The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.
Franklin D. RooseveltRead
There has been one persistent theme through all Axis propaganda. This theme has been that Americans are admittedly rich, that Americans have considerable industrial power - but that Americans are soft and decadent, that they cannot and will not unite and work and fight. ... Let them tell that to the Marines!
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the resilience and determination of Americans despite external criticism.
Franklin D. Roosevelt's quote addresses a narrative spread by Axis propaganda, which portrayed Americans as wealthy but weak and divided. In response, Roosevelt invokes the strength and courage of the Marine Corps, suggesting that true American spirit is about unity, hard work, and the ability to confront challenges head-on, countering claims of decadence and weakness.
Themes
CourageResilienceUnityStrengthSpirit
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a motivational speech to inspire courage during challenging times.
More from Franklin D. Roosevelt
All quotes →A war of ideas can no more be won without books than a naval war can be won without ships. Books, like ships, have the toughest armor, the longest cruising range, and mount the most powerful guns.
Franklin D. RooseveltRead
Better the occasional faults of a government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a government frozen in the ice of its own indifference.
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Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.
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A world turned into a stereotype, a society converted into a regiment, a life translated into a routine, make it difficult for either art or artists to survive. Crush individuality in society and you crush art as well. Nourish the conditions of a free life and you nourish the arts, too.
Franklin D. RooseveltRead
We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics. Out of the collapse of a prosperity whose builders boasted their practicality has come the conviction that in the long run economic morality pays.
Franklin D. RooseveltRead
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