No one is innocent after the experience of governing. But not everyone is guilty.
Daniel Patrick MoynihanRead
We used to play marbles for keeps. If you lost, you lost. It is the same way with politics, but not everybody knows this.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote compares playing marbles for keeps to the harsh realities of politics, underscoring that losses can be significant.
Daniel Patrick Moynihan's quote suggests that just as children play marbles with high stakes, where losing means giving up one's marbles, politics operates in a similar high-stakes manner. In the political arena, decisions and outcomes can lead to real losses, and yet many people may not fully grasp the personal and societal costs involved in political conflicts and decisions.
Themes
PoliticsGamesLossStakesReality
In practice
Example use cases
In a political debate to highlight the seriousness of the issues at stake.
More from Daniel Patrick Moynihan
All quotes βIf the newspapers of a country are filled with good news, the jails of that country will be filled with good people.
Daniel Patrick MoynihanRead
When a person goes to a country and finds their newspapers filled with nothing but good news, he can bet there are good men in jail.
Daniel Patrick MoynihanRead
You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.
Daniel Patrick MoynihanRead
The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics, that determines the success of a society. The central liberal truth is that politics can change a culture and save it from itself.
Daniel Patrick MoynihanRead
The richest inheritance any child can have is a stable, loving, disciplined family life.
Daniel Patrick MoynihanRead
Similar quotes
Inverted totalitarianism, unlike classical totalitarianism, does not revolve around a demagogue or charismatic leader. It finds expression in the anonymity of the Corporate State. It purports to cherish democracy, patriotism, and the Constitution while manipulating internal levers.
Chris HedgesRead
The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make.
Woodrow WilsonRead
All political power comes from the barrel of either guns, pussy, or opium pipes, and people seem to like it that way.
Hunter S. ThompsonRead
It's not enough to say that the Olympics is an athletic contest outside of politics, because it's not. The Chinese clearly are using the Olympics to recreate how they are viewed in the world and how they view themselves.
Richard GereRead
I'm tired of hearing it said that democracy doesn't work. Of course it doesn't work. We are supposed to work it.
Alexander WoollcottRead
The right to vote is a consequence, not a primary cause, of a free social system - and its value depends on the constitutional structure implementing and strictly delimiting the voters' power; unlimited majority rule is an instance of the principle of tyranny.
Ayn RandRead