I believe that the entire effort of modern society should be concentrated on the endeavor to outlaw war as a method of the solution of problems between nations.
Douglas MacarthurRead
No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Freedom must be actively protected and cannot be taken for granted.
Douglas MacArthur's quote emphasizes that the privilege of freedom comes with the responsibility of vigilance. It suggests that individuals must be aware and proactive in maintaining their freedoms; complacency can lead to the erosion of liberty.
Themes
FreedomVigilanceResponsibilityLibertyPreservation
In practice
Example use cases
In speeches about civil rights, this quote can reinforce the idea that active participation is necessary to protect freedoms.
More from Douglas Macarthur
All quotes →In my dreams I hear again the crash of guns, the rattle of musketry, the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield.
Douglas MacarthurRead
Worry, doubt, fear and despair are the enemies which slowly bring us down to the ground and turn us to dust before we die.
Douglas MacarthurRead
We are not retreating - we are advancing in another direction.
Douglas MacarthurRead
A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.
Douglas MacarthurRead
Rules are mostly made to be broken and are too often for the lazy to hide behind.
Douglas MacarthurRead
Similar quotes
Freedom is always just one generation away from extinction. We don't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. We have to fight for it and protect it and then hand it to them, so that they shall do the same, or we're going to find ourselves spending our sunset years telling our children and our children's children, about a time in America, back in the day, when men and women were free.
Ronald ReaganRead
Whatever you may think of the proposed mosque and community center, lost in the heat of the debate has been a basic question: Should government attempt to deny private citizens the right to build a house of worship on private property based on their particular religion?
Michael BloombergRead
You put a tattoo on yourself with the knowledge that this body is yours to have and enjoy while you're here. You have fun with it, and nobody else can control (supposedly) what you do with it. That's why tattooing is such a big thing in prison: it's an expression of freedom—one of the only expressions of freedom there. They can lock you down, control everything, but 'I've got my mind, and I can tattoo my body—alter it my way as an act of personal will.'
Don Ed HardyRead
Every diminution of the liberty of the press is followed by a diminution of civilization. Wherever we see the freedom of the press interfered with, there we see the nutrition of the human family interrupted.
Victor HugoRead
Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.
Thomas PaineRead
Not far from here where we gather today is a symbol of freedom familiar to all Americans -- the Liberty Bell. When the Declaration of Independence was first read in public, the Liberty Bell was sounded in celebration, and a witness said: "It rang as if it meant something."
George W. BushRead