Americanism is a question of principle, of idealism, of character. It is not a matter of birthplace, or creed, or line of descent.
Theodore RooseveltRead
No people is wholly civilized where a distinction is drawn between stealing an office and stealing a purse.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Civilization is incomplete when there is a double standard in moral values regarding theft.
The quote highlights the inconsistency in how society perceives different types of theft, suggesting that a truly civilized society cannot coexist with a moral distinction that allows for the theft of power and position while condemning the theft of personal property. Roosevelt calls for a unified moral stance where all forms of stealing are equally condemned, indicating that ethical integrity should be applied universally.
Themes
CivilizationMoralityTheftPowerEthics
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing ethical standards in politics, this quote can emphasize the need for integrity.
More from Theodore Roosevelt
All quotes βIt tires me to talk to rich men. You expect a man of millions, the head of a great industry, to be a man worthhearing; but as a rule they don't know anything outside their own business.
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No man should receive a dollar unless that dollar has been fairly earned.
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Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.
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Conservation means development as much as it does protection._x000D_ _x000D_ A man's usefulness depends upon his living up to his ideals insofar as he can.
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It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; . . . who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.
Theodore RooseveltRead
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