Politics hates a vacuum. If it isn't filled with hope, someone will fill it with fear.
Those looking for ideology in the White House should consider this: For the men who rule our world, rules are for other people.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the hypocrisy of leaders who impose rules on others while not adhering to them themselves.
Naomi Klein's quote critiques the disconnect between those in power and the general populace. It suggests that while leaders may advocate for various ideologies or rules, they often do not follow these rules personally, indicating a significant moral and ethical divide in governance versus the lived experience of ordinary people. This exposes a troubling reality where the powerful operate under a different set of standards than those they expect from the citizens they govern.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a political debate, one might reference this quote to discuss the ethics of leadership.
More from Naomi Klein
All quotes βBecause it is such a huge crisis, because it puts us on a firm science-based deadline, it's a once-in-a-century opportunity to build a better society and address raging inequality, create huge numbers of jobs, rebuild our public infrastructure. But, we can't do it unless we break every single rule in the free-market playbook. Which is why the worst people in the world all deny climate change.
Terrorism doesn't just blow up buildings; it blasts every other issue off the political map. The spectre of terrorism - real and exaggerated - has become a shield of impunity, protecting governments around the world from scrutiny for their human rights abuses.
Everybody that's trying to get anything progressive done in this country knows that the biggest barrier is getting money out of politics.
I think I would say that there is absolutely no way to reconcile an austerity agenda with climate action. Our political class needs to understand that the fight against austerity and the fight for climate action are the same fight.
I think the fossil fuel industry is genuinely freaked out by the combination of the price collapse, the divestment movement, and that fact that renewable energy is getting so cheap so fast.
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We have already given in example one effectual check to the dog of war by transferring the power of letting him loose from the Executive to the Legislative body
So long as we govern our nation by the letter and spirit of the Bill of Rights, we can be sure that our nation will grow in strength and wisdom and freedom.
The rules and reasons the political system employs to enforce status relations of any kind, including racial hierarchy, evolve and change as they are challenged.
In the end, North Korea's conduct may change only when its leadership does.
Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build bridges even when there are no rivers.
The founding fathers, in their wisdom, devised a method by which our republic can take one hundred of its most prominent numbskulls and keep them out of the private sector where they might do actual harm.