Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American politician, 40th president of the United States (in office from 1981 to 1989)
Address to the International Committee for the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. (17 September 1990)
Post-presidency (1989–2004)
“[It's] not our decision to make. It's up to the people themselves.”
National Public Radio (1999); on the preservation of languages.
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Peter Ladefoged5
British phonetician 1925–2006Related quotes
Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America
2016, Statement on the Shootings in Baton Rouge (July 2016)
Context: Five days ago, I traveled to Dallas for the memorial service of the officers who were slain there. I said that that killer would not be the last person who tries to make us turn on each other. Nor will today’s killer. It remains up to us to make sure that they fail. That decision is all of ours. The decision to make sure that our best selves are reflected across America, not our worst -- that’s up to us.
“The people themselves, and not their servants, can safely reverse their own deliberate decisions.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States
1860s, Fourth of July Address to Congress (1861)
Context: It was with the deepest regret that the Executive found the duty of employing the war power in defense of the Government forced upon him. He could but perform this duty or surrender the existence of the Government. No compromise by public servants could in this case be a cure; not that compromises are not often proper, but that no popular government can long survive a marked precedent that those who carry an election can only save the government from immediate destruction by giving up the main point upon which the people gave the election. The people themselves, and not their servants, can safely reverse their own deliberate decisions.
Andy Andrews (1959) author and corporate speaker
Source: The Traveler's Gift: Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success
Cherie Blair (1954) British barrister and wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair
Charles Reiss, Hugh Muir, "Cherie suicide bombing gaffe", Evening Standard, 18 June 2002, p. 1
Speech at the launch of Medical Aid for Palestinians charity, 18 June 2002, referring to Palestinian suicide bombers; she later apologised for any offence caused.
James M. McPherson (1936) American historian
1990s, An Exchange With a Civil War Historian (June 1995)
Rollo May (1909–1994) US psychiatrist
Source: The Courage to Create (1975), Ch. 1 : The Courage to Create, p. 21
Context: The acorn becomes an oak by means of automatic growth; no commitment is necessary. The kitten similarly becomes a cat on the basis of instinct. Nature and being are identical in creatures like them. But a man or woman becomes fully human only by his or her choices and his or her commitment to them. People attain worth and dignity by the multitude of decisions they make from day by day. These decisions require courage.
