We admit with all sincerity that our first duty is within our own household; that we must not merely talk, but act, in favor of cleanliness and decency and righteousness, in all political, social, and civic matters.
In "The Strenuous Life," Roosevelt emphasizes the nation's primary responsibility to uphold moral and civic standards within its own borders through action.
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The good citizen will demand liberty for himself, and as a matter of pride, he will see to it that others receive the liberty which he thus claims as his own.
The man who does nothing cuts the same sordid figure in the pages of history, whether he be cynic, or fop, or voluptuary.
One of the chief principles for which I have stood, and for which I now stand, and which I have always endeavored and always shall endeavor to reduce to action, is the genuine rule of the people.
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