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Jewish World Review June 30, 2006/ 3 Tamuz, 5766
Greg Crosby
American quotes Many Americans, some of them great, others far less than great have weighed in on
America throughout history. The 4th of July is the perfect time to reflect on some of their
words. These quotes are quite telling in that they give us insight as to who these people are
as well as how they feel about their country. A few examples:
“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” Nathan Hale
“The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall
never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.” John F. Kennedy
“If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one
of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all
times ready for War.” George Washington
“America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable
determination to do the job at hand.” Harry S. Truman
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our
children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the
same.” Ronald Reagan
“You cannot become thorough Americans if you think of yourselves in groups. America does not
consist of groups. A man who thinks of himself as belonging to a particular national group in
America has not yet become an American.” Woodrow Wilson
“The Things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety
first instead of duty first and love of soft living and the get-rich-quick theory of life.” Theodore Roosevelt
“If America forgets where she came from, if the people lose sight of what brought them along,
if she listens to the deniers and mockers, then will begin the rot and dissolution.” Carl Sandburg
“When an American says that he loves his country, he means not only that he loves the New
England hills, the prairies glistening in the sun, the wide and rising plains, the great
mountains, and the sea. He means that he loves an inner air, an inner light in which freedom
lives and in which a man can draw the breath of self-respect.” Adlai Stevenson “Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.” Colin Powell
“When I was little, my mother would say to me, America is the greatest country in the world.
And there was a sense, as Italian-Americans, that it was a great privilege to live in America.” Francis Ford Coppola
“Everything I have, my career, my success, my family, I owe to America.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger
“I like America … to some extent.” Michael Moore
“I want to rebuild America.” Carol Moseley Braun
“I see America spreading disaster. I see America as a black curse upon the world. I see a long
night settling in and that mushroom which has poisoned the world withering at the roots.” Henry Miller
“American presence in Iraq is more dangerous to world peace than nuclear threats from North
Korea or Iran.” Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.
“Only Americans can hurt America.” Dwight D. Eisenhower
“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will
be because we destroyed ourselves.” Abraham Lincoln “G-d bless America.” Irving Berlin Enjoy this writer's work? Why not sign-up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.
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