Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice.
Woodrow WilsonRead
Our most dangerous tendency is to expect too much of government, and at the same time do for it too little. . . . We must strive for normalcy to reach stability.
Interpretation
What this quote means
We often rely excessively on government while contributing very little, and we need to find a balance for stability.
This quote by Woodrow Wilson highlights the common misconception that government should solve all our problems, while individuals often do not take enough responsibility or action themselves. It emphasizes the importance of a balanced approach where citizens actively participate in their governance and society to achieve stability and normalcy.
Themes
GovernmentResponsibilityStabilityNormalcyParticipation
In practice
Example use cases
In a town hall meeting discussing community issues.
More from Woodrow Wilson
All quotes →Since trade ignores national boundaries and the manufacturer insists on having the world as a market, the flag of his nation must follow him, and the doors of the nations which are closed against him must be battered down. Concessions obtained by financiers must be safeguarded by ministers of state, even if the sovereignty of unwilling nations be outraged in the process. Colonies must be obtained or planted, in order that no useful corner of the world may be overlooked or left unused.
Woodrow WilsonRead
The history of liberty is the history of limitations on the power of government, not the increase of it. When we resist, therefore, the concentration of power, we are resisting the processes of death, because concentration of power is what always precedes the destruction of human liberties.
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We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers.
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The way to stop financial joyriding is to arrest the chauffeur, not the automobile.
Woodrow WilsonRead
Once lead this people into war, and they'll forget there ever was such a thing as tolerance. To fight, you must be brutal and ruthless, and the spirit of ruthless brutality will enter into the very fiber of our national life, infecting Congress, the courts, the policeman on the beat, the man in the street.
Woodrow WilsonRead
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