We need to get beyond the politics of the moment, the deficit of the hour, the military count of the day, the numbers that rarely shape events. Our long-term interests must be in people and in the values of democracy and individual liberty.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of prioritizing long-term values and the well-being of people over short-term political calculations.
Bill Bradley's quote highlights the necessity of looking past immediate political concerns and focusing on enduring principles such as democracy and individual freedom. It critiques the tendency to dwell on the transient issues and numerical data that often dominate political discourse, urging a shift towards a genuine commitment to people's welfare and fundamental values that shape a better society.
In practice
This quote can be used in a political speech to advocate for policies that prioritize people's rights and long-term stability.
Why do we fully tax some kinds of income from capital, like interest and dividends; partially tax other kinds like capital gains; defer tax on other kinds, like IRAs; and impose no tax at all on still other types of capital income, like interest on municipal bonds? This simply is not rational. These distinctions don't have any inherent logic.
Respect your fellow human being, treat them fairly, disagree with them honestly, enjoy their friendship, explore your thoughts about one another candidly, work together for a common goal and help one another achieve it. No destructive lies. No ridiculous fears. No debilitating anger.
Becoming number one is easier than remaining number one.
Every time I have some moment on a seashore, or in the mountains, or sometimes in a quiet forest, I think this is why the environment has to be preserved.
Basketball can serve as a kind of metaphor for ultimate cooperation. It is a sport where success, as symbolized by the championship, requires that the dictates of community prevail over selfish impulses.
There has never been a great athlete who died not knowing what pain is.
Democracy is the wholesome and pure air without which a socialist public organization cannot live a full-blooded life.
The two most important things that can be done to promote democracy in the world is first, to bring moral clarity back to world affairs and second, to link international policies to the advance of democracy around the globe.
In the year 2025, the best men don't run for president, they run for their lives. . . .
In a country where the sole employer is the State, opposition means death by slow starvation. The old principle: who does not work shall not eat, has been replaced by a new one: who does not obey shall not eat.
We work on macro issues and macaroni and cheese issues. When women are in the halls of power, our national debate reflects the needs and dreams of American families.
If experience teaches us anything at all, it teaches us this: that a good politician, under democracy, is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar.
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