John W. Gardner Quotes

Our Nation is in great need of young men and women of character to lead in every arena of our society.

There's nothing more special than talking in your community, and using your celebrity to uplift people and help them.

I think the end goal, hopefully, is to take advantage of the attention I've gotten along the way and use it for good and build some communities, and as I get older I can continue to do things and be surrounded by things that are inspirational to me.

It is time to break the bad habit of expecting something for nothing from our Government or from each other. Let us all take more responsibility not only for ourselves and our families but our communities and our country.

If you introduce kids to fishing, they become good citizens.

Frontiersman ideas of individualism stand exposed as we realise just how much our actions impact others.

I have gone from a Barry Goldwater Republican to a New Democrat, but I think my underlying values have remained pretty constant; individual responsibility and community. I do not see those as being mutually inconsistent.

It is not more bigness that should be our goal. We must attempt, rather, to bring people back to...the warmth of community, to the worth of individual effort and responsibility...and of individuals working together as a community, to better their lives and their children's future.

Everyone has influence, for good or bad, upon others.

I figured if I could get really good people who were going to be able to have a big impact in the world over the next decade to come together once a year for ten years and actually sign a pledge to take action themselves, if we did that every year for ten years we could do a lot of good in the world. That's the difference between my meeting and any other. If you don't want to promise to do something, don't come to my meeting, stay home.

We've somehow allowed ourselves to think it's okay to neglect and abandon our responsibility to ourselves and to our community. Everything cannot be blamed on the system.

The more the power of men and women increases, the greater is their responsibility as individuals and as members of the community.

In the final analysis, a democratic government represents the sum total of the courage and the integrity of its individuals. It cannot be better than they are.

Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders; no one is relieved of his share of responsibility …

I certainly hope that we can all continue to be forces for good after leaving the White House.

I don't choose projects according to the idea of being a role model. To be considered as one is definitely an honor.

Being a model and an actress, I feel we a have a responsibility towards society.

My main job and my overwhelming job starts with my family, my street, my neighborhood, and my city.

I feel like my role is to be one of those voices who reaches the youth.

Athletes are given a really special platform. It's our duty, as athletes, to be role models.

You have to find the balance of figuring out how can I be effective? How can I use my platform for good, you know, without jeopardizing everything so that I don't have that platform anymore.

We are in a world where people are understanding that athletes and entertainers are citizens too. Some of us want to leverage our platform for good, and I want to be someone who is thoughtful and real about trying to influence people in a way that will lead to healthier communities and a better nation.

You've got a bunch of kids out here that might not want to be athletes, but they want to learn how to make a difference in their community, and I'm trying to as best I can show an example of that.

The more I got into my artistry, I got a bigger responsibility: the kids in Chicago, they look up to the rappers. We influence them.

I feel like HQ has been a force for good and it's brought together this amazing community.