We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.

In some ways, I saw the garden as a metaphor for certain aspects of my life. A leader must also tend his garden; he, too, plants seeds, and then watches, cultivates, and harvests the results. Like the gardener, a leader must take responsibility for what he cultivates; he must mind his work, try to repel enemies, preserve what can be preserved, and eliminate what cannot succeed.

The time has come to accept in our hearts and minds that with freedom comes responsibility.

With freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk has not ended yet.

In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.