We've got to figure out a way that we give a private sphere for our public leaders. We're not gonna get the best people in public life if we don't do that.
Journalism still, in a democracy, is the essential force to get the public educated and mobilized to take action on behalf of our ancient ideals.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Journalism is vital for educating the public and motivating them to uphold democratic values.
This quote emphasizes the crucial role that journalism plays in a democratic society. It asserts that journalism serves as a powerful mechanism for educating citizens and encouraging them to take action to preserve and promote the foundational ideals of their democracy, which have stood the test of time. In doing so, journalism not only informs but also empowers individuals to engage actively with the principles that support their society's progress and values.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a public speech advocating for press freedom, you could reference this quote to highlight the importance of journalism in democracy.
More from Doris Kearns Goodwin
All quotes βOnce a president gets to the White House, the only audience that is left that really matters is history.
That is what leadership is all about: staking your ground ahead of where opinion is and convincing people, not simply following the popular opinion of the moment.
I am a historian. With the exception of being a wife and mother, it is who I am. And there is nothing I take more seriously.
Obama does seem to have what both FDR and Lincoln had, which is the recognition that you have to hold back at times and then wait to come forward.
Those who knew Lincoln described him as an extraordinarily funny man. Humor was an essential aspect of his temperament. He laughed, he explained, so he did not weep.
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We don't yet know, above all, what the world might be like if children were to grow up without being subjected to humiliation, if parents would respect them and take them seriously as people.
When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.
Observation, very general and wide-spread, has shown that small children are endowed with a special psychic nature. This shows us a new way of imparting education!
Students undergo a conversion in the third year of medical school - not pre-clinical to clinical, but pre-cynical to cynical.
Had I the power, I would scatter libraries over the whole land as the sower sows his wheatfield.
I have just gone over my comet computations again, and it is humiliating to perceive how very little more I know than I did seven years ago when I first did this kind of work.