Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice.
Woodrow WilsonRead
There is such a thing as man being too proud to fight. There is such a thing as a nation being so right that it does not need to convince others by force that it is right.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Pride can prevent individuals and nations from engaging in conflict, showing a strength in conviction.
Woodrow Wilson's quote speaks to the idea that true strength lies in conviction and pride. A person or a nation that is confident in its beliefs does not require brute force to assert its correctness; rather, their integrity and unwavering stance can serve as a more powerful statement than violence. It highlights the importance of belief and moral superiority over aggression in establishing rightness and justice.
Themes
PrideConvictionPeaceStrengthRightness
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate about military intervention, someone might use this quote to argue for diplomacy over conflict.
More from Woodrow Wilson
All quotes →Since trade ignores national boundaries and the manufacturer insists on having the world as a market, the flag of his nation must follow him, and the doors of the nations which are closed against him must be battered down. Concessions obtained by financiers must be safeguarded by ministers of state, even if the sovereignty of unwilling nations be outraged in the process. Colonies must be obtained or planted, in order that no useful corner of the world may be overlooked or left unused.
Woodrow WilsonRead
The history of liberty is the history of limitations on the power of government, not the increase of it. When we resist, therefore, the concentration of power, we are resisting the processes of death, because concentration of power is what always precedes the destruction of human liberties.
Woodrow WilsonRead
We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers.
Woodrow WilsonRead
The way to stop financial joyriding is to arrest the chauffeur, not the automobile.
Woodrow WilsonRead
Once lead this people into war, and they'll forget there ever was such a thing as tolerance. To fight, you must be brutal and ruthless, and the spirit of ruthless brutality will enter into the very fiber of our national life, infecting Congress, the courts, the policeman on the beat, the man in the street.
Woodrow WilsonRead
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