Barack Obama citáty

Zdroj: [David, Mendell, Obama : Od slibu k činu, Bronislava Bartoňová, Praha, Práh, 2008, 978-80-7252-234-7]

Obama v posledním prezidentském projevu: Díky Američanům jsou Spojené státy lepším a silnějším místem

Zdroj: [David, Mendell, Obama : Od slibu k činu, Bronislava Bartoňová, Praha, Práh, 2008, 978-80-7252-234-7]

Obama v posledním prezidentském projevu: Díky Američanům jsou Spojené státy lepším a silnějším místem

o životě svého otce
Zdroj: [David, Mendell, Obama : Od slibu k činu, Bronislava Bartoňová, Praha, Práh, 2008, 978-80-7252-234-7]

Zdroj: [David, Mendell, Obama : Od slibu k činu, Bronislava Bartoňová, Praha, Práh, 2008, 978-80-7252-234-7]

Zdroj: [David, Mendell, Obama : Od slibu k činu, Bronislava Bartoňová, Praha, Práh, 2008, 978-80-7252-234-7]

Zdroj: [David, Mendell, Obama : Od slibu k činu, Bronislava Bartoňová, Praha, Práh, 2008, 978-80-7252-234-7]

Zdroj: [David, Mendell, Obama : Od slibu k činu, Bronislava Bartoňová, Praha, Práh, 2008, 978-80-7252-234-7]

27. července 2004, Boston - národní shromáždění Demokratické strany
Zdroj: [David, Mendell, Obama : Od slibu k činu, Bronislava Bartoňová, Praha, Práh, 2008, 978-80-7252-234-7]

Obama v posledním prezidentském projevu: Díky Američanům jsou Spojené státy lepším a silnějším místem

Zdroj: iDNES: To ošklivé slovo na „N“. Obama porušil tabu, pronesl zapovězený výraz http://zpravy.idnes.cz/jizanska-vlajka-zmizi-z-obchodu-fotil-se-s-ni-vrah-z-charlestonu-pwv-/zahranicni.aspx?c=A150623_071653_zahranicni_lve

Senator Barack Obama’s speech to supporters after the Feb. 5 2018 nominating contests, as provided by Federal News Service and released in the New York Times (5 February 2008) https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/us/politics/05text-obama.html
2008

2015, Young African Leaders Initiative Presidential Summit Town Hall speech (August 2015)
Kontext: And the one thing I’ve learned, both in my personal life and in my political life, is that if you want more authority, then you also have to be more responsible. You can’t wear the crown if you can’t bear the cross. […] So my attitude is, if you want to participate then you have to recognize that you have broader responsibilities. […] And that is part of leadership. That’s true, by the way, for you individually as well. You have to be willing to take some risks and do some hard things in order to be a leader. A leader is not just a name, a title, and privileges and perks.

2011, Remarks on Egyptian political transition (February 2011)
Kontext: I know that a democratic Egypt can advance its role of responsible leadership not only in the region but around the world.
Egypt has played a pivotal role in human history for over 6,000 years.  But over the last few weeks, the wheel of history turned at a blinding pace as the Egyptian people demanded their universal rights.
We saw mothers and fathers carrying their children on their shoulders to show them what true freedom might look like.
We saw a young Egyptian say, “For the first time in my life, I really count.  My voice is heard.  Even though I’m only one person, this is the way real democracy works.”
We saw protesters chant “Selmiyya, selmiyya” — “We are peaceful” — again and again.
We saw a military that would not fire bullets at the people they were sworn to protect.
And we saw doctors and nurses rushing into the streets to care for those who were wounded, volunteers checking protesters to ensure that they were unarmed.
We saw people of faith praying together and chanting – “Muslims, Christians, We are one.”  And though we know that the strains between faiths still divide too many in this world and no single event will close that chasm immediately, these scenes remind us that we need not be defined by our differences.  We can be defined by the common humanity that we share.
And above all, we saw a new generation emerge — a generation that uses their own creativity and talent and technology to call for a government that represented their hopes and not their fears; a government that is responsive to their boundless aspirations.  One Egyptian put it simply:  Most people have discovered in the last few days…that they are worth something, and this cannot be taken away from them anymore, ever.
This is the power of human dignity, and it can never be denied. Egyptians have inspired us, and they’ve done so by putting the lie to the idea that justice is best gained through violence.  For in Egypt, it was the moral force of nonviolence — not terrorism, not mindless killing — but nonviolence, moral force that bent the arc of history toward justice once more.

2014, Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Town Hall (April 2014)
Kontext: The world has gotten smaller and no country is going to succeed if part of its population is put on the sidelines because they’re discriminated against. [... ] No society is going to succeed if half your population -- meaning women -- aren’t getting the same education and employment opportunities as men. So I think the key point for all of you, especially as young people, is you should embrace your culture. You should be proud of who you are and your background. And you should appreciate the differences in language and food. And how you worship God is going to be different, and those are things that you should be proud of. But it shouldn’t be a tool to look down on somebody else. It shouldn’t be a reason to discriminate. And you have to make sure that you are speaking out against that in your daily life, and as you emerge as leaders you should be on the side of politics that brings people together rather than drives them apart. That is the most important thing for this generation. And part of the way to do that is to be able to stand in other people’s shoes, see through their eyes. Almost every religion has within it the basic principle that I, as a Christian, understand from the teachings of Jesus. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Treat people the way you want to be treated. And if you’re not doing that and if society is not respecting that basic principle, then we’re going backwards instead of going forward. [... ] And when you see astronauts from Japan or from the United States or from Russia or others working together, and they’re looking down at this planet from a distance you realize we’re all on this little rock in the middle of space and the differences that seem so important to us from a distance dissolve into nothing. And so, we have to have that same perspective -- respecting everybody, treating everybody equally under the law. That has to be a principle that all of you uphold.

