--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The opportunity to serve our country—that…" description: "\"The opportunity to serve our country—that is all we ask.\" — John Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/john-smith-15954_asks_the-opportunity-to-serve-our-country-tha_2844716.png" --- # The opportunity to serve our country—that is all we ask. ![“The opportunity to serve our country—that is all we ask.” quote by John Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/john-smith-15954_asks_the-opportunity-to-serve-our-country-tha_2844716.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/john-smith-15954_asks_the-opportunity-to-serve-our-country-tha_2844716.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/john-smith-15954_asks_the-opportunity-to-serve-our-country-tha_2844716.png) > “The opportunity to serve our country—that is all we ask.” [John Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Serving the nation is a modest request. **In simple terms:** Serve with humility. Key Takeaway Answer the call to serve. Themes patriotism service humility Mood respectful inspirational Type civic motivational When to use this quote - military enlistment - public service - community volunteering Key Concepts Civic duty political theory Questions to Reflect On - What does serving mean to you? - How can you contribute without overcommitment? A Different Perspective Service may demand personal sacrifice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Country Ask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country-ask-713014/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Opportunity Serve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity-serve-259888/) [Our country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-country/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [Serve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serve/) [Serve Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serve-country/) [Serve Our Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serve-our-country/) ## Related quotes > [For me politics is an opportunity to serve the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bappi-lahiri/for-me-politics-is-an-opportunity-to-serve-the-country/) [Bappi Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bappi-lahiri/) > [It was clear that VA was in need of reform, and when the president asked for help, I could not say no. First, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shulkin/it-was-clear-that-va-was-in-need-of-reform-and-when-the-president/) [David Shulkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shulkin/) > [We in Arizona know what it means to serve our country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-gallego/we-in-arizona-know-what-it-means-to-serve-our-country/) [Ruben Gallego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-gallego/) > [What pity is it That we can die, but once to serve our country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/what-pity-is-it-that-we-can-die-but-once-to-serve-our-country/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [I have a whole, whole lot of respect for the men and women that serve our country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hunt/i-have-a-whole-whole-lot-of-respect-for-the-men-and-women-that-serve/) [Sam Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hunt/) > [We all have a loyalty to our country, we want to serve our country. It's in our nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/essam-el-hadary/we-all-have-a-loyalty-to-our-country-we-want-to-serve-our-country-it/) [Essam El Hadary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/essam-el-hadary/) > [I'm still in touch with a lot people who continue to serve our country well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-north/i-m-still-in-touch-with-a-lot-people-who-continue-to-serve-our/) [Oliver North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-north/) > [There is no greater call to service than that of our brave men and women who serve our country in combat across the globe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gillibrand/there-is-no-greater-call-to-service-than-that-of-our-brave-men-and/) [Kirsten Gillibrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-gillibrand/) > [As a president, my job is not to promote a religion, my job is to call people to serve our country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/as-a-president-my-job-is-not-to-promote-a-religion-my-job-is-to-call/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [My father was a pilot in WWII and I have nothing but the utmost respect for anyone who answers the call to serve our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-justice/my-father-was-a-pilot-in-wwii-and-i-have-nothing-but-the-utmost/) [Jim Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-justice/) > [“Whenever you get opportunity to serve, serve with all your heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/whenever-you-get-opportunity-to-serve-serve-with-all-your-heart/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“The opportunity to serve is everywhere if the heart is seeking and there is a willingness to take action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hon/the-opportunity-to-serve-is-everywhere-if-the-heart-is-seeking-and/) [Henry Hon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hon/) > [Any opportunity to serve in the Church is a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-b-wickman/any-opportunity-to-serve-in-the-church-is-a-blessing/) [Lance B. Wickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-b-wickman/) > [Truth-telling to Congress and the public is not disloyal in America: it is an expression of the higher loyalty officials owe to the Constitution,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/truth-telling-to-congress-and-the-public-is-not-disloyal-in-america/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [I take a backseat to no one in my affection, respect and devotion to veterans. And I will not accept from Senator Obama, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/i-take-a-backseat-to-no-one-in-my-affection-respect-and-devotion-to/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) ## More