You don't tell people who disagree with you they'd be better off somewhere else. And you don't reduce them to stereotypes; you address them as fully formed people worthy of respect. You try to persuade them.
Peggy NoonanRead
When everyone in America knows you're in a dreadful position, admit you're in a dreadful position. Don't lie about it and make them roll their eyes, tell the truth and make them blink.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Be honest about your difficulties rather than pretending everything is fine.
This quote emphasizes the importance of honesty in difficult situations. By acknowledging your struggles openly, you encourage authenticity and understanding rather than creating a facade that leads to skepticism from others. It suggests that truthfulness invites trust and compassion from those around you, making it vital to communicate honestly about your challenges.
Themes
HonestyStruggleTruthAuthenticityCommunication
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing team challenges, this quote could remind everyone to be open about difficulties.
More from Peggy Noonan
All quotes →You can get so well educated in America that your thoughts become detached from common sense. You can get so complicated in your thinking that the obvious isn't real to you anymore.
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If you join government, calmly make your contribution and move on. Don't go along to get along; do your best and when you have to - and you will - leave, and be something else.
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Wit penetrates; humor envelops. Wit is a function of verbal intelligence; humor is imagination operating on good nature.
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Naps are nature's way of reminding you that life is nice, like a beautiful swinging hammock strung between birth and infinity.
Peggy NoonanRead
We must try again to be alive to what the people of our country really long for in our national life: forgiveness and grace, maturity and wisdom. ...Our political leaders will know our priorities only if we tell them, again and again, and if those priorities begin to show up in the polls.
Peggy NoonanRead
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