Today's headlines and history's judgment are rarely the same.
Condoleezza RiceRead
This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, where Russia can threaten its neighbors, occupy a capital, overthrow a government, and get away with it. Things have changed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the changed geopolitical landscape and the diminishing tolerance for aggressive actions by powerful nations.
In this quote, Condoleezza Rice emphasizes that the international response to acts of aggression, such as Russia's actions in Czechoslovakia in 1968, has evolved over time. She suggests that current geopolitical realities do not allow for such unchecked invasions and that the world is now more vigilant and interconnected, making it difficult for any nation to act without facing consequences.
Themes
GeopoliticsAggressionChangeInternational RelationsHistory
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about current global politics, one could quote this to illustrate the importance of historical context.
More from Condoleezza Rice
All quotes βI think my father thought I might be president of the United States. I think he would've been satisfied with secretary of state. I'm a foreign policy person and to have a chance to serve my country as the nation's chief diplomat at a time of peril and consequence, that was enough.
Condoleezza RiceRead
What the United States has done is to be open to people who are fleeing tyranny, who are fleeing danger, but we have done it in a very careful way that has worked for us.
Condoleezza RiceRead
For the United States, supporting international development is more than just an expression of our compassion. It is a vital investment in the free, prosperous, and peaceful international order that fundamentally serves our national interest.
Condoleezza RiceRead
Today's headlines and history's judgment are rarely the same. If you are too attentive to the former, you will most certainly not do the hard work of securing the latter.
Condoleezza RiceRead
Does anybody think these people were just sitting around drinking tea?
Condoleezza RiceRead
Similar quotes
The three branches of government number considerably more than three and are not, in any sense, 'branches' since that would imply that there is something they are all attached to besides self-aggrandizement and our pocketbooks. ... Government is not a machine with parts; it's an organism. When does an intestine quit being an intestine and start becoming an asshole?
P. J. O'RourkeRead
I would never want Ukraine to be a piece on the map, on the chessboard of big global players, so that someone could toss us around, use us as cover, as part of some bargain.
Volodymyr ZelenskyRead
Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter. We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam war. Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war unsupportable by the government, a conflict that brought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire.
Zbigniew BrzezinskiRead
The bureaucracy takes itself to be the ultimate purpose of the state
Karl MarxRead
Elections are always a Rorschach test - people look at the results and see what they want to see.
Anne ApplebaumRead
Politics has become so expensive that it takes a lot of money even to be defeated.
Will RogersRead