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
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.
In practice
In a discussion about civic duties at a local meeting.
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.
It 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
My philosophy of defense is to keep the pressure on an opponent until you get to his emotions
Let us not seek to make it less monstrous, for our own convenience, our own sense of beauty, lest, awakened in one unthinkable hour, we are embarrassed by the miracle, and crushed by remonstrance.
Rights are best guarded when each person and group guards for others those rights they wish guarded for themselves.
He who would trade liberty for some temporary security, deserves neither liberty nor security.
Money is in some respects life's fire: it is a very excellent servant, but a terrible master.
Come aboard if your destination is oblivion- it should be our next stop. We can sit together. You can have the window seat if you want. But it's a sad view.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.