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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that the absence of bad news often indicates the suppression of reality, where good people may be unjustly punished.
Daniel Patrick Moynihan's quote critiques the idea of a society that presents only good news, implying that a lack of reporting on negative events often means that there are deeper societal issues, such as the imprisonment of those who stand against injustice. It reflects on the potential dangers of a censored or manipulated media where the truth is obscured, leading to a false sense of well-being.
Themes
Good NewsBad NewsSocietyTruthInjustice
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on media ethics, one might quote this to illustrate the importance of truthful reporting.
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.
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You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.
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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
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