They criticize me for harping on the obvious; if all the folks in the United States would do the few simple things they know they ought to do, most of our big problems would take care of themselves.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
There is only one form of political strategy in which I have any confidence, and that is to try to do the right thing and sometimes be able to succeed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of integrity in political strategy, advocating for doing what is right despite challenges.
Calvin Coolidge expresses his belief that the only effective political strategy is rooted in ethical principles. He suggests that having the courage to pursue what is right is essential, and while success may not always be guaranteed, the integrity of one's actions is paramount in navigating the complexities of politics.
Themes
IntegrityPoliticsStrategyLeadershipEthics
In practice
Example use cases
In a political debate, one could quote Coolidge to emphasize the importance of ethical decision-making.
More from Calvin Coolidge
All quotes βIt is difficult for men in high office to avoid the malady of self-delusion. They are always surrounded by worshipers. They are constantly, and for the most part sincerely, assured of their greatness.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
America's present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not the dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but equipoise; not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
No method of procedure has ever been devised by which liberty could be divorced from local self-government. No plan of centralization has ever been adopted which did not result in bureaucracy, tyranny, inflexibility, reaction, and decline.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
Whether one traces his Americanism back three centuries to the Mayflower, or three years to the steerage, is not half so important as whether his Americanism of today is real and genuine. No matter by what various crafts we came here, we are all now in the same boat.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
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