“To all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.”

“Our stories may be singular, but our destination is shared.”

“We are all stumbling and falling under our own crosses,those carved from our hands, our sweat,and those not of our own making.”

“Human existence is temporary and all the knowledge of the universe we acquire will in time be forgotten because there will be no humans left to benefit from any of the stuff we learned.And yet, this doesn't invalidate scientific exploration to me. We seek to understand the universe because it makes our lives better and more rich. Similarly, we tell stories (and think about why and how to tell stories) because it makes human existence richer. Made-up stories matter. They bring us pleasure and solace and nurture empathy by letting us see the world through others' eyes. They also help us to feel unalone, to understand that our grief and joy is shared not just by those around us but by all those who came before us and all those still yet to come.”

“We are like chameleons, we take our hue and the color of our moral character, from those who are around us.”

“Our brothers and sisters are there with us from the dawn of our personal stories to the inevitable dusk.”