The damage done to this country by its own misconduct in the last few months and years, to its very heart and soul, is far greater and longer lasting than any damage that any terrorist could possibly inflict upon us.
Interpretation
The internal issues of a nation can have more damaging effects than external threats.
The quote by Theodore C. Sorensen highlights the detrimental impact that a country's own actions and misconduct can have on its fundamental values and integrity. It underscores the idea that while terrorism poses a significant threat, the erosion of a nation's core principles due to its own behavior can lead to more profound and enduring harm, affecting its identity and future.
In practice
In a political speech about the importance of integrity in governance, one could reference this quote.
Our surest protection against assault from abroad has been not all our guards, gates and guns, or even our two oceans, but our essential goodness as a people. Our richest asset has been not our material wealth but our values.
We have contingency plans for war, but none for peace.
Public opinion rarely considers the needs of the next generation or the history of the last. It is frequently hampered by myths and misinformation, by stereotypes and shibboleths, and by an inate resistance to innovation.
If we live in a perpetual state of outrage, Trump wins. Because when we become depleted and exhausted and sapped of our energy, we're not as resourceful, creative, or effective.
Commerce has changed the ethics of citizenship and the incentives for national service. America now buys private contractors - we used to call them mercenaries - to do the country's fighting.
Elections are an enduring spectacle of free India, and have provided foreign journalists with the opportunity to remind the world that India remains the world's largest democracy.
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.
The Republican nominee-to-be, of course, is also a young man. But his approach is as old as McKinley. His party is the party of the past. His speeches are generalities from Poor Richard's Almanac. Their platform, made up of left-over Democratic planks, has the courage of our old convictions. Their pledge is a pledge to the status quo-and today there can be no status quo.
As long as the government's actions are secret, it cannot be held accountable. A government for the people and by the people should be transparent to the people.
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