The hallmark of our age is the tension between aspirations and sluggish institutions.

The individual who has become a stranger to himself has lost the capacity for genuine self-renewal.

A prime function of a leader is to keep hope alive.

Americans have always believed that-within the law-all kinds of people should be allowed to take the initiative in all kinds of activities. And out of that pluralism has come virtually all of our creativity. Freedom is real only to the extent that there are diverse alternatives.

One exemplary act may affect one life, or even millions of lives. All those who set standards for themselves, who strengthen the bonds of community, who do their work creditably and accept individual responsibility, are building the common future.

The first and last task of aleader is to keep hope alive.

Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all.