Quotes; Government

The idea in bold-face print is a summary of the quote. The number after the topic is the page on which the quote was found.

Government
Government 108 The civilian government needed to press the military for answers about Vietnam and we did not do so. "It was our job to demand the answers; we did not press hard enough for them…we—their [the military’s] civilian superiors—erred…by not forcing such an appraisal." McNamara’s In Retrospect

Government 142 Should a President take our nation to war without consent from the Congress? No! "The issue…involved at its most basic level a question of politics: should a president take our nation to war (other than immediately to repel an attack on our shores) without popular consent as voiced by Congress…no president should…President Johnson, and those of us who served with him, were wrong." McNamara’s In Retrospect

Government 314 Since authority for a cabinet officer comes from the President, he cannot act independently of or contradict the President. "A cabinet officer’s authority and legitimacy derives from the President [therefore, he cannot act independently of or in contradiction to the President]." McNamara’s In Retrospect

Government 111 If you haven't been in prison, you have no idea about the power of the state. "No one who has not sat in prison knows what the state is like." Tolstoy. Gross, ed. Oxford Book of Aphorisms.

Government 113 Give me your tired and poor--after they have filled out the proper forms. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free, provided they have satisfactorily filled out Forms 3584-A through 3597-Q." Dwight MacDonald. 1963. Revised inscription for the Statue of Liberty. Gross, ed. Oxford Book of Aphorisms.

Government 116 "Every central government worships uniformity…." De Tocqueville. 1835. Gross, ed. Oxford Book of Aphorisms.

Government 117 The worst enemies of freedom are anarchy and total efficiency. "The worst enemy of life, freedom and the common decencies is total anarchy; their second worst enemy is total efficiency." Aldous Huxley. 1956. Gross, ed. Oxford Book of Aphorisms.

Government 117 "There has never been a perfect government, because men have passions; and if they did not have passions, there would be no need for government." Voltaire. 18th century. Gross, ed. Oxford Book of Aphorisms.

Government 106 The government is the servant of the people. "The prince is the first servant of his state." Frederick the Great. German. Dictionary of Foreign Terms

Government 117 "Two things only do the people earnestly desire, bread and the circus (i.e., food and amusement)." Juvenal. Latin. Dictionary of Foreign Terms

Government 286 Government does not show wisdom. "With how little wisdom the world is governed." Latin. Dictionary of Foreign Terms

Government 289 If the government commits folly, those who suffer are the people. "Whatever folly their kings commit, it is the Greeks themselves that suffer." Greek. Dictionary of Foreign Terms

Government 75 Prosperity depends on the number of people usefully employed. "The prosperity of a people is proportionate to the number of hands and minds usefully employed." Samuel Johnson. “Debtors’ Prison (I).” 1758. Gross, ed. Essays.

Government 76 Civil regulations are designed to keep people from working against other people. "The end of all civil regulations is to secure private happiness from private malignity; to keep individuals from the power of one another." Samuel Johnson. “Debtors’ Prison (I).” 1758. Gross, ed. Essays.

Government 507 Gandhi could only arouse people if they could hear his message. Who can hear it when people disappear in the night? "…he [Gandhi] believed in ‘arousing the world,’ which is only possible if the world gets a chance to hear what you are doing…difficult to see how Gandhi’s methods could be applied in a country where opponents of the régime disappear in the middle of the night and are never heard of again." George Orwell. “Reflections on Gandhi.” 1949. Gross, ed. Essays.

Government 527 Senators have the moral character of a hog. "…Mark Twain instituted his famous comparison between the moral character of senators and that of hogs." Lionel Trilling. “Adams at Ease.” 1952. Gross, ed. Essays.

Government 528 If you want something done, do it and then explain to the people what you have done. "…have always found that in practice it is best to present the general public with a fait accompli when a scheme is ultimately for its own good." Sir John Betjeman, “A New Westminster.” 1958. Gross, ed. Essays.

Government 85 If the government pays you for not growing something, take the money and buy more land on which you don't grow whatever the government will pay for. "His specialty was alfalfa, and he made a good thing out of not growing any…government paid him well for every bushel of alfalfa he did not grow… the more alfalfa he did not grow, the more money the government gave him, and he spent every penny he didn’t earn on new land to increase the amount of alfalfa he did not produce…worked without rest at not growing alfalfa…soon was not growing alfalfa better than any other man in the county." Heller, Catch-22.

Government 37 Fewer laws, better order; many laws, more crime. "So I think over the wise and holy customs of the Utopians, who need so few laws for government…then I compare and contrast…so many other nations, always making laws…countless laws passed every day." Sir Thomas More, Utopia.

Government, Democrats 124 Government consists of taking money from one class of citizen and giving it to another class. "In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one class of the citizens to give to the other." Voltaire. Portable Curmudgeon.