Laws are like sausages. You sleep far better the less you know about how they are made.
Otto Von BismarckRead
Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.
Interpretation
Laws can be messy and unpleasant to create, much like making sausages.
This quote by Otto Von Bismarck suggests that the process of creating laws and political systems is often unappealing and complicated. Just as one might prefer to enjoy sausages without witnessing the messy process of their production, citizens may benefit from not delving too deeply into the intricacies and challenges of legislative processes, which can often be riddled with compromise and conflict.
In practice
In a political debate, one might use this quote to address the complexities of law-making.
Laws are like sausages. You sleep far better the less you know about how they are made.
Preventive war is like committing suicide out of fear of death.
With a gentleman I am always a gentleman and a half, and with a fraud I try to be a fraud and a half.
Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable β the art of the next best
It is the destiny of the weak to be devoured by the strong.
A generation that has taken a beating is always followed by a generation that deals one.
Legislative language is governed by a law of etymology that is also the ancient code of the bureaucracy: It doesn't have to be right, it just has to be close enough for government work. If they understand what you mean, it doesn't matter what you say or how you say it.
One of the reasons this election is so important is because the Supreme Court hangs in the balance. We need to overturn that terrible Supreme Court decision, Citizens United, and then reform our whole campaign finance system.
There's lots about politics I don't feel comfortable with. To talk about the politics of future ideas is impossible in soundbite form.
Hamas is regularly described as 'Iranian-backed Hamas, which is dedicated to the destruction of Israel.' One will be hard put to find something like 'democratically elected Hamas, which has long been calling for a two-state settlement in accord with the international consensus'βblocked for over 30 years by the US and Israel. All true, but not a useful contribution to the Party Line, hence dispensable.
Our Republic and its press will rise or fall together.
No medieval monarch in the whole of British history ever had such power as every modern British Prime Minister has in his or her hands. Nor does any American President have power approaching this
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