The strongest continuous thread in America's political tradition is skepticism about government.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes a fundamental distrust of government in American political thought.
George Will's quote highlights a deep-rooted skepticism towards government that has been a consistent theme throughout American history. This skepticism serves as a critical lens through which citizens evaluate governmental actions and policies, reflecting a belief in individual liberties and caution against centralized power.
In practice
During a political debate, one might reference this quote to express concerns about government overreach.
The problem with intelligent-design theory, is not that it is false but that it is not falsifiable. Not being susceptible to contradicting evidence, it is not a testable hypothesis. Hence it is not a scientific but a creedal tenet - a matter of faith, unsuited to a public school's science curriculum.
The cultivation - even celebration - of victimhood by intellectuals, tort lawyers, politicians and the media is both cause and effect of today's culture of complaint.
Correct thinkers think that 'baseball trivia' is an oxymoron: nothing about baseball is trivial.
Constitutional arguments that seem as dry as dust can have momentous consequences.
The civil forfeiture law - if something so devoid of due process can be dignified as law - is an incentive for perverse behavior: Predatory government agencies get to pocket the proceeds from property they seize from Americans without even charging them with, let alone convicting them of, crimes. Criminals are treated better than this because they lose the fruits of their criminality only after being convicted.
Actually, there is only one first question of government, and it is How should we live? or What kind of people do we want our citizens to be?
If principles can become dated, they're not principles.
The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.
Every myth is psychologically symbolic. Its narratives and images are to be read, therefore, not literally, but as metaphors.
Candor and accountability in a democracy is very important. Hypocrisy has no place.
There were a lot of gods. Gods always come in handy, they justify almost anything.
He who acts under an emotional impulse also acts. What distinguishes an emotional action from other actions is the valuation of input and output. Emotions disarrange valuations. Inflamed with passion, man sees the goal as more desirable and the price he has to pay for it as less burdensome than he would in cool deliberation.
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