The business of America is not business. Neither is it war. The business of America is justice, and securing the blessings of liberty.
George Will (b. 1941) American political commentator
“A Land Fit for Heroes,” closing words, Time (11 Mar 1991)
Quotations by:
Will, George F.
Conservatives know the world is a dark and forbidding place where most new knowledge is false, most improvements for the worse, the battle is not to the strong, nor riches to men of understanding, and an unscrupulous Providence consigns innocents to suffering.
George Will (b. 1941) American political commentator
“The Cubs and Conservatism” (21 Mar 1974), Bunts (1998)
(Source)
Will is, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, describing the origin of his conservatism in his being a fan of the Chicago Cubs baseball team.
We know next to nothing about virtually everything. It is not necessary to know the origin of the universe; it is necessary to want to know. Civilization depends not on any particular knowledge, but on the disposition to crave knowledge.
George Will (b. 1941) American political commentator
(Attributed)
Greed is envy with its sleeves rolled up.
George Will (b. 1941) American political commentator
(Attributed)
A politician’s words reveal less about what he thinks about his subject than what he thinks about his audience.
George Will (b. 1941) American political commentator
(Attributed)
(Source)
Quoted in Richard Reeves, A Ford, Not a Lincoln, ch. 1 (1975). Will is commenting about a statement made by Ronald Reagan in Harper's Magazine (Mar 1975)
They define themselves in terms of what they oppose.
George Will (b. 1941) American political commentator
Newsweek (30 Sep 1974)
On conservatives.