unemployment

Virtue

Economics

I've Just Finished My 20th Book This Past Year And I'm Working On My 21st Book About The Middle East Right Now That I'll Finish This Year. And I Get Up Early In The Morning And When I Get Tired Of The Computer And Tired Of Doing Research, I Walk 20 Steps Out To My Woodshop And I Either Build Furniture Or Paint Paintings. I'm An Artist Too.

Morning

Book

Tired

War And Good Health Are Incompatible. There's No Way We Can Go [eradicate Diseases] Into An Area That Is At War.

War

Disease

Way

Forgiving Is One Of The Most Difficult Things For A Human Being To Do, But I Think It Means Looking At Some Slight You Feel, Putting Yourself In The Position Of The Other Person, And Wiping Away Any Sort Of Resentment And Antagonism You Feel Toward Them. Then Let That Other Person Know That Everything Is Perfectly Friendly And Normal Between You.

Forgiveness

Anger

Mean

There Are Some Discrepencies In The Writings Of Paul. Some Christians Chose Those Ones That Say That Women Should Be Restricted In Their Services. I Choose To Emphasize The Equality Of People In God's Eyes.

Christian

Writing

Eye

The Heartfelt Sympathy And Friendship Offered To America After The 9/11 Attacks, Even From Formerly Antagonistic Regimes, Has Been Largely Dissipated; Increasingly Unilateral And Domineering Policies Have Brought International Trust In Our Country To Its Lowest Level In Memory.

Country

Memories

Heart

I Believe That We Are Saved By The Grace Of God Because He Loves Us Provided That We Have Faith In Jesus Christ.

Jesus

Believe

Grace

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

[jerry Brown] Is California's Way Of Celebrating The Year Of The Child.

Children

Years

California

The North Korean Communists Are Implacably Pursuing Their Military Buildup In Defiance Of The International Trend Toward Rapprochement And Of The Stark Reality Of The Korean Situation, As Well As Of The Long-cherished Aspiration Of The 50 Million Koreans. The North Koreans Have Already Constructed A Number Of Underground Invasion Tunnels Across The Demilitarized Zone.

Military

Reality

Usa

We Have The Heaviest Concentration Of Lawyers On Earth -- One For Every Five-hundred Americans; Three Times As Many As Are In England, Four Times As Many As Are In West Germany, Twenty-one Times As Many As There Are In Japan. We Have More Litigation, But I Am Not Sure That We Have More Justice. No Resources Of Talent And Training In Our Own Society, Even Including The Medical Care, Is More Wastefully Or Unfairly Distributed Than Legal Skills. Ninety Percent Of Our Lawyers Serve 10 Percent Of Our People. We Are Over-lawyered And Under-represented.

Japan

West Germany

Skills

The First Time I Ever Saw Snow Skis Was When I Was 62 Years Old And That Was 19 Years Ago And I'm Still Skiing. So, We'll Be Skiing With Some Very Close Friends Of The Carter Center Letting Them Know What The Carter Center Is Doing Around The World. We Have Programs In Over 65 Countries.

Country

Years

Snow

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

The Drug Culture Has Shaped At Least One Major Change Since The Sixties; It Became The Basis For Overloading Our Prisons.

I Happen To Be A Scientist. My Background Is In Nuclear Physics. I Was A Nuclear Engineer. But I Don't See Any Incompatibility At All With My Religious Faith And God The Creator Of Everything And The Incompatibility Between When The Earth Was Created As Specified In The Bible. I Don't See Any Incompatibility There Because Those That Were Interpreting God's Overall Message Didn't Know Anything About Modern-day Science.

Religious

Messages

Nuclear

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

Rosalynn Said, "jimmy, If We Could Only Get Prime Minister Begin And President Sadat Up Here On This Mountain For A Few Days, I Believe They Might Consider How They Could Prevent Another War Between Their Countries." That Gave Me The Idea, And A Few Weeks Later, I Invited Both Men To Join Me For A Series Of Private Talks. In September 1978, They Both Came To Camp David.

Country

Peace

War

I Think I Was Identified As A Failed President Because I Wasn't Re-elected.

