May the sun never set on American baseball.
Harry S. TrumanRead
Secrecy and a free, democratic government don't mix.
Interpretation
Secrecy undermines the principles of transparency and accountability in a democratic government.
Harry S. Truman's quote highlights the fundamental conflict between secrecy and the ideals of a free and democratic government. In a democracy, transparency is vital for fostering trust between the government and its citizens, ensuring that officials are held accountable for their actions. Secrecy, on the other hand, can lead to abuses of power and erosion of the public's right to know, which is essential for a healthy democratic society.
In practice
During a town hall meeting discussing government transparency initiatives.
May the sun never set on American baseball.
Having found the bomb we have used it. We have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretense of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans.
Herbert Hoover once ran on the slogan, 'Two cars in every garage'. Apparently, the Republican candidate this year is running on the slogan, 'Two families in every garage'.
The only things worth learning are the things you learn after you know it all.
I never would have agreed to the formulation of the Central Intelligence Agency back in forty-seven, if I had known it would become the American Gestapo.
I would rather have peace in the world than be President.
We are now vibrating between too much and too little government, and the pendulum will rest finally in the middle.
Politics is a rough and tumble business, and yet there seems to be an effort by the commentariat to sanitise American politics to some type of high-level Victorian debating society.
For somebody who loves foreign policy, being Secretary is the best job in the world - but it doesn't happen twice.
At the turn of the last century, extremists were forced back to the political fringes while younger politicians resurrected the vitality of the original Republican vision. They recognized that the nation could only develop and grow by protecting equality of opportunity for hardworking Americans at the bottom of the economic ladder.
TRUST, n. In American politics, a large corporation composed in greater part of thrifty working men, widows of small means, orphans in the care of guardians and the courts, with many similar malefactors and public enemies.
The [Israelis] believed - they were possessed of an absolute certainty and conviction - that 'terrorists' were in Chatila. How could I explain to them that the terrorists had left, that the terrorists had worn Israeli uniforms, that the terrorists had been sent into Chatila by Israeli officers, that the victims of the terrorists were not Israelis but Palestinians and Lebanese?
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