QuoteProject
If the newspapers of a country are filled with good news, the jails of that country will be filled with good people.
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Good news can influence the moral character of a society, suggesting that positivity can lead to a better community.

This quote by Daniel Patrick Moynihan suggests that the content consumed by society, particularly through newspapers and media, has a profound impact on the collective mindset and behavior of the population. If positive stories dominate the headlines, it may inspire hope, goodness, and ethical behavior among the citizens, thereby leading to lower crime rates and filling jails with fewer individuals who have committed crimes. Essentially, the media plays a significant role in shaping societal values and the overall well-being of a country.

Themes

Good NewsSocietyMediaPositivityMoral CharacterCrime Rate

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about community improvement, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of positive media coverage.

More from Daniel Patrick Moynihan

No one is innocent after the experience of governing. But not everyone is guilty.
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
We must not let ourselves be seen as rushing around the world looking for arguments... Nor should we let ourselves be seen as ignoring allies, disillusioning friends, thinking only of ourselves in the most narrow terms. That is not how we survived the 20th century. Nor will it serve in the 21st.
Daniel Patrick MoynihanRead

Similar quotes

One's own free and unfettered volition, one's own caprice, however wild, one's own fancy, inflamed sometimes to the point of madness - that is the one best and greatest good, which is never taken into consideration because it cannot fit into any classification and the omission of which sends all systems and theories to the devil.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
Sometimes I get the feeling that we're just a bunch of habits. The gestures we repeat over and over, they're just our need to be recognized. Without them, we'd be unidentifiable. We have to reinvent ourselves every minute.
Nicole KraussRead
To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs.
Aldous HuxleyRead
Most people are basically a victim of the circumstances of their life. They have things like 9/11, they have terrorism threats, they have new war threats, they have economy problems, and they think, 'What can I do? I'm basically a victim.'
Stephen CoveyRead
The answer is, who you are cannot be defined through thinking or mental labels or definitions, because it's beyond that. It is the very sense of being, or presence, that is there when you become conscious of the present moment. In essence, you and what we call the present moment are, at the deepest level, one.
Eckhart TolleRead
A government capable of controlling the whole, and bringing its force to a point, is one of the prerequisites for national liberty. We combine in society, with an expectation to have our persons and properties defended against unreasonable exactions either at home or abroad.
Oliver EllsworthRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.