Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Quotes from our Presidents


George Washington: "In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish; that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the course, which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But, if I may even flatter myself, that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism; this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they have been dictated."

Abraham Lincoln: "Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia, and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest, with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force take a drink from the Ohio or make a track on the Blue Ridge in a trial of a thousand years. At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer. If it ever reach us it must spring up amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide."

Teddy Roosevelt: "We must treat each man on his worth and merits as a man. We must see that each is given a square deal, because he is entitled to no more and should receive no less. ...The welfare of each of us is dependent fundamentally upon the welfare of all of us."

Thomas Jefferson: "The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable of reading them."

Dwight Eisenhower: "And I should like to assure you, my Islamic friends, that under the American Constitution, under American tradition, and in American hearts, this Center, this place of worship, is just as welcome as could be a similar edifice of any other religion. Indeed, America would fight with her whole strength for your right to have here your own church and worship according to your own conscience. This concept is indeed a part of America, and without that concept we would be something else than what we are."

Donald Trump: "Yeah, that’s her. With the gold. I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. ...Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything."

JMJ
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/abrahamlin143183.html
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/abrahamlin143183.html
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/abrahamlin143183.html
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/abrahamlin143183.html
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/abrahamlin143183.html

21 comments:

  1. Excerpts from speeches vs private conversations? Is that the comparison?

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  2. Well, to be honest, I hadn't considered that. Do you have a quote in mind? Because, I just went through a bunch and they'll all either vacuous or unpleasant. I was making a specific point, about classiness and the kinds of things Presidents talk about and the way they go about it.

    JMJ

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    Replies
    1. Trump wasn't President when he made the quoted remarks. And I'm sure that George Washington murmerred "Holy Sh*t" more than once when apprising the enemy on the battlefield.

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    2. Yeah, but I can't imagine Washington would ever have said anything like Trump says, regardless of the setting. Winston Churchill had a infamously wicked sense of humor, but again, I can't imagine him saying the kinds of things Trump says.

      JMJ

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  3. You made your point well Jersey. Unfortunately present day attention spans and intellectual depth seems lacking on many of these boards.

    And Trump continues his high marks among the 34-40%'ers.

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    Replies
    1. That's the thing that really gets me, in particular with FreeThinke and FJ. These guys are obviously well-educated, classy men. Yet they seem to turn a blind eye to this crass, just slobby person in Trump. I don't get it. I give George Will a lot of credit. He did the right thing when Trump rose up - he quit the party. It's not about whether you voted for Trump, either. For many voters, the whole idea was the shake the living shit out of Washington. But then the GOP took the Senate, and no one saw that coming, and what seemed like a good way to frighten the establishment into being more responsible turned into an opportunity to make things 1000 times worse! Thanks for reminding me of those numbers, though. Looks like we may have frightened ourselves, the American people, a bit in all this, and I suppose we needed that. I have a feeling, in the end, the country will be better off after this whole Cromwellian experience is over. Just gonna take a while to clean up the mess!

      JMJ

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    2. I sincerely hope your right. I used to find sensible thought among conservatives but over the last 16 year's they've managed to turn my stomachs. I cannot abide the idiocy that has gradually become more commonplace and willfully accepted among the 34-40%.

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    3. The entire world is turning against global capital... and you two pine for the "good old days" when the welfare state was still a possibility. It's over boys. Somebody send George Will the memo.

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  4. "Patriotism is supporting your country all of the time and your government when it deserves it."
    Mark Twain

    Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
    President Kennedy

    "If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few that are rich."
    President Kennedy

    "Now is not a time for partisanship, it is a time for citizenship."
    President Obama

    "If by a “Liberal” they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a “Liberal,” then I’m proud to say I’m a “Liberal.”
    President Kennedy

    "Every once in a while Socialism has to step in to save capitalism."
    Ralph Nader

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  5. Nice collection of quotes. I have them all.

    Problem facing the USA is encroaching feudalism and a creeping ignorance that will keep people cheering its approach.

    I'll leave it at that.

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  6. Republicans have been complaining for decades that schools (especially colleges) have been indoctrinating our young with liberal slanted thinking, which begs the question why the educated electorate has been voting Republican for decades.
    Republicans have also been saying for decades that all America needs is to be run more like a business. I guess Trump is their idea of that, to bad Trump is one of the worst businessmen around, not to mention one of the worst persons of character. Trump proudly claims to be a product of the best education. Seems being highly educated does not eliminate ignorance, bigotry, or sexism.
    If Americans wanted to turn Washington (our government) upside down they certainly have done that, but I fail to see what positive results will come of it.

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  7. America needs to be run more like a business... in which the owners are not employees earning a risk-averse "surplus salary".

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  8. Government run like a business will yield the status quo. Government run like the true elected servant of the people as it was meant to be will Make America Great Again.

    Trump ain't even close. Nor are his Wall Street banking cronies.

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    Replies
    1. Government eliminated will make America great again. 41.6% of GDP for this kind of bs is ridiculous.

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  9. Government eliminated is ANARCHY.

    Good luck with that.

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