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
The most practical kind of politics is the politics of decency.
Interpretation
Practical politics should be rooted in basic decency and respect for others.
The quote by Theodore Roosevelt emphasizes that the essence of effective politics lies in treating others with decency and respect. It suggests that a government and its leaders should prioritize ethical conduct over mere strategy or power plays, advocating for a political landscape that values morality and integrity as foundational principles.
In practice
In a speech about civic engagement, a leader might highlight this quote to emphasize ethical governance.
Americanism is a question of principle, of idealism, of character. It is not a matter of birthplace, or creed, or line of descent.
It 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.
No man should receive a dollar unless that dollar has been fairly earned.
Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.
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.
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.
Every vote counts and every vote must be counted
In your dread of dictators you established a state of society in which every ward boss is a dictator, every private employer a dictator, every financier a dictator, all with the livelihood of the workers at his mercy, and no public responsibility.
There is a fundamental difference between the Polish experience of the state and the Russian experience. In the Polish experience, the state was always a foreign power. So, to hate the state was a patriotic act.
Politics abhors a vacuum, and Asian countries will gravitate towards China if U.S. influence is perceived as declining.
If I had been an Italian I am sure that I should have been whole-heartedly with you from the start to finish in your triumphant struggle against the bestial appetites and passions of Leninism.
The abortion cases produced an enormous amount of mail to my chambers, vastly more than to the other chambers, I am sure. I sometimes thought there wasn't a woman in the United States who didn't write me a letter on one side or the other of that issue.
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