Thinking

President

I Am Confident That When The Facts And Policies Have Been Examined, When The Record Of Performances Have Been Reviewed, Barack Obama And Joe Biden Will Once Again Be Elected To Lead Our Beloved Country To A Better Future.

Country

Records

Biden

Every Advance In This Half-century-social Security, Civil Rights, Medicare, Aid To Education, One After Another-came With The Support And Leadership Of American Labor.

Rights

Support

Presidential

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

I Believe There Is Complete Equality Between Men And Women.

Believe

Men

I Believe

I've Been An Evangelistic Baptist All My Life And Still Am To Some Degree.

Degrees

Baptists

Stills

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

The Government Ought To Stay Out Of The Prayer Business.

Prayer

Government

Atheism

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

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

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

America Does Not At The Moment Have A Functioning Democracy.

America

Democracy

Doe

Carter Is Doing A High-wire Act Over A Cesspool, Preaching All The Way. Sinclair Lewis, Thou Shouldst Be Living In This Hour. We Have A Warren Harding Impersonating Elmer Gantry.

Wire

Way

Hours

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 Was Never Any Question About The Morality Of Hunting, But Neither Was There Any Acceptance Of Killing For The Sake Of A Trophy.

Acceptance

Hunting

Sake

If You're Totally Illiterate And Living On One Dollar A Day, The Benefits Of Globalization Never Come To You.

Memorable

Dollars

Benefits

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

For The First Time In The History Of Our Country The Majority Of Our People Believe That The Next Five Years Will Be Worse Than The Past Five Years.

Country

Believe

Patriotic

I Have A Very Personal Relationship With Jesus Christ. It Doesn't Depend On The Fact That He Can Walk On Water.

Jesus

Water

Facts

If You Fear Making Anyone Mad, Then You Ultimately Probe For The Lowest Common Denominator Of Human Achievement.

Inspirational

Funny

Graduation

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'm 86, And Too Old To Be President.

President

I'm Still, Except For Making Overseas Trips, I'm Staying Just About As Busy As I Ever Did.

Busy

Stills

Staying

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

I Have Nothing Against A Community That Is Made Up Of People Who Are Polish, Or Who Are Czechoslovakians, Or Who Are French Canadians Or Who Are Blacks Trying To Maintain The Ethnic Purity Of Their Neighborhoods. This Is A Natural Inclination... Government Should Not Break Up A Neighborhood On A Numerical Basis. As Soon As The Government Does, The White Folks Flee.

Government

White

People

I Look Forward To These Confrontations With The Press To Kind Of Balance Up The Nice And Pleasant Things That Come To Me As President.

Nice

Balance

President

I Think A Good Husband Has To Depend On Having A Good Wife.

Husband

Thinking

Wife

The Evidence Shows That Investing In Women And Girls Delivers Major Benefits For Society. An Educated Woman Has Healthier Children. She Is More Likely To Send Them To School. She Earns More And Invests What She Earns In Her Family.

Girl

Children

School

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

Nobody Knows When You Make An Effort Or When You Plant A Seed If It Will Bear Fruit Or Not.

Effort

Plant

Nobody Knows

I Believe We Accomplished A Lot Of Good Things While I Was In Office. We Maintained A Very Good Working Relationship With Both Republicans And Democrats During My Tenure. Consequently, We Had A Very High Batting Average In Dealing With Congress On Some Very Controversial Issues. Plus, We Kept Our Nation At Peace, We Obeyed The Law, And We Told The Truth.

Believe

Law

Issues

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

It's Not Necessary To Fear The Prospect Of Failure But To Be Determined Not To Fail.

Inspirational

Morning

Failure

In Many Courts, Plea Bargaining Serves The Convenience Of The Judge And The Lawyers, Not The Ends Of Justice, Because The Courts Simply Lack The Time To Give Everyone A Fair Trial.

Giving

Justice

Judging

America Did Not Invent Human Rights. In A Very Real Sense Human Rights Invented America.

