Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice.
Woodrow WilsonRead
There are blessed intervals when I forget by one means or another that I am President of the United States.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects moments of relief and normalcy despite the burdens of leadership.
Woodrow Wilson's quote highlights the rare moments of reprieve he experiences, allowing him to temporarily forget the heavy responsibilities of being the President of the United States. It speaks to the profound isolation and pressure that often accompanies high office, suggesting that even powerful leaders seek a brief escape from their demanding roles to embrace the simplicity of life.
Themes
LeadershipPresidencyResponsibilityBurdenEscape
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the pressures of high office, one might quote Wilson to emphasize the need for balance.
More from Woodrow Wilson
All quotes βSince trade ignores national boundaries and the manufacturer insists on having the world as a market, the flag of his nation must follow him, and the doors of the nations which are closed against him must be battered down. Concessions obtained by financiers must be safeguarded by ministers of state, even if the sovereignty of unwilling nations be outraged in the process. Colonies must be obtained or planted, in order that no useful corner of the world may be overlooked or left unused.
Woodrow WilsonRead
The history of liberty is the history of limitations on the power of government, not the increase of it. When we resist, therefore, the concentration of power, we are resisting the processes of death, because concentration of power is what always precedes the destruction of human liberties.
Woodrow WilsonRead
We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers.
Woodrow WilsonRead
The way to stop financial joyriding is to arrest the chauffeur, not the automobile.
Woodrow WilsonRead
Once lead this people into war, and they'll forget there ever was such a thing as tolerance. To fight, you must be brutal and ruthless, and the spirit of ruthless brutality will enter into the very fiber of our national life, infecting Congress, the courts, the policeman on the beat, the man in the street.
Woodrow WilsonRead
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