In case you weren't keeping track, the third Monday of every February is Presidents' Day — a day that would probably pass us by silently and unnoticed if it wasn't for the fact that most people get the day off from work. But, as these Presidents' Day quotes prove, this is indeed a day that is worth paying attention to. Originally a holiday set aside to observe George Washington's birthday, Presidents' Day has since turned into a celebration of all our country's fine leaders — from Washington to President Obama, and everyone in between. (Coincidentally, it has also become a reason to sleep in on a Monday and then hit up a bunch of Presidents' Day sales at the mall, but let's just focus on the topic at hand for the moment.) Enjoy your day off, but take some time to pay tribute to our nation's leaders, both past and present, while you do.
Regardless of your politics, it is impossible to deny the impact our presidents have had through the course of history. These quotes, some of which were spoken more than 200 years ago, are just as vitally relevant today as they were when they were first uttered. Not only that, each one, in one way or another, has helped shape America into what it is today, and for that fact alone, they deserve repeating. Happy Presidents' Day, y'all.
1. "If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." — George Washington
2. "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." — Abraham Lincoln
3. "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." — John F. Kennedy
4. "America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand." — Harry S. Truman
5. "Only our individual faith in freedom can keep us free." — Dwight D. Eisenhower
6. "There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America." — Bill Clinton
7. "War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children." — Jimmy Carter
8. "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." — Franklin D. Roosevelt
9. "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." — John Quincy Adams
10. "Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you." — Thomas Jefferson
11. "Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all." — George Washington
12. "In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope." — Barack Obama
13. “This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.” — Theodore Roosevelt
14. "America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense human rights invented America." — Jimmy Carter
15. "In our seeking for economic and political progress, we all go up — or else we all go down." — Franklin D. Roosevelt
16. "Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm." — Abraham Lincoln
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