Varianta: Yes, we can.

2011, Address on interventions in Libya (March 2011)
Kontext: Much of the debate in Washington has put forward a false choice when it comes to Libya. On the one hand, some question why America should intervene at all — even in limited ways — in this distant land. They argue that there are many places in the world where innocent civilians face brutal violence at the hands of their government, and America should not be expected to police the world, particularly when we have so many pressing needs here at home.
It’s true that America cannot use our military wherever repression occurs. And given the costs and risks of intervention, we must always measure our interests against the need for action. But that cannot be an argument for never acting on behalf of what’s right. In this particular country — Libya — at this particular moment, we were faced with the prospect of violence on a horrific scale. We had a unique ability to stop that violence: an international mandate for action, a broad coalition prepared to join us, the support of Arab countries, and a plea for help from the Libyan people themselves. We also had the ability to stop Qaddafi’s forces in their tracks without putting American troops on the ground.
To brush aside America’s responsibility as a leader and — more profoundly — our responsibilities to our fellow human beings under such circumstances would have been a betrayal of who we are. Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. And as President, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action.

(July 3, 2008): Obama says adding $4 trillion to debt is unpatriotic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUPZJDBJI84
2008
Kontext: The problem is, is that the way Bush has done it over the last eight years is to take out a credit card from the Bank of China in the name of our children, driving up our national debt from $5 trillion for the first 42 presidents -- #43 added $4 trillion by his lonesome, so that we now have over $9 trillion of debt that we are going to have to pay back — $30,000 for every man, woman and child. That's irresponsible. It's unpatriotic.

2014, Queensland University Address (November 2014)
Kontext: As we develop, as we focus on our econ, we cannot forget the need to lead on the global fight against climate change. [... ] Here in the Asia Pacific, nobody has more at stake when it comes to thinking about and then acting on climate change. Here, a climate that increases in temperature will mean more extreme and frequent storms, more flooding, rising seas that submerge Pacific islands. Here in Australia, it means longer droughts, more wildfires. The incredible natural glory of the Great Barrier Reef is threated. Worldwide, this past summer was the hottest on record. No nation is immune, and every nation has a responsibility to do its part. [... ] We are mindful of the great work that still has to be done on this issue. But let me say, particularly again to the young people here: Combating climate change cannot be the work of governments alone. Citizens, especially the next generation, you have to keep raising your voices, because you deserve to live your lives in a world that is cleaner and that is healthier and that is sustainable. But that is not going to happen unless you are heard. It is in the nature of things, it is in the nature of the world that those of us who start getting gray hair are a little set in our ways, that interests are entrenched -- not because people are bad people, it’s just that’s how we’ve been doing things. And we make investments, and companies start depending on certain energy sources, and change is uncomfortable and difficult. And that’s why it’s so important for the next generation to be able to step and say, no, it doesn’t have to be this way. You have the power to imagine a new future in a way that some of the older folks don’t always have.

2015, Remarks to the People of Africa (July 2015)
Kontext: Every one of us is equal. Every one of us has worth. Every one of us matters. And when we respect the freedom of others -- no matter the color of their skin, or how they pray or who they are or who they love -- we are all more free. Your dignity depends on my dignity, and my dignity depends on yours. Imagine if everyone had that spirit in their hearts. Imagine if governments operated that way. Just imagine what the world could look like -- the future that we could bequeath these young people.

2011, Address on the natural and nuclear energy disasters in Japan (March 2011)
Kontext: We are working aggressively to support our Japanese ally at this time of extraordinary challenge. Search and rescue teams are on the ground in Japan to help the recovery effort. A disaster assistance and response team is working to confront the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. The U. S. military, which has helped to ensure the security of Japan for decades, is working around the clock.

2015, Remarks to the Kenyan People (July 2015)

2008, A More Perfect Union (March 2008)

Remarks Against Going to War with Iraq (2 October 2002).
2000-03

Obama suggesting Bashar al-Assad must leave office to end the Syrian Civil War https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/11/19/remarks-president-obama-and-prime-minister-trudeau-canada-after (19 November 2015)
2015

2014, Statement on Cuban policy (December 2014)

2012, Remarks at Clinton Global Initiative (September 2012)

2007

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Said during a visit to Kenya in the late 1980s or early 1990s, recorded in the 20-minute documentary "A Journey In Black And White" by WeSearchr, as reported and quoted in "Documentary Of Young Obama’s Visit To Kenya Is Set To Be Released" http://dailycaller.com/2016/09/19/documentary-of-young-obamas-visit-to-kenya-is-set-to-be-released/ by Alex Pfeiffer, The Daily Caller (19 September 2016)
1980s

2011, UN speech to General Assembly (September 2011)