No foreign policy - no matter how ingenious - has any chance of success if it is born in the minds of a few and carried in the hearts of none.
Interpretation
Successful foreign policy requires widespread support and participation, not just clever ideas from a few individuals.
In this quote, Henry A. Kissinger emphasizes that even the most brilliant foreign policy strategies are doomed to fail if they are not supported by the broader populace. It highlights the importance of inclusivity and shared responsibility in governance, suggesting that successful policy must resonate with the hearts and minds of the many, not just be the product of elite thinkers.
In practice
During a speech on international relations, one might use this quote to emphasize the need for public engagement.
Every civilization that has ever existed has ultimately collapsed. History is a tale of efforts that failed, or aspirations that weren’t realized. So, as a historian, one has to live with a sense of the inevitability of tragedy.
Blessed are the people whose leaders can look destiny in the eye without flinching but also without attempting to play God.
It was a Greek tragedy. Nixon was fulfilling his own nature. Once it started it could not end otherwise.
The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously.
If peace is equated simply with the absence of war, it can become abject pacifism that turns the world over to the most ruthless.
What political leaders decide, intelligence services tend to seek to justify.
One of the most pervasive political visions of our time is the vision of liberals as compassionate and conservatives as less caring.
Because so many voters happen to be illiterate, India invented the party symbol, so that voters who could not read the name of their candidate could vote for him or her anyway by recognizing the symbol under which they campaigned.
The State is the altar of political freedom and, like the religious altar, it is maintained for the purpose of human sacrifice.
When giant companies wanted more tax loopholes, Washington got it done. When huge energy companies wanted to tear up our environment, Washington got it done. When enormous Wall Street banks wanted new regulatory loopholes, Washington got it done. No gridlock there!
The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act.
The entire Islamic world condemned Iran. Nowadays, because of the unwarranted invasion of Iraq by Bush and Blair, which was a completely unjust adventure based on misleading statements, and the lack of any effort to resolve the Palestinian issue, there is massive Islamic condemnation of the United States.
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