--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The [next] priority for change the first…" description: "\"The [next] priority for change the first element of a new politics for the United States is in our policy toward the world. Too much and for too long, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/robert-kennedy-2083_change_the-next-priority-for-change-the-first-e_1428937.jpg" --- # The \[next\] priority for change the first element of a new… ![“The [next] priority for change the first element of a new politics for the United States is in our policy toward the world. Too much and for too long, we have acted as if our great military might and wealth could bring about an American solution to every world problem...” quote by Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/robert-kennedy-2083_change_the-next-priority-for-change-the-first-e_1428937.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/robert-kennedy-2083_change_the-next-priority-for-change-the-first-e_1428937.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/robert-kennedy-2083_change_the-next-priority-for-change-the-first-e_1428937.jpg) > “The \[next\] priority for change the first element of a new politics for the United States is in our policy toward the world. Too much and for too long, we have acted as if our great military might and wealth could bring about an American solution to every world problem...” [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. America should shift from military dominance to diplomatic engagement, recognizing limits of power in solving global issues. **In simple terms:** Use diplomacy, not force. Key Takeaway Prioritize diplomatic solutions over military might. Themes foreign\_policy military diplomacy global\_goals limitations Mood reflective strategic Type policy historical When to use this quote - UN negotiations - trade agreements - conflict mediation - development aid Key Concepts realism soft\_power international\_relations Questions to Reflect On - How can the U.S. balance power with partnership? - What role should military play in modern diplomacy? A Different Perspective Diplomacy alone may lack enforcement power. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Great military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-military/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Priorities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priorities/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-problems/) ## Related quotes > [Doing nothing in the public policy world allows much more to be done in the real world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hazlett/doing-nothing-in-the-public-policy-world-allows-much-more-to-be-done/) Thomas Hazlett > [Never miss it - that's the second biggest compliment I'd give to RealClearPolitics.com. The first is that it has become indispensable to anyone, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-barnes/never-miss-it-that-s-the-second-biggest-compliment-i-d-give-to/) [Fred Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-barnes/) > [U.S. policy toward the third world should be one of depopulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/u-s-policy-toward-the-third-world-should-be-one-of-depopulation/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [The policy of Russia is changeless. Its methods, its tactics, its maneuvers may change, but the polar star of its policy, world domination, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-policy-of-russia-is-changeless-its-methods-its-tactics-its/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [This is the new politics. Personal responsibility. Not leaving it to others. I am my planet's keeper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-benn/this-is-the-new-politics-personal-responsibility-not-leaving-it-to/) [Hilary Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-benn/) > [“The new politics was not the art of the compromise but the art of conflict.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-new-politics-was-not-the-art-of-the-compromise-but-the-art-of/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [We need more than a new politics; what we need is a new worldview. We need a fundamentally different bottom line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/we-need-more-than-a-new-politics-what-we-need-is-a-new-worldview-we/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [A lot of people who voted for Barack Obama expected and were led to expect something new in politics: a new tone of political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-goldberg/a-lot-of-people-who-voted-for-barack-obama-expected-and-were-led-to/) [Bernard Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-goldberg/) > [A new politics can spark the clean-energy revolution that will serve as a foundation for a new era of human prosperity, protect the world's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eban-goodstein/a-new-politics-can-spark-the-clean-energy-revolution-that-will-serve/) [Eban Goodstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eban-goodstein/) > [If you take a guy like a Barack Obama, who's raised millions of dollars from the most donors in the history of this nation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/if-you-take-a-guy-like-a-barack-obama-who-s-raised-millions-of/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [“You defined yourself by your enemy’s reaction. Conflict was the media bait—hence, now, the political chum. The new politics was not the art of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/you-defined-yourself-by-your-enemy-s-reaction-conflict-was-the-media/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [The hope of a new politics does not lie in formulating a left-wing reply to the right-it lies in rejecting conventional political categories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/the-hope-of-a-new-politics-does-not-lie-in-formulating-a-left-wing/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [So it is that a new politics centers around the arousal of that power, using prayer and meditation to create a force field of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/so-it-is-that-a-new-politics-centers-around-the-arousal-of-that-power/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We would like to have a great future, so we need to think about the urban philosophy, the urban problems, and the construction of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burhan-sonmez/we-would-like-to-have-a-great-future-so-we-need-to-think-about-the/) [Burhan Sonmez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burhan-sonmez/) > [Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-prescott/don-t-fire-until-you-see-the-whites-of-their-eyes/) [William H. Prescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-prescott/) ## More by Robert Kennedy > [Wars of any magnitude release powerful social and economic forces which can change the whole face of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/wars-of-any-magnitude-release-powerful-social-and-economic-forces/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [If freedom makes social progress possible, so social progress strengthens and enlarges freedom. The two are inseparable partners in the great adventure of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/if-freedom-makes-social-progress-possible-so-social-progress/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [Goethe tells us in his greatest poem that Faust lost the liberty of his soul when he said to the passing moment, 'Stay, thou…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/goethe-tells-us-in-his-greatest-poem-that-faust-lost-the-liberty-of/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [The intolerant man will not rely on persuasion, or on the worth of the idea. He would deny to others the very freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/the-intolerant-man-will-not-rely-on-persuasion-or-on-the-worth-of-the/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/let-us-dedicate-ourselves-to-what-the-greeks-wrote-so-many-years-ago/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [President Kennedy's election was such an enlargement. It expanded religious freedom to include the highest office in the land. President Kennedy's administration was such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/president-kennedy-s-election-was-such-an-enlargement-it-expanded/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [Men and women with freed minds may often be mistaken, but they are seldom fooled. They may be influenced, but they cannot be intimidated.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/men-and-women-with-freed-minds-may-often-be-mistaken-but-they-are/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [Prejudice exists and probably will continue to 'but we have tried to make progress and we are making progress. We are not going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/prejudice-exists-and-probably-will-continue-to-but-we-have-tried-to/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/too-much-and-too-long-we-seem-to-have-surrendered-community/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [In the final analysis, poverty is a condition of helplessness - of inability to cope with the conditions of existence in our complex society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/in-the-final-analysis-poverty-is-a-condition-of-helplessness-of/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [We know that we cannot live together without rules which tell us what is right and what is wrong, what is permitted and what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/we-know-that-we-cannot-live-together-without-rules-which-tell-us-what/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [Punishment is not prevention. History offers cold comfort to those who think grievance and despair can be subdued by force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/punishment-is-not-prevention-history-offers-cold-comfort-to-those-who/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [The travail of freedom and justice is not easy, but nothing serious and important in life is easy. The history of humanity has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/the-travail-of-freedom-and-justice-is-not-easy-but-nothing-serious/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [The Gross National Product measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/the-gross-national-product-measures-neither-our-wit-nor-our-courage/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [Our future may lie beyond our vision, but it is not completely beyond our control. It is the shaping impulse of America that neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/our-future-may-lie-beyond-our-vision-but-it-is-not-completely-beyond/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) [Explore all 186 Robert Kennedy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The [next] priority for change the first element of a new politics for the United States is in our policy toward the world. 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