Inspirational

Motivational

Real

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

A Strong Nation, Like A Strong Person, Can Afford To Be Gentle, Firm, Thoughtful, And Restrained. It Can Afford To Extend A Helping Hand To Others. It's A Weak Nation, Like A Weak Person, That Must Behave With Bluster And Boasting And Rashness And Other Signs Of Insecurity.

Strong

Thoughtful

Compassion

Human Rights Is The Soul Of Our Foreign Policy, Because Human Rights Is The Very Soul Of Our Sense Of Nationhood.

Inspirational

Motivational

Rights

I Believe That We Should Do Anything We Can To Minimize Abortion And Not To Encourage It.

Believe

Abortion

I Believe

I Have Experienced The Intensity Of Patriotism As A Submarine Officer, The Ambitions Of A Competitive Businessman, And The Intensity Of Political Debate. I Have Been Sorely Tempted To Launch A Military Attack On Foreigners, And Have Felt The Frustration Of Having To Negotiate With Allies Or Even Former Enemies To Reach A Consensus Instead Of Taking More Decisive Unilateral Action.

Military

Ambition

Frustration

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

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

Two Problems Of Our Country - Energy And Malaise.

Country

Two

Presidential

The Blood Of Abraham, God's Father Of The Chosen, Still Flows In The Veins Of Arab, Jew, And Christian, And Too Much Of It Has Been Spilled In Grasping For The Inheritance Of The Revered Patriarch In The Middle East. The Spilled Blood In The Holy Land Still Cries Out To God--an Anguished Cry For Peace.

Christian

Father

Blood

At The Carter Center We Work With Victims Of Oppression, And We Give Support To Human Rights Heroes.

Hero

Rights

Giving

When People First Vote For Democracy, They Have Extremely High Hopes, Excessive Expectations, And They're Not Realized. They Don't Instantly Get Richer And The Schools Don't Instantly Get Better And The Garbage Isn't Instantly Picked Up Quicker. So They Get Disillusioned.

School

Expectations

People

You Just Have To Have A Simple Faith.

Faith

Simple

Simple Faith

I Think There's An Awakening Now Of A Realization That We Too Early Congratulated Ourselves On The End Of Racial Prejudice And White Supremacy. And That Was A Feeling That We Had When I Was President, That We Had Pretty Much Overcome That Problem.

Thinking

White

Feelings

We've Become Increasingly Addicted To Consumption Of Goods That We Don't Produce Ourselves, And A Lot Of The Manufacturing Has Gone Overseas.

Gone

Produce

Goods

In The Final Analysis, True Justice Is Not A Matter Of Courts And Law Books, But Of A Commitment In Each Of Us To Liberty And Mutual Respect.

Respect

Book

Commitment

As Has Been Emphasized Vigorously By Foreign Allies And By Responsible Leaders Of Former Administrations And Incumbent Officeholders, There Is No Current Danger To The United States From Baghdad.

Leader

Administration

Allies

I Think There Ought To Be A Strict Separation Or Wall Built Between Our Religious Faith And Our Practice Of Political Authority In Office. I Don't Think The President Of The United States Should Extoll Christianity If He Happens To Be A Christian At The Expense Of Judaism, Islam Or Other Faiths.

Christian

Religious

Wall

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

I Don't Believe That China, In My Lifetime Or Maybe My Children's Lifetime, Be Equal To The United States Militarily Speaking, But They Are Very Careful To Avoid Any Engagement In War, They Are Basically A Peaceful Country, Which Gives Them Another Advantage Over The United States When We Are Much More Inclined To Go To War For Various Reasons.

Country

Children

War

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

Perfect

President

In This Outward And Physical Ceremony We Attest Once Again To The Inner And Spiritual Strength Of Our Nation. As My High School Teacher, Miss Julia Coleman, Used To Say: 'we Must Adjust To Changing Times And Still Hold To Unchanging Principles.'

Inspirational

Funny

Graduation

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

The Stronger The Ties That Bind Us To God, The More Likely We Are To Live, React, And Behave In Harmony With...greater Joy, Peace, And Happiness.

Spiritual

Godly

Ties

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

I Think My Wife ... Is Sure Of My Loyalty.... She Knows How Hard I Work. She Knows How Tired I Am Every Night. She Knows I Have Fifty Or Sixty Reporters Watching Me Day And Night.

