Political Quotes

“we, in this profession, have a tendency to hyperbole, meaning a tendency to stand sometimes and talk about how dramatic a decision we are about to make is or how important something is to the country because that is what we do, and it is sort of one of the tools of this trade. I think this is not a time in which it is possible to exaggerate the impact of what we are confronting. I start by saying I think it is a moment that should instill in all of us extraordinary humility and a reminder that we are still mortal beings who cannot and do not control all that happens in our lives or in the world. We are facing a threat that emerges not from a human decision or behavior but a threat that emerges from the scientific world, the biological world, and one that I think we are blessed to live in a modern time, in which technology allows us to solve problems faster, but oftentimes our advances cannot prevent these things. I think of the time when there will be plenty to look back at--the decisions that were made by governments, by foreign governments, and by officials. Like all things, there will come a moment of accounting when we can decide what was done wrong and what was done right so we can learn from what was done wrong and replicate what was done right. We can learn from the past, but we cannot change it. The one thing we can influence is the future. You can't entirely control it, but we can influence it. We can influence what we do from this moment forward.…”