We cannot expect that all nations will adopt like systems, for conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.
Interpretation
Diversity in governance leads to freedom and growth, while uniformity restricts these values.
In this quote, John F. Kennedy emphasizes the importance of diversity among nations in their systems of governance. He suggests that expecting all nations to adopt the same methods is unrealistic and that such conformity restricts individual freedoms and stifles the potential for progress and development.
In practice
During a speech on global cooperation, one might use this quote to highlight the benefits of diverse political systems.
The great battleground for the defense and expansion of freedom today is the whole southern half of the globe... the lands of the rising peoples. Their revolution is the greatest in human history. They seek an end to injustice, tyranny and exploitation. More than an end, they seek a beginning.
I had always enjoyed the title of Commander-in-Chief until I was informed ... that the only forces that cannot be transferred from Washington without my express permission are the members of the Marine Corps Band. Those are the only forces I have. I want it announced that we propose to hold the White House against all odds at least for some time to come.
I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children - not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women - not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.
I just received the following wire from my generous Daddy; Dear Jack, Don't buy a single vote more than is necessary. I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for a landslide.
Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.
Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.
Everything in excess is opposed to nature.
Strange a God who mouths Golden Rules and forgiveness, then invented hell; who mouths morals to other people and has none Himself; who frowns upon crimes yet commits them all; who created man without invitation, then tries to shuffle the responsibility for man's acts upon man, instead of honorably placing it where it belongs, upon Himself; and finally with altogether divine obtuseness, invites this poor, abused slave to worship Him!
If you have indeed been so highly distinguished, should you not βlive no longer to yourselves, but altogether unto Him who died for you and rose again?β Should any thing short of absolute perfection satisfy you? Should you not labour to βstand perfect and complete in all the will of God?β
Faith is part of who I am, yes. I was raised Christian Scientist. The most important thing I saw every single week on the wall at Sunday school was the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
In any society, fanatics who hate don't hate only me - they hate you, too. They hate everybody.
If one thinks about racism by examining only one wire of the cage, or one form of disadvantage, it is difficult to understand how and why the bird is trapped. Only a large number of wires arranged in a specific way, and connected to one another, serve to enclose the bird and to ensure that it cannot escape.
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