Laws are like sausages. You sleep far better the less you know about how they are made.
God has a special providence for fools, drunks, and the United States of America.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that there is a protective force or luck that watches over those who may be reckless or naΓ―ve, including nations.
Otto Von Bismarck's quote reflects a cynical perspective on governance and human nature, implying that there is an unexpected favor or safeguarding that seems to be granted to those who are foolish, intoxicated, or even to an entire nation like the United States. It highlights the idea that sometimes, despite poor choices or lack of wisdom, fortune or providence can intervene in surprising ways, leading to unexpected outcomes.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion about government decisions that seem illogical, this quote can be used to highlight the unpredictability of political fortune.
More from Otto Von Bismarck
All quotes βPreventive war is like committing suicide out of fear of death.
With a gentleman I am always a gentleman and a half, and with a fraud I try to be a fraud and a half.
Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable β the art of the next best
It is the destiny of the weak to be devoured by the strong.
A generation that has taken a beating is always followed by a generation that deals one.
Similar quotes
Truth has always had many loud proclaimers, but the question is whether a person will in the deepest sense acknowledge the truth, allow it to permeate his whole being, accept all its consequences, and not have an emergency hiding place for himself and a Judas kiss for the consequence.
Testimony demands to be interpreted because of the dialectic of meaning and event that traverses it.
I don't believe we have a professional self from Mondays through Fridays and a real self for the rest of the time.
We might remind ourselves that criticism is as inevitable as breathing, and that we should be none the worse for articulating what passes in our minds when we read a book and feel an emotion about it, for criticizing our own minds in their work of criticism.
Loss and possession, death and life are one, There falls no shadow where there shines no sun.
Most of us cluster somewhere in the middle of most statistical distributions. But there are lots of bell curves, and pretty much everyone is on a tail of at least one of them. We may collect strange memorabilia or read esoteric books, hold unusual religious beliefs or wear odd-sized shoes, suffer rare diseases or enjoy obscure movies.