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As long as America must choose, that long will there be a need and a place for the Democratic Party. We Democrats can run on our record but we cannot rest on it. We will win if we continue to take the initiative and if we carry the message of hope and action throughout the country. Alexander Smith once said, 'A man doesn't plant a tree for himself. He plants it for posterity.' Let us continue to plant, and our children shall reap the harvest. That is our destiny as Democrats.

Robert F. Kennedy#28

PoliticsActionFutureHopeInitiativeLegacy

About this quote

What does it mean?
The Democratic Party must stay active and hopeful to win, planting seeds for future generations rather than resting on past records.
In plain terms
Democrats should keep working hard and offering hope for the future instead of just celebrating past wins.
What can you take from it?
Stay active and hopeful to secure a better future for coming generations.

Where it applies

  • election campaigns
  • party meetings
  • leadership speeches

Putting it to work

  • focus on future policy
  • inspire voters with hope
  • maintain initiative

Questions to consider

  • What do you owe the next generation?
  • How do you keep hope alive in politics?

Another view

Past records can still build trust and credibility with voters.

More from Robert F. Kennedy

  1. Another great task is to confront the poverty of satisfaction--a lack of purpose and dignity--that afflicts us all. Too much and too long, we seem to have surr…

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  2. As long as men are hungry, and their children uneducated, and their crops destroyed by pestilence, the American Revolution will have a part to play. As long as…

    Permalink to quote #29
  3. All of us, from the wealthiest to the young children that I have seen in this country, in this year, bloated by starvation - we all share one precious possessi…

    Permalink to quote #26

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