Legislating is a very human experience in which trust and mutual respect play critical roles.
Interpretation
Legislation requires trust and respect among individuals to be effective.
Bill Bradley emphasizes that the process of creating laws is fundamentally a human endeavor that relies heavily on interpersonal dynamics. Trust and mutual respect are not just beneficial but essential for effective governance, as they facilitate collaboration and understanding among lawmakers, ultimately leading to more just and effective legislation that serves the public good.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of collaboration in governance.
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.
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.
America's leaders have to find a way to work together, rise to the challenge, and come up with solutions as bold and visionary as the people of this nation.
Sweat saves blood, blood saves lives, but brains saves both.
Often leaders have the best intentions, but people cannot read their minds. That's why it's important to declare yourself: Tell people why you choose to lead and the code you live by.
You need to understand, if you take out a government, take out a regime, guess who becomes the government and regime and is responsible for the country? You are. So if you break it, you own it.
Policies are many, Principles are few, Policies will change, Principles never do.
To lead yourself, use your head; to lead others, use your heart. Always touch a person's heart before you ask him for a hand.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.