Governing Quotes - Page 4

• Part of what attracted me to the village was it had a lot of parallels to contemporary issues. Like, fear and the way fear controls us. How the governing body of a town, or a nation, controls us through fear. They might mean well by it, but we are conditioned to be afraid of things. Fear of the unknown. Fear of terrorism. And it's unfortunate.

  Adrien Brody

  Mean, Issues, Village

  Roundtable interview, www.ign.com. July 30, 2004.

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• I am convinced that those societies (such as the Native American peoples) which live without government enjoy in their general mass an infinitely greater degree of happiness than those who live under the European governments. Among the former, public opinion is in the place of law, & restrains morals as powerfully as laws ever did anywhere. Among the latter, under pretence of governing they have divided their nations into two classes, wolves & sheep. I do not exaggerate.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Native American, Sheep, Government

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• The laws are, and ought to be, relative to the constitution, and not the constitution to the laws. A constitution is the organization of offices in a state, and determines what is to be the governing body, and what is the end of each community. But laws are not to be confounded with the principles of the constitution; they are the rules according to which the magistrates should administer the state, and proceed against offenders.

  Aristotle

  Law, Organization, Office

  Aristotle, Hugh Griffith (2009). “Aristotle”, p.273, Collector's Library

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• We are apt to say that a foreign policy is successful only when the country, or at any rate the governing class, is united behind it. In reality, every line of policy is repudiated by a section, often by an influential section, of the country concerned. A foreign minister who waited until everyone agreed with him would have no foreign policy at all.

  A. J. P. Taylor

  Country, Successful, Reality

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• If we buy a plant of a horticulturist we ask him many questions as to its needs, whether it thrives best in sunshine or in shade, whether it needs much or little water, what degrees of heat or cold; but when we hold in our arms for the first time a being of infinite possibilities, in whose wisdom may rest the destiny of a nation, we take it for granted that the laws governing its life, health, and happiness are intuitively understood, that there is nothing new to be learned in regard to it.

  Elizabeth Cady Stanton

  Children, Sunshine, Destiny

  Elizabeth Cady Stanton (2016). “Elizabeth Cady Stanton: As Revealed in Her Letters & Diary (Abridged)”, p.78, BIG BYTE BOOKS

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• The Philippines are ours forever. They are not capable of self-government. How could they be? They are not a self-governing race.

  Albert J. Beveridge

  Travel, Home, Race

  Maiden speech in the Senate. "Congressional Record", Senate, 56th Congress, 1st session, pp. 704-712, en.wikisource.org. January 09, 1900.

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• I am a friend to subordination, as most conducive to the happiness of society. There is a reciprocal pleasure in governing and being governed.

  Samuel Johnson

  Pleasure, Subordination, Reciprocal

  Thomas M. Curley, Samuel Johnson (1998). “Sir Robert Chambers: Law, Literature, and Empire in the Age of Johnson”, p.550, Univ of Wisconsin Press

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• Now what is just and right is to be interpreted in the sense of 'what is equal'; and that which is right in the sense of being equal is to be considered with reference to the advantage of the state, and the common good of the citizens. And a citizen is one who shares in governing and being governed. He differs under different forms of government, but in the best state he is one who is able and willing to be governed and to govern with a view to the life of virtue.

  Aristotle

  Government, Views, Law

  Aristotle (2016). “Politics”, p.106, Aristotle

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• It must be all the same to the citizens ("ressortissants", Fr.) of a country that their governing (those in power) speak such language or such other ("telle langue ou telle autre", Fr.); likewise that it must be all the same to them that these adhere to such or such religion, so long as a full (or complete) liberty is equally garantee for everyone.

  African Spir

  Country, Long, Liberty

  "Paroles d'un sage: Choix de pensées d'African Spir" ("Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir") by Hélène Claparède-Spir, (p. 54), 1937.

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• I learned everything I ever need to know about questioning artful dodgers by covering the most artful of them all, Ronald Reagan. For Reagan, performance was as much a part of governing as understanding the details of the federal budget.

  Andrea Mitchell

  Understanding, Covering, Details

  Andrea Mitchell (2006). “Talking Back: . . . to Presidents, Dictators, and Assorted Scoundrels”, p.118, Penguin

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• Always remember, money is a servant; you are the master. Be very careful not to reverse that equation, because many people of high intelligence have already done so, to their great detriments. Unfortunately, many of these poor souls loved money and used people, which violated one of the most basic laws governing true financial success. You should always love people and use money, rather than the reverse!