Loyalty

Tired

Night

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

The First Step In Providing Economic Equality For Women Is To Ensure A Stable Economy In Which Every Person Who Wants To Work Can Work.

Work

Equality

Want

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

I Can Get Up At 8am And Be Rested... Or I Can Get Up At 5am And Be President.

President

Get Up

I Can

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

As President, I Was Able To Save With The Stroke Of The Pen A Hundred Million Acres Of Wilderness Area In Alaska. This Is The Kind Of Thing That Is Is Gratifying To A President, But To Be On A Solitary Stream With Good Friends, With A Fly Rod In Your Hand, And To Have A Successfull Or Even An Unsuccessful Day-they're All Successful-is An Even Greater Delight.

Successful

Good Friend

Hands

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

Whatever Starts In California Unfortunately Has An Inclination To Spread.

California

Political

Politics

In A Nation That Was Proud Of Hard Work, Strong Families, Close Knit Communities, And Our Faith In God , Too Many Of Us Now Tend To Worship Self Indulgence And Consumption .

Strong

Hard Work

Self

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

When I Speak At My Local Church, Which I Try To Do 35 To 40 Times A Year, I Try In Every Lesson To Take The Old Testament Text Or New Testament Text And Apply Them To What Is Happening To Me Or How That Applies To The Audience That I'm Teaching In A Modern, Fast-changing, Technological World. I Use Headlines, Interfaith And That Sort Of Thing.

Teaching

Years

Church

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

As Far As Being In Dangerous Situations Around The World Is Concerned, I Always Have A Secret Service Detail With Me As One Of The Privileges Of A Former President.

Dangerous Situations

Secret

President

We Will Not Learn How To Live Together In Peace By Killing Each Other's Children.

Veterans Day

Peace

Children

Faith Implies A Continuing Search, Not Necessarily A Final Answer.

God

Faith

Hope

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

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

One Of The Surprising Things That Brezhnev Said When We Were In Our Talks, Was - When I Proposed That We Make These Changes In Nuclear Weaponry, He Said, "god Will Never Forgive Us If We Don't Succeed." And, You Know, Coming From The Leader Of An Atheistic Communist Country, This Surprised Everyone.

Country

Leader

Forgiving

It Would Be Almost Politically Suicidal For Members Of Congress To Espouse A Balanced Position Between Israel And Palestine, To Suggest That Israel Comply With International Law Or To Speak In Defense Of Justice Or Human Rights For Palestinians. If They Did So, They Couldn't Be Reelected.

Suicidal

Rights

Israel

The Government And The Church Are Two Different Realms Of Service, And Those In Political Office Have To Face A Subtle But Important Difference Between The Implementation Of The High Ideals Of Religious Faith And Public Duty.

Religious

Government

Two

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

The President Publicly Apologized Today To All Those Offended By His Brother's Remark, There's More Arabs In This Country Than There Is Jews! Those Offended Include Arabs, Jews, And English Teachers.

Country

Teacher

Brother

That Difference Between The Rich And Poor Is Growing Every Month.

Differences

Growing

Months

I Will Never Lie To You.

Lying

Presidential

Never Lie

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

My Wish Is Peace For Israel And For Israel's Neighbors.

Israel

Wish

Neighbor

I Enjoy Walking By Myself On The Same Paths Where, As A Little Boy, I Delighted In Following My Father Around.

Father

Boys

Path

We Simply Must Have Faith In Each Other, Faith In Our Ability To Govern Ourselves, And Faith In The Future Of This Nation. Restoring That Faith And That Confidence To America Is Now The Most Important Task We Face.

Faith

Confidence

America

But I Am Not Discouraged. I Do Not Despair For Our Country. I Believe Tonight, As I Always Have, That The Essential Decency, Compassion And Common Sense Of The American People Will Prevail.

Country

Believe

Compassion

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 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 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

It's Politically Impossible For Any Member Of Congress To Make A Public Statement Condemning Or Criticizing The Policies Of Israel. It Would Be Political Suicidal For Them To Do So.

Suicidal

Political

Impossible

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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