According to Gandhi, the seven sins are wealth without works, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, and politics without principle. Well, Hubert Humphrey may have sinned in the eyes of God, as we all do, but according to those definitions of Gandhi's, it was Hubert Humphrey without sin.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the moral implications of actions and the absence of ethical principles in society.
Jimmy Carter reflects on Gandhi's definitions of sins and points to Hubert Humphrey as a man who, despite his flaws, exhibited integrity and virtue in his actions. This highlights the importance of character and moral values in various aspects of life, suggesting that true worth comes from ethical conduct rather than material success or social status.
In practice
In a speech about ethics in leadership, one might quote this to emphasize the importance of moral character.
Acknowledging the physical realities of our planet does not mean a dismal future of endless sacrifice. In fact, acknowledging these realities is the first step in dealing with them. We can meet the resource problems of the world - water, food, minerals, farmlands, forests, overpopulation, pollution - if we tackle them with courage and foresight.
The preeminent obstacle to peace is Israel's colonization of Palestine.
I would say the biggest handicap we have right now is some nutcases in our country that don't believe in global warming. I think they are going to change their position because of pressure from individuals, because the evidence of the ravages of global warming is already there.
If I were president, I'd be very glad to see the Palestinians have a nation recognized by the United Nations. There's no downside to it.
My understanding of racial discrimination as a child was highly distorted because the most prominent man in Archery was an African-American bishop. When he came home from up north, where he was in charge of A.M.E. churches in five states, it was front-page news. He was the most successful man in my life.
Our American values are not luxuries but necessities, not the salt in our bread, but the bread itself. Our common vision of a free and just society is our greatest source of cohesion at home and strength abroad, greater than the bounty of our material blessings.
Man's grandeur is that he knows himself to be miserable.
Every right is married to a duty, every freedom owes a corresponding responsibility.
Poverty is the worst form of violence.
Solitude is the place where we can connect with profound bonds that are deeper than the emergency bonds of fear and anger.
The essence of globalization is a subordination of human rights, of labor rights, consumer, environmental rights, democracy rights, to the imperatives of global trade and investment.
All the higher life forms scythed away, just like that. [ . . . ] Nothing but dust and fundamentalists.
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