  Bob Proctor

  Law, People, Soul

  FaceBook post by Bob Proctor from Aug 03, 2011

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• The reason we're governing right now is because we defeated moderate Republicans with moderate Democrats. And people need to be patient about that and realize that compromise is not evil.

  Barack Obama

  People, Evil, Needs

  Source: www.nbcnews.com

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• People need to remember we are the governing party because we have diversity of opinion in our party. We're not pure. We have moderates and we have more progressives.

  Barack Obama

  Party, People, Diversity

  Source: www.nbcnews.com

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• All of the members of my new team have displayed in their work a strong sense of pragmatism that I promote... The backgrounds of principal officials are diverse, they all share a common commitment to our country, our territory and our people and agree with my governing philosophy.

  Donald Tsang

  Country, Strong, Philosophy

  "New Team Takes Charge of HK Affairs". www.chinadaily.com.cn. June 25, 2007.

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• In a world that is changing as rapidly as this one, we need to think differently about leadership. Leading is not done by those few in high places, but by parents and teachers and managers and those governing -- all working together to create the world that we want.

  Susan Collins

  Teacher, Thinking, Parent

  Susan Collins (1996). “Our Children Are Watching: Ten Skills for Leading the Next Generation to Success”, Barrytown/ Station Hill Press

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• It is curious to observe the triumph of slight incidents over the mind; and what incredible weight they have in forming and governing our opinions, both of men and things, that trifles light as air shall waft a belief into the soul, and plant it so immovable within it, that Euclid's demonstrations, could they be brought to batter it in breach, should not all have power to overthrow it!

  Laurence Sterne

  Men, Light, Air

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• [The Republican Party] consists of those who, believing in the doctrine that mankind are capable of governing themselves and hating hereditary power as an insult to the reason and an outrage to the rights of men, are naturally offended at every public measure that does not appeal to the understanding and to the general interest of the community.

  James Madison

  Hate, Party, Believe

  James Madison (1867). “1829-1836”, p.482

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• Government is only a necessary evil, like other go-carts and crutches. Our need of it shows exactly how far we are still children. All governing overmuch kills the self-help and energy of the governed.

  Wendell Phillips

  Children, Government, Self

  Wendell Phillips (1863). “Speeches, Lectures, and Letters”, p.307, Gale Cengage Learning

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• Equality may be a fiction but nonetheless one must accept it as a governing principle.

  B. R. Ambedkar

  Principles, Fiction, May

  Dr B.R. Ambedkar (2014). “Annihilation of Caste”, p.61, Ssoft Group, INDIA

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• To some Christians today, this world is not a sinking ship or a world reserved for fire. It is an international capitol building overrun with undesirables whom these believers plan to kick out. They will then take their place, renovating and governing it all themselves. Such thinking is symptomatic of a dying love for Jesus and a clinging to this world!

  David Wilkerson

  Christian, Jesus, Thinking

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• Governing is occupying but not interesting, governments are occupying but not interesting.

  Gertrude Stein

  Government, Interesting

  Gertrude Stein (2004). “Look at Me Now and Here I Am: Writings and Lectures, 1911-1945”, Peter Owen Publishers

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• Indeed I cannot doubt that there has been really one grand empire, or one Universal, one Pandæan, or one Catholic religion, with one language, which has extended over the whole of the world; uniting or governing at the same time.

  Godfrey Higgins

  Catholic Religion, Doubt, World

  Godfrey Higgins (2014). “Anacalypsis”, p.246, Jazzybee Verlag

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• I don't have any problem with a reporter or a news person who says the President is uninformed on this issue or that issue. I don't think any of us would challenge that. I do have a problem with the singular focus on this, as if that's the only standard by which we ought to judge a president. What we learned in the last administration was how little having an encyclopedic grasp of all the facts has to do with governing.

  David Gergen

  Thinking, Issues, Judging

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• My goal was to do the best job I could in governing the state of Wisconsin, in some cases making very tough decisions to have to bring our spending in line with the resources we had at the state level.

  Scott McCallum

  Jobs, Best Job, Goal

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• A fair day's wage for a fair day's work": it is as just a demand as governed men ever made of governing. It is the everlasting right of man.

  Thomas Carlyle

  Men, Demand, Made

  Thomas Carlyle (1872). “Works”, p.16

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