I'm for the poor man - all poor men, black and white, they all gotta have a chance. They gotta have a home, a job, and a decent education for their children. 'Every man a king' - that's my slogan.
Huey LongRead
You will find that you cannot do without politicians. They are a necessary evil in this day and time. You may not like getting money from one source and spending it for another. But the thing for the school people to do is that if the politicians are going to steal, make them steal for the schools.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Politicians are necessary, even if viewed negatively, and schools should benefit from their actions regardless of intent.
Huey Long suggests that while politicians may be seen as corrupt and self-serving, their influence is unavoidable in society. Rather than lamenting their actions, he argues that those in education should leverage their power to redirect their 'stealing' towards funding and supporting schools, thus ensuring that, despite their flaws, the outcomes can still be beneficial to the community.
Themes
PoliticsEducationCorruptionSchoolsGovernment
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about funding for public schools, I might say, 'As Huey Long wisely noted, we must find ways to work with our politicians to ensure our schools benefit from their actions.'
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