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.
Similar quotes
Theory is taught so as to make the student believe that he or she can become a Marxist, a feminist, an Afrocentrist, or a deconstructionist with about the same effort and commitment required in choosing items from a menu.
It gives me a very keen satisfaction that, after listening to my blather all those years, former students are now seeing that I wrote a book, that I did have it in me.
The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth.
"Self-taught, are you?" Julian Castle asked Newt. "Isn't everybody?" Newt inquired. "Very good answer." Castle was respectful.
Education is preparation to live completely.
There is a temperate zone in the mind, between luxurious indolence and exacting work; and it is to this region, just between laziness and labor, that summer reading belongs.