A Crisis of Confidence — Vocabulary
Jimmy Carter
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I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to American democracy.†2 more

You see every extreme position defended to the last vote, almost to the last breath by one unyielding group or another.†

We have the most skilled work force, with innovative genius, and I firmly believe that we have the national will to win this war.†

Moreover, I will soon submit legislation to Congress calling for the creation of this Nation's first solar bank, which will help us achieve the crucial goal of 20 percent of our energy coming from solar power by the year 2000.†

Moreover, I will soon submit legislation to Congress calling for the creation of this Nation's first solar bank, which will help us achieve the crucial goal of 20 percent of our energy coming from solar power by the year 2000.†

Point four: I'm asking Congress to mandate, to require as a matter of law, that our Nation's utility companies cut their massive use of oil by 50 percent within the next decade and switch to other fuels, especially coal, our most abundant energy source.†

I ask Congress to give me authority for mandatory conservation and for standby gasoline rationing.†

I ask Congress to give me authority for mandatory conservation and for standby gasoline rationing.†

In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption.†

We were sure that ours was a nation of the ballot, not the bullet, until the murders of John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. We were taught that our armies were always invincible and our causes were always just, only to suffer the agony of Vietnam.†

It's clear that the true problems of our Nation are much deeper – deeper than gasoline lines or energy shortages, deeper even than inflation or recession.1 more

Just as a similar synthetic rubber corporation helped us win World War II, so will we mobilize American determination and ability to win the energy war.†

The confidence that we have always had as a people is not simply some romantic dream or a proverb in a dusty book that we read just on the Fourth of July.†

We were sure that ours was a nation of the ballot, not the bullet, until the murders of John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. We were taught that our armies were always invincible and our causes were always just, only to suffer the agony of Vietnam.†

Often you see paralysis and stagnation and drift.†

All the traditions of our past, all the lessons of our heritage, all the promises of our future point to another path, the path of common purpose and the restoration of American values.†

Point four: I'm asking Congress to mandate, to require as a matter of law, that our Nation's utility companies cut their massive use of oil by 50 percent within the next decade and switch to other fuels, especially coal, our most abundant energy source.†1 more

That path would be one of constant conflict between narrow interests ending in chaos and immobility.†

That path would be one of constant conflict between narrow interests ending in chaos and immobility.†

Our people are losing that faith, not only in government itself but in the ability as citizens to serve as the ultimate rulers and shapers of our democracy.†