If anyone tells you he is never afraid, he is a liar or he is a Gurkha.
Sam ManekshawRead
I wonder whether those of our political masters who have been put in charge of the defence of the country can distinguish a mortar from a motor; a gun from a howitzer; a guerrilla from a gorilla, although a great many resemble the latter.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote satirizes the lack of understanding and competence among political leaders in military matters.
In this quote, Sam Manekshaw humorously critiques the capability of political leaders tasked with national defense, questioning whether they truly possess the knowledge necessary to differentiate between key military terms and concepts. The jest draws attention to the potential incompetence of those in power, highlighting concerns about their ability to protect the country effectively.
Themes
PoliticsDefenseCompetenceHumorLeadership
In practice
Example use cases
This quote is perfect for a speech criticizing government inefficiencies.
More from Sam Manekshaw
All quotes →If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or is a Gurkha.
Sam ManekshawRead
Similar quotes
You know, the cure for all this talk is really a good dose of incompetent government. You get that alternative and you'll never put Singapore together again: Humpty Dumpty cannot be put together again... my asset values will disappear, my apartments will be worth a fraction of what they were, my ministers' jobs will be in peril, their security will be at risk and their women will become maids in other people's countries, foreign workers.
Lee Kuan YewRead
[The Federal Convention] is really an assembly of demigods.
Thomas JeffersonRead
Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.
Otto Von BismarckRead
It's not enough to say that the Olympics is an athletic contest outside of politics, because it's not. The Chinese clearly are using the Olympics to recreate how they are viewed in the world and how they view themselves.
Richard GereRead
Politics is not an end, but a means. It is not a product, but a process. It is the art of government. Like other values it has its counterfeits. So much emphasis has been placed upon the false that the significance of the true has been obscured and politics has come to convey the meaning of crafty and cunning selfishness, instead of candid and sincere service.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men's views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of somebody, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it.
Woodrow WilsonRead