Presidents are evaluated not by what they did by the stroke of their own pen; it's what they persuade Congress to do.
H. W. BrandsRead
Everything that happens today is like something in the past, but it's also unlike things in the past. We never know until an event happens if it's the similarities or differences that matter more.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the complexities of events and how they relate to the past.
H. W. Brands explores the duality of experiences by suggesting that every occurrence today carries elements from the past while simultaneously presenting unique characteristics. The unpredictability of these events challenges our perception, as we often cannot determine whether the recurring patterns or the novel aspects have greater significance until after they unfold.
In practice
In a discussion about the impact of historical events on current affairs.
Presidents are evaluated not by what they did by the stroke of their own pen; it's what they persuade Congress to do.
When you look at the development of the American presidency, you see that the presidents who have had the greatest impact are the ones who fit their times most successfully.
...But there's always suffering, Pudge. Homework or malaria or having a boyfriend who lives far away when there's a good-looking boy lying next to you. Suffering is universal. It's the one thing Buddhists, Christians, and Muslims are all worried about.
The spectacle is at the same time the mirage of self in the mirror of things.
Ask yourself constantly, "What is the right thing to do?" Behave toward everyone as if receiving a great guest.
What is a loophole? If the law does not punish a definite action or does not tax a definite thing, this is not a loophole. It is simply the law.
At the back of my mind I had a sense of us sitting about waiting for some terrible event, and then I would remember that it had already happened.
I never gave up Christianity until I was forty years of age.
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