10 Quotes from Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Munich Address

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has emerged as a commanding presence on the world stage, an eloquent and articulate spokesperson for the United States’ ideals.

The son of Cuban immigrants, Secretary Rubio grew up hearing about the American Dream. His mother and father escaped the island before the Cuban Revolution. They had little money but big aspirations and a tireless work ethic.

Speaking on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference, Secretary Rubio delivered a beautiful message and a rousing call for international cooperation. He was unapologetic in noting our Judeo-Christian roots and warmly acknowledged our nation’s unique ties to Europe.

Here are ten key passages from the address:

1. “For the United States and Europe, we belong together.  America was founded 250 years ago, but the roots began here on this continent long before.  The man who settled and built the nation of my birth arrived on our shores carrying the memories and the traditions and the Christian faith of their ancestors as a sacred inheritance, an unbreakable link between the old world and the new.”

2. “We are part of one civilization – Western civilization.  We are bound to one another by the deepest bonds that nations could share, forged by centuries of shared history, Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry, and the sacrifices our forefathers made together for the common civilization to which we have fallen heir.”

3. “It was here in Europe where the ideas that planted the seeds of liberty that changed the world were born.  It was here in Europe where the world – which gave the world the rule of law, the universities, and the scientific revolution.  It was this continent that produced the genius of Mozart and Beethoven, of Dante and Shakespeare, of Michelangelo and Da Vinci, of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.”

4. “This is the place of the vaulted ceilings of the Sistine Chapel and the towering spires of the great cathedral in Cologne. They testify not just to the greatness of our past or to a faith in God that inspired these marvels.  They foreshadow the wonders that await us in our future.”

5. “We do not want allies to rationalize the broken status quo rather than reckon with what is necessary to fix it, for we in America have no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West’s managed decline.”

6. “We do not seek to separate, but to revitalize an old friendship and renew the greatest civilization in human history.”

7. “Our story began with an Italian explorer whose adventure into the great unknown to discover a new world brought Christianity to the Americas – and became the legend that defined the imagination of our pioneer nation.”

8. “Our first colonies were built by English settlers, to whom we owe not just the language we speak but the whole of our political and legal system.  Our frontiers were shaped by Scots-Irish – that proud, hearty clan from the hills of Ulster that gave us Davy Crockett and Mark Twain and Teddy Roosevelt and Neil Armstrong.”

9. “Our expansion into the interior followed the footsteps of French fur traders and explorers whose names, by the way, still adorn the street signs and towns’ names all across the Mississippi Valley.  Our horses, our ranches, our rodeos – the entire romance of the cowboy archetype that became synonymous with the American West – these were born in Spain.  And our largest and most iconic city was named New Amsterdam before it was named New York.”

10. “We should be proud of what we achieved together in the last century, but now we must confront and embrace the opportunities of a new one – because yesterday is over, the future is inevitable, and our destiny together awaits.”

After taking the oath of office at the State Department last year, Secretary Rubio was crystal clear about his Christian worldview.

“I want to end by thanking Almighty God and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” said Rubio. “That is truly the singular purpose of our lives. It’s the most important priority.  It’s the only thing that will matter when we take our last breath on this Earth. But this is an extraordinary opportunity that would not have been possible without God’s blessings.”