Barack Obama Quotes About Culture

• The study of geography is about more than just memorizing places on a map. It's about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exists across continents. And in the end, it's about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together.

  Barack Obama

  Our World, Bridges, People

  "Obama asks geography bee question" by Byron Tau, www.politico.com. May 24, 2012.

• Independent economists say immigration reform will grow our economy and shrink our deficits by almost $1 trillion in the next two decades. And for good reason: when people come here to fulfill their dreams - to study, invent, and contribute to our culture - they make our country a more attractive place for businesses to locate and create jobs for everyone. So let's get immigration reform done this year.

  Barack Obama

  Dream, Country, Jobs

  Fifth Presidential State of the Union, delivered 28 January 2014

• We live in a culture that discourages empathy. A culture that too often tells us our principle goal in life is to be rich, thin, young, famous, safe, and entertained.

  Barack Obama

  Compassion, Goal, Empathy

• Together we can change our culture for the better by ending violence against women and girls, artists have a unique power to change minds and attitudes and get us thinking and talking about what matters, and all of us, in our lives, have the power to set an example. Join our campaign to stop this violence.

  Barack Obama

  Change, Girl, Attitude

  "Sam Smith Wins 4 Grammy Awards, Including Song Of The Year". wwno.org. February 9, 2015.

• Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation.

  Barack Obama

  Islamic, Peaceful, Culture

  A New Beginning: Speech at Cairo University, delivered 4 June 2009, Cairo, Egypt

• There are values that transcend race or culture, that move us forward, and there's an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived.

  Barack Obama

  Moving, Responsibility, Race

  "Huckabee: Muslim Can Be President; Obama 'Pretends to Be' Christian, Makes Living Out Faith Difficult" by Samuel Smith, www.christianpost.com. September 23, 2015.

• Here in the United States, hopefully, what we're building are not just pyramids, are not icons to one pharaoh. What we're building is a culture and a way of living together that we can look back on and say, [This] was good, was inclusive, was kind, was innovative, was able to fulfill the dreams of as many people as possible.

  Barack Obama

  Dream, Icons, Pyramids

  Source: www.vanityfair.com

• Let us join together across denominations, religions and cultures to make a habit of empathy and reach out to those most in need. To share the blessings we enjoy and to advance the cause of peace in all corners of our world.

  Barack Obama

  Blessing, Our World, Empathy

• Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed.

  Barack Obama

  Inspiring, Real, Practice

  A More Perfect Union, delivered 18 March 2008, Philadelphia, PA

• Believe it or not, entertainment is part of our American diplomacy, it is part of what makes us exceptional, part of what makes us such a world power. Hundreds of millions of people may never set foot in the United States, but thanks to you, they've experienced a small part of what makes our country special. They've learned something about our values. We have shaped a world culture through you...in a way that has made the world better.

  Barack Obama

  Country, Believe, Feet

• I think I have a pretty good take on popular culture that maybe makes up for the fact that I'm not a sound-bite politician for the nightly news.

  Barack Obama

  Thinking, Culture, News

  Source: www.vanityfair.com

• In your generation, everybody is constantly bombarded with all kinds of different input from different cultures, and that's a strength, that's a positive thing. That's why I remain confident about America's ability to compete in the world, precisely because we've got a little bit of everybody in this country.

  Barack Obama

  Country, America, Different

  Source: www.realclearpolitics.com

• We stand with Israel as a Jewish democratic state because we know that Israel is born of firmly held values that we, as Americans, share: a culture committed to justice, a land that welcomes the weary, a people devoted to tikkun olam. ... So America's commitment ... and my commitment to Israel and Israel's security is unshakeable. It is unshakeable. ... I am proud to say that no U.S. administration has done more in support of Israel's security than ours. None. Don't let anybody else tell you otherwise. It is a fact.

  Barack Obama

  Commitment, America, Israel

  "Remarks by the President at the 71st General Assembly of the Union for Reform Judaism". obamawhitehouse.archives.gov. December 16, 2011.

• We should foster a culture in which people's private religious beliefs, including atheists and agnostics, are respected.

  Barack Obama

  Religious, Atheist, People

  Source: www.patheos.com

• America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known. We were born out of revolution against an empire. We were founded upon the ideal that all are created equal. And we have shed blood and struggled for centuries to give meaning to those words, within our borders and around the world. We are shaped by every culture. Drawn from every end of the Earth, and dedicated to a simple concept, E pluribus unum: Out of many, one.

  Barack Obama

  Simple, Self, Blood

  A New Beginning: Speech at Cairo University, delivered 4 June 2009, Cairo, Egypt

• Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity...[For] we are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth.

  Barack Obama

  Children, Men, America

  First Presidential Inaugural Address, Delivered 20 January 2009

• We should foster a culture in which people's private religious beliefs, including atheists and agnostics, are respected. And that's the kind of culture that I think allows all of us, then, to believe what we want. That's freedom of conscience. That's what our Constitution guarantees.

  Barack Obama

  Religious, Atheist, Believe

  Source: www.patheos.com

• We'll build new ties of trade and of commerce, culture and education that unleash the potential of the Iraqi people.

  Barack Obama

  Military, Ties, People

  "Remarks by the President on Ending the War in Iraq". obamawhitehouse.archives.gov. October 21, 2011.

• Look, we live in a celebrity culture and sometimes you get caught in the wave and the buzz and a lot of it's flattering but, you know, one of the things that I try to remind people of is, is that I was in politics as a state senator operating in obscurity for many years. Before that I was a community organizer working in low income communities in Chicago and nobody knew my name then. And so, having involved myself in public service for a pretty long time without getting too much attention, hopefully I can keep some of the attention that I'm getting now in perspective.

  Barack Obama

  Names, Years, Perspective

• People take pride in being Irish-American and Italian-American. They have a particular culture that infuses the whole culture and makes it richer and more interesting. I think if we can expand that attitude to embrace African-Americans and Latino-Americans and Asian-Americans, then we will be in a position where all our kids can feel comfortable with the worlds they are coming out of, knowing they are part of something larger.

  Barack Obama

  Attitude, Kids, Pride

  Source: www.politico.com

• You have social media and the Internet and immigration and so, suddenly, cultures are clashing and people feel as if they're less familiar with the people around them. That causes social anxieties.

  Barack Obama

  Media, People, Anxiety

  Source: www.spiegel.de

• This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores. Instead, it is that American spirit - that American promise - that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.

  Barack Obama

  Country, Strong, Powerful

  Democratic National Convention Presidential Nomination Acceptance, delivered 28 August 2008, INVESCO Field at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

• Because of the internet and communications, the clash of cultures is much more direct. People feel, I think, less certain about their identity, less certain about economic security.

  Barack Obama

  Communication, Thinking, People

  Remarks by President Obama and Chancellor Merkel of Germany in a Joint Press Conference, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov. November 17, 2016.

• There's been a lot of talk about body cameras as a silver bullet or a solution. I think the task force concluded that there is a role for technology to play in building additional trust and accountability, but it's not a panacea, it has to be embedded in a broader change in culture and a legal framework that ensures that people's privacy is respected and that not only police officers but the community themselves feel comfortable with how technologies are being used.

  Barack Obama

  Change, Thinking, Technology

  "Policing task force calls for 'de-escalation' training" by David Nather, www.politico.com. March 2, 2015.

• There are certain people in our popular culture that just capture people's imaginations. And in death, they become even larger. Now, I have to admit that it's also fed by a 24/7 media that is insatiable.

  Barack Obama

  Media, People, Imagination

  "Michael Jackson's family has private service". www.hollywoodreporter.com. July 7, 2009.

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