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Smears are not only to be expected but fought. Honor is to be earned, not bought.
Margaret Chase Smith
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Fighting against unjust accusations is essential, and true honor must be earned through actions, not purchased.

This quote emphasizes the importance of standing up against slander and maintaining one's integrity. It suggests that honor is a personal virtue that cannot simply be acquired with money or status, but must be cultivated through ethical behavior and resilience in the face of adversity.

Themes

HonorIntegrityCourageAdversityAction

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about ethical leadership, one might use this quote to underscore the importance of upholding one's values.

More from Margaret Chase Smith

I do not want to see the Republican party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny-fear, ignorance, bigotry and smear.
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The Senate has been debased to the level of a forum of hate and character assassination sheltered by the shield of congressional immunity.
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One of the basic causes for all the trouble in the world today is that people talk too much and think too little. They act impulsively without thinking. I always try to think before I talk.
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Every human being is entitled to courtesy and consideration. Constructive criticism is not only to be expected but sought.
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Moral cowardice that keeps us from speaking our minds is as dangerous to this country as irresponsible talk.
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Greatness is not manifested by unlimited pragmatism, which places such a high premium on the end justifying any means and any methods
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