U.S Secretary of State John Kerry tyesterday spoke at the University of Virginia,Charlottesville, VA.

After he was greeted,he thanked the audience and spoke at length on issues concerning the U.S.Some of his utterances were as follows:

“When I went back to West Berlin, two things happened. First, I was summarily grounded for having ventured without permission to the other side of the city. (Laughter.) And second, I started to pay special attention to the plaques on the buildings that recognized the United States of America for lending a hand in the rebuilding. And I was proud.

The Marshall Plan, the IMF, the World Bank, and other postwar organizations led by the United States are evidence of our ability to make the right decisions at the right time, taking risks today in the interest of tomorrow.

Now we face a similar crossroads. We can be complacent, or we can be competitive. As new markets bloom in every corner of the globe – and they will, with or without us – we can be there to help plant the seeds, or we can cede that power to others.

Given the chance to lead a second great American century, let’s not just look to the global landscape around us today; let’s look to the one ahead of us, look over the horizon, look to the days to come 15 and 50 years from now, and marshal the courage that defined the Marshall Plan so that we might secure a new future of freedom.

Let’s remember that the principles of Jefferson’s time, in a nation that was just getting used to its independence, still echo in our own time, in a world that’s still getting used to our interdependence. America’s national interest in leading strongly still endures in this world.

So let me leave you with a thought. When tragedy and terror visit our neighbors around the globe, whether by the hand of man or by the hand of God, many nations give of themselves to help. But only one is expected to.

With the leadership of President Obama and the cooperation I will work hard to secure from the Congress, we will continue to lead as the indispensable nation, not because we seek this role, but because the world needs us to fill it. Not as a choice, but as a charge. Not because we view it as a burden, but because we know it to be a privilege.

That is what is special about the United States of America. That is what is special about being an American. That exceptional quality that we share is what I will bring with me on my travels on your behalf. But our sense of responsibility cannot be reserved for responses to emergencies alone. It has to be exercised in the pursuit of preventing disaster, of strengthening alliances, of building markets, of promoting universal rights, and standing up for our values.

Over the next four years, I ask you to stand with our President and our country to continue to conduct ourselves with the understanding that what happens over there matters right here, and it matters that we get this right.”