The first step for a leader is to be right with yourself. Integrity is the basis of leadership.
I’m a committed Republican. I believe very strongly in individual liberty. I tend not to think much in terms of group politics. I really am a kind of small government person and I’m most certainly a fiscal conservative and strong on national defense.
What we will not wait for is that particular nexus of terrorism, weapons of mass destruction that is extremism, and the technology to come together in a way that is harmful to the United States.
As secretary of state it’s been an enormous honor to represent this great country that I love so much – I have really seen that our great strengths are in the ability of people to reach their potential here.
As Americans we like to believe that we’re loved in international politics or that people like what we’re doing. But we also recognize that we have an extraordinary responsibility to do what we think is right, and that sometimes what we do is not very popular.
I remember classes in college where the professor was espousing certain theories about how blacks were inherently less intelligent. But I learned a long time ago to give people the benefit of the doubt, not to assume that somebody was reacting to you because of race.
When people see the terrible scenes of violence on television, when we mourn the death of each and every American man and woman in uniform or a civilian that’s killed, that it’s hard to see the progress that’s being made and it’s hard to believe that this is all going to come out for the better.
I’m a great believer in the fact that as you get to know someone, it matters not what religious background they have, or what their nationality is, or where they came from. And I think that’s how Americans really do relate to each other on a personal level.
I certainly think that the world views the United States as a place to be respected. All over the world our values are respected; who we are, a place that you can come and come from modest circumstances to great things, that’s respected.
You know, life is not one in which you just get to choose the things every day that come easily to you. And it’s also true – and this is the self-esteem problem – you learn that there are people who are better at things than you are.
Your friends and your family, if you’re close to them, they won’t let you get too far from who you were or from who you are. And so I love staying close to people who’ve always known me. That’s probably the best leavening that you could possibly have.
The Iranian people have a proud past. They merit a great future.
I think it’s very humble to believe that there is no man, woman or child who should live in tyranny. That people who say, well, maybe Arabs just aren’t ready for democracy or maybe Africans just are going to have corrupt governments, that seems to me arrogant.
America is a remarkable place in that social attitudes change almost imperceptibly, and then you wake up the next day and they’ve changed. But they’ve been changing all the time.
What the United States has done hasn’t always been liked or popular. But if you look at some of the most populous places in the world – China, India – the United States is not only respected but, in fact, popular.
History’s long arc is different than the today’s headlines.
Societies that treat women badly are dangerous societies. The empowerment of women is not only morally right it is also practical in the positive impact it has on so many social ills.
I would rather be ignored than patronized.
I would rather be ignored than patronized, I said, pointing to the tendency of the Democratic party to talk about women, minorities and the poor. I hated identity politics and the self-satisfied people who assume that they were free of prejudices when in fact they too could not see beyond color to the individual.
I’m an American, nothing is impossible.
The fact is, race is a constant factor in American life. Yet reacting to every incident, real or imagined, is crippling, tiring, and ultimately counter productive. I grew up in a family that believed that you might not be able to control your circumstances, but you can control your reaction to them. There was no room for being a victim or depending on the white man to take care of you.