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American imperialism Quote by Barack Obama

“Eventually my rejection of authority spilled into self-indulgence and self-destructiveness, and by the time I enrolled in college, I'd begun to see how any challenge to convention harbored within it the possibility of its own excesses and its own orthodoxy. I started to reexamine my assumptions…” quote by Barack Obama
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““Eventually my rejection of authority spilled into self-indulgence and self-destructiveness, and by the time I enrolled in college, I'd begun to see how any challenge to convention harbored within it the possibility of its own excesses and its own orthodoxy. I started to reexamine my assumptions, and recalled the values my mother and grandparents had taught me. In this slow, fitful process of sorting out what I believed, I began silently registering the point in dorm-room conversations when my college friends and I stopped thinking and slipped into can't: the point at which the denunciations of capitalism or American imperialism came too easily, and the freedom from the constraints of monogamy or religion was proclaimed without fully understanding the value of such constraints, and the role of victim was too readily embraced as a means of shedding responsibility, or asserting entitlement, or claiming moral superiority over those not so victimized.””

Barack Obama

About This Quote

Source Speech: Commencement address, 2015

Questioning authority can reveal hidden excesses and new assumptions.

In simple terms: Reexamining rules uncovers hidden risks.

Key Takeaway

Critically assess norms before adopting them.

Themes

critical thinking authority self‑reflection

Mood

reflective analytical

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

  • college discussions
  • political debates
  • personal growth

Key Concepts

philosophy social critique

Questions to Reflect On

  • What assumptions do you hold?
  • How do you balance freedom and responsibility?
A Different Perspective

May oversimplify complex systems.

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