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
I sometimes wish that people would put a little more emphasis upon the observance of the law than they do upon its enforcement.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Emphasizing the importance of following laws over just enforcing them.
Calvin Coolidge's quote highlights the necessity of prioritizing the observance of laws as a fundamental aspect of a functioning society. He suggests that a deeper commitment to understanding and adhering to laws is more vital than merely applying punitive measures when they are broken, reflecting a proactive approach to governance and civic responsibility.
Themes
LawObservanceEnforcementSocietyResponsibility
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about civic duties at a local meeting.
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.
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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.
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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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