by John Smith > [I sometimes think that when the prime minister tries to select a weapon it is the boomerang he finds most effective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/i-sometimes-think-that-when-the-prime-minister-tries-to-select-a/) [John Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/) > [“Whilst the ships stayed, our allowance was somewhat bettered, by a daily proportion of biscuit, which the sailors would pilfer to sell, give, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/whilst-the-ships-stayed-our-allowance-was-somewhat-bettered-by-a/) [John Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/) > [You must obey this now for a Law, that he that will not worke shall not eate (except by sickness he be disabled:) for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/you-must-obey-this-now-for-a-law-that-he-that-will-not-worke-shall/) [John Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/) > [The best way to manipulate a man is to make him think he is manipulating you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/the-best-way-to-manipulate-a-man-is-to-make-him-think-he-is/) [John Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/) > [Communism works, if everybody stopped carring about money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/communism-works-if-everybody-stopped-carring-about-money/) [John Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/) > [Whether it is seen in personal terms or trans-personal terms, whether it is Heaven or Nirvana or Happy Hunting Ground or the Garden of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/whether-it-is-seen-in-personal-terms-or-trans-personal-terms-whether/) [John Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/) > [Here are mountaines, hills, planes, valleys, rivers, and brooks, all running most pleasantly into a faire Bay, compassed but for the mouth, with fruitfull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/here-are-mountaines-hills-planes-valleys-rivers-and-brooks-all/) [John Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/) > [Honor is our lives ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/honor-is-our-lives-ambition/) [John Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/) > [The attitude, and the mind, is where it all starts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/the-attitude-and-the-mind-is-where-it-all-starts/) [John Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/) > [With this lodging and diet our extreme toil in bearing and planting palisades so strained and bruised us and our continual labor in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/with-this-lodging-and-diet-our-extreme-toil-in-bearing-and-planting/) [John Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/) > [Everything of worth is found full of difficulties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/everything-of-worth-is-found-full-of-difficulties/) [John Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/) > [Had we been as free from all sins as we were from gluttony and drunkenness we might have been canonized for saints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/had-we-been-as-free-from-all-sins-as-we-were-from-gluttony-and/) [John Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/) > [You are a part of everything, and everything is a part of you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/you-are-a-part-of-everything-and-everything-is-a-part-of-you/) [John Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/) > [But our comedies never endured long without a tragedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/but-our-comedies-never-endured-long-without-a-tragedy/) [John Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/) > [How comes it to pass, if they be only moved by chance and accident, that such regular mutations and generations should be begotten by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/how-comes-it-to-pass-if-they-be-only-moved-by-chance-and-accident/) [John Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/) [Explore all 41 John Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/) ## More Asks quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I am a practicing Catholic, but my lineage is Jewish, so if someone asks me if I'm Jewish, I say yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-campbell/i-am-a-practicing-catholic-but-my-lineage-is-jewish-so-if-someone/) [Neve Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neve-campbell/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-fundamental-question-we-can-ever-ask-ourselves-is-whether-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I don't know how to say it exactly. Only...I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?' he asks. I shake my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-don-t-know-how-to-say-it-exactly-only-i-want-to-die-as-myself-does/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) [Browse all 7,138 Asks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The opportunity to serve our country—that is all we ask.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/the-opportunity-to-serve-our-country-that-is-all-we-ask/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Asks" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/the-opportunity-to-serve-our-country-that-is-all-we-ask/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/john-smith-15954_asks_the-opportunity-to-serve-our-country-tha_2844716.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/john-smith-15954_asks_the-opportunity-to-serve-our-country-tha_2844716.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/john-smith-15954_asks_the-opportunity-to-serve-our-country-tha_2844716.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The opportunity to serve our country—that is all we ask.” — John Smith", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The opportunity to serve our country—that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/the-opportunity-to-serve-our-country-that-is-all-we-ask/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/the-opportunity-to-serve-our-country-that-is-all-we-ask/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```