Martí : Thoughts/Pensamientos (1994)
Context: Talent is a gift that brings with it an obligation to serve the world, and not ourselves, for it is not of our making. To use for our exclusive benefit what is not ours is theft. Culture, which makes talent shine, is not completely ours either, nor can we place it solely at our disposal. Rather, it belongs mainly to our country, which gave it to us, and to humanity, from which we receive it as a birthright. A selfish man is a thief.
“Our talents are the gift that God gives to us… What we make of our talents is our gift back to God”
Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming (2013)
Freedom Under Siege http://www.ronpaullibrary.org/freedom_under_siege.php (1987).
1980s
“Talent is a gift, but character is a choice.”
“We have the choice to use the gift of our life to make the world a better place--or not to bother”
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money-That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not!
2013, Second Inaugural Address (January 2013)
Context: We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition, we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries, we must claim its promise. That’s how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure -- our forests and waterways, our crop lands and snow-capped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.
“Freedom is not our gift to the world it is God's gift to humanity.”
“Sharing is a kinsman's or a friend's obligation, and it is not in the category of a gift.”
Man's Rise to Civilization (1968), p. 44
