Happy Presidents Day!

While you’re enjoying this Monday holiday, pause for a moment and reflect on the wisdom and words of the 45 leaders who have held our nation’s highest office.

To get you started, here’s an excerpt from President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s January 6, 1941 State of the Union speech, in which he presents to Congress and the American public four essential freedoms deserving of protection: Freedom of speech and expression; freedom of worship; freedom from want; and freedom from fear. The "Four Freedoms" speech was viewed as a beacon of moral clarity and made an eloquent case for U.S. intervention in World War II and democratic ideals.

?“In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the world. The second is the freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want—which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings, which will secure to every nation a healthy peace of time life for its inhabitants—everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear—which, translated into world terms, means a worldwide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor—anywhere in the world.”

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