WIST Quotations

Gellhorn, Martha -- Letter (1971) to Daniel Ellsberg

Dave — Fri, 29 May 2026 07:47:01 +0000

The Founding Fathers cannot have intended a President and his small group of appointed advisors to perform like a monarch surrounded by his court. As if the people’s representatives and the people themselves were a general nuisance, and the job is to keep the whole tiresome bunch quiet: manipulate them.

Martha Gellhorn (1908–1998) American novelist, journalist war correspontent
Letter (1971) to Daniel Ellsberg
(Source)

An open letter Gellhorn wrote to Daniel Ellsberg. In 1971, Ellsberg, a military analyst, leaked the "Pentagon Papers" to the media, a top-secret Defense Department study of US goverment decision-making in the Vietnam War. He was charged under the Espionage Act of 1917, but due to government misconduct and illegal evidence-gathering, all charges were dismissed in 1973.

More importantly, the US government, under Richard Nixon, tried to impose a preemptive injunction to stop the Papers' publication by US media. The Supreme Court ruled in New York Times Co. v. United States that such prior restraint of publication was unconstitutional.

Heinlein, Robert A. -- Essay (1952-10), “Concerning Stories Never Written,” Revolt in 2100, Postscript (1953)

Dave — Tue, 26 May 2026 17:42:24 +0000

There is a latent deep strain of religious fanaticism in this, our culture; it is rooted in our history and it has broken out many times in the past. It is with us now; there has been a sharp rise in strongly evangelical sects in this country in recent years, some of which hold beliefs theocratic in the extreme, anti-intellectual, anti-scientific, and anti-libertrarian.

Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) American writer
Essay (1952-10), “Concerning Stories Never Written,” Revolt in 2100, Postscript (1953)
(Source)

Malcolm X -- Autobiography of Malcolm X, ch. 1 (1964) [with Alex Haley]

Dave — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:38:38 +0000

Hence I have no mercy or compassion in me for a society that will crush people, and then penalize them for not being able to stand up under the weight.

Malcolm X (1925-1965) American revolutionary, religious leader [b. Malcolm Little]
Autobiography of Malcolm X, ch. 1 (1964) [with Alex Haley]
(Source)

Stevenson, Adlai -- Speech (1952-09-18), “The Atomic Future,” Bushnell Memorial Auditorium, Hartford, Connecticut

Dave — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 21:13:36 +0000

If the voters of this nation ever stop looking at the record and the character of candidates, and look only at their party label, it will be a sorry day for healthy democracy.

Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech (1952-09-18), “The Atomic Future,” Bushnell Memorial Auditorium, Hartford, Connecticut
(Source)

Criticizing a comment from Eisenhower that a presidential candidate should support the party ticket, regardless of who was on it.

Heinlein, Robert A. -- Essay (1952-10), “Concerning Stories Never Written,” Revolt in 2100, Postscript (1953)

Dave — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 18:07:59 +0000

Could it be otherwise here? Could any one sect obtain a working majority at the polls and take over the country? Perhaps not — but a combination of a dynamic evangelist, television, enough money, and modern techniques of advertising and propaganda might make Billy Sunday’s efforts look like a corner store compared to Sears Roebuck. Throw in a depression for good measure, promise a material heaven here on earth, add a dash of anti-Semitism, anti-Catholicism, anti-Negroism, and a good large dose of anti-“furriners” in general and anti-intellectuals here at home and the result might be something quite frightening — particularly when one recalls that our voting system is such that a minority distributed as pluralities in enough states can constitute a working majority in Washington.

Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) American writer
Essay (1952-10), “Concerning Stories Never Written,” Revolt in 2100, Postscript (1953)
(Source)

Stevenson, Adlai -- Speech (1952-08-27), “The Nature of Patriotism,” American Legion Convention, Madison Square Garden, New York City

Dave — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 00:09:47 +0000

The United States has very large power in the world today. And the partner of power — the corollary — is responsibility. It is our high task to use our power with a sure hand and a steady touch — with the self-restraint that goes with confident strength. The purpose of our power must never be lost in the fact of our power — and the purpose, I take it, is the promotion of freedom, justice and peace in the world.

Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech (1952-08-27), “The Nature of Patriotism,” American Legion Convention, Madison Square Garden, New York City
(Source)

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1936-08-14), Chautauqua, New York

Dave — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 18:19:47 +0000

The noblest monument to peace and to neighborly economic and social friendship in all the world is not a monument in bronze or stone, but the boundary which unites the United States and Canada — 3,000 miles of friendship with no barbed wire, no gun or soldier, and no passport on the whole frontier. Mutual trust made that frontier.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Speech (1936-08-14), Chautauqua, New York
(Source)

The film recording of the speech shows minor variations from the official text above:

The noblest monument to peace, the noblest monument to economic and social friendship in all the world is not a monument in bronze or stone, but the boundary which unites the United States and Canada -- 3,000 miles of friendship, with no barbed wire, no guns, no soldiers, and no passports on the whole frontier. What made it? Mutual trust.

Berry, Wendell -- Essay (1991), “Peaceableness Toward Enemies,” sec. 53, Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community, ch. 6 (1993)

Dave — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 19:00:17 +0000

The most alarming sign of the state of our society now is that our leaders have the courage to sacrifice the lives of young people in war, but have not the courage to tell us that we must be less greedy and less wasteful.

Wendell Berry (b. 1934) American farmer, educator, poet, conservationist
Essay (1991), “Peaceableness Toward Enemies,” sec. 53, Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community, ch. 6 (1993)
(Source)

Written at the time of the first Gulf War.

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Column (1951-12-20), “My Day”

Dave — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 17:43:54 +0000

As long as we are not actually destroyed, we can work to gain greater understanding of other peoples and to try to present to the peoples of the world the values of our own beliefs. We can do this by demonstrating our conviction that human life is worth preserving and that we are willing to help others to enjoy benefits of our civilization just as we have enjoyed it. (20 December 1961)

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Column (1951-12-20), “My Day”
(Source)

Stevenson, Adlai -- Speech (1952-08-27), “The Nature of Patriotism,” American Legion Convention, Madison Square Garden, New York City

Dave — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 19:18:35 +0000

And the freedom of the mind, my friends, has served America well. The vigor of our political life, our capacity for change, our cultural, scientific, and industrial achievements, all derive from free inquiry, from the free mind — from the imagination, resourcefulness, and daring of men who are not afraid of new ideas. Most all of us favor free enterprise for business. Let us also favor free enterprise for the mind. For, in the last analysis, we would fight to the death to protect it.

Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech (1952-08-27), “The Nature of Patriotism,” American Legion Convention, Madison Square Garden, New York City
(Source)

Lincoln, Abraham -- Letter (1848-02-15) to William H. Herndon

Dave — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 21:45:17 +0000

The provision of the Constitution giving the war-making power to Congress, was dictated, as I understand it, by the following reasons. Kings had always been involving and impoverishing their people in wars, pretending generally, if not always, that the good of the people was the object. This, our Convention understood to be the most oppressive of all Kingly oppressions; and they resolved to so frame the Constitution that no one man should hold the power of bringing this oppression upon us. But your view destroys the whole matter, and places our President where kings have always stood.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Letter (1848-02-15) to William H. Herndon
(Source)

Lincoln understood Herndon to be proposing that the President, on their own initiative and judgment, was entitled to preemptively invade another country to repel an anticipated invasion. Herndon felt this principle justified Polk's sending of troops into disputed territory, which led to the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), though Polk didn't justify his actions in that way.

Adams, John -- Letter (1776-01-08) to Mercy Otis Warren

Dave — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 17:08:14 +0000

However, it is the Part of a great Politician to make the Character of his People; to extinguish among them the Follies and Vices that he sees, and to create in them the Virtues and Abilities which he sees wanting. I wish I was sure that America has one such Politician, but I fear she has not.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1776-01-08) to Mercy Otis Warren
(Source)

Stevenson, Adlai -- Speech (1952-08-27), “The Nature of Patriotism,” American Legion Convention, Madison Square Garden, New York City

Dave — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 23:59:41 +0000

I am not sure that, historically, there has been another powerful nation that has been trusted as the United States is trusted today. It is something new under the sun when the proudest nations on earth have not only accepted American leadership in the common defense effort, but have also welcomed our troops and bases on their territory.

Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech (1952-08-27), “The Nature of Patriotism,” American Legion Convention, Madison Square Garden, New York City
(Source)

Berry, Wendell -- Essay (1970-01-01), “Compromise, Hell!” Orion Magazine

Dave — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 17:55:44 +0000

We Americans are not usually thought to be a submissive people, but of course we are. Why else would we allow our country to be destroyed? Why else would we be rewarding its destroyers? Why else would we all — by proxies we have given to greedy corporations and corrupt politicians — be participating in its destruction? Most of us are still too sane to piss in our own cistern, but we allow others to do so and we reward them for it. We reward them so well, in fact, that those who piss in our cistern are wealthier than the rest of us.

Wendell Berry (b. 1934) American farmer, educator, poet, conservationist
Essay (1970-01-01), “Compromise, Hell!” Orion Magazine
(Source)

Berry, Wendell -- Speech (2005-05-14), Commencement, Lindsey Wilson College, Columbia, Kentucky

Dave — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 17:05:11 +0000

We make war, we are told, for the love of peace. We subvert our Bill of Rights and impose our will abroad for the sake of freedom and the rule of law. We honor greed and waste with the name of economy. We allow ever greater wealth and power to accumulate in the hands of a privileged few only to provide jobs for working people and charity to the poor. And we sanctify all this as Christian, though the Gospels support none of it by so much as a line or a word.

Wendell Berry (b. 1934) American farmer, educator, poet, conservationist
Speech (2005-05-14), Commencement, Lindsey Wilson College, Columbia, Kentucky
(Source)

This was either excerpted from, or included in, his undated essay "Letter to Daniel Kemmis," collected in The Way of Ignorance and Other Essays, Part 2 (2005).

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Column (1947-10-29), “My Day”

Dave — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 15:37:29 +0000

In our country we must trust the people to hear and see both the good and the bad and to choose the good. The Un-American Activities Committee seems to me to be better for a police state than for the USA.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Column (1947-10-29), “My Day”
(Source)

Douglass, Frederick -- Speech (1886-04-16), “Strong to Suffer, and Yet Strong to Strive,” Israel Bethel Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C.

Dave — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 22:59:03 +0000

The American people have this lesson to learn: That where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.

Frederick Douglass (1817-1895) American abolitionist, orator, writer
Speech (1886-04-16), “Strong to Suffer, and Yet Strong to Strive,” Israel Bethel Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C.
(Source)

King, Martin Luther -- Essay (1968), “A Testament of Hope,” Playboy magazine (1969-01)

Dave — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 15:24:30 +0000

America has not yet changed because so many think it need not change, but this is the illusion of the damned.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
Essay (1968), “A Testament of Hope,” Playboy magazine (1969-01)
(Source)

Collected in James Melvin Washington (ed.), A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr., Part 3, ch. 48 (1986).

Douglass, Frederick -- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Appendix (1845)

Dave — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 17:51:28 +0000

I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ: I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity. I look upon it as the climax of all misnomers, the boldest of all frauds, and the grossest of all libels.

Frederick Douglass (1817-1895) American abolitionist, orator, writer
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Appendix (1845)
(Source)

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Column (1947-10-29), “My Day”

Dave — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 17:35:04 +0000

One thing is sure — none of the arts flourishes on censorship and repression. And by this time it should be evident that the American public is capable of doing its own censoring.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Column (1947-10-29), “My Day”
(Source)

Thompson, Hunter S. -- Kingdom of Fear, “Memo from the Sports Desk” (2003)

Dave — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 14:22:13 +0000

The real power in America is held by a fast-emerging new Oligarchy of pimps and preachers who see no need for Democracy or fairness or even trees, except maybe the ones in their own yards, and they don’t mind admitting it. They worship money and power and death. Their ideal solution to all the nation’s problems would be another 100 Year War.

Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005) American journalist, writer
Kingdom of Fear, “Memo from the Sports Desk” (2003)
(Source)

Bates, Katharine Lee -- Poem (1893), “America,” st. 2 (1904 ed.)

Dave — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 23:23:41 +0000

America! America!
God mend thine ev’ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.

Katharine Lee Bates (1859-1929) American writer and poet
Poem (1893), “America,” st. 2 (1904 ed.)
(Source)

This text was introduced in Bates' 1904 version of the song. It was not in the original version published in The Congregationalist, Vol. 80, No. 27 (1895-07-04); the end of stanza 2 originally ended:

America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till paths be wrought through wilds of thought
By pilgrim foot and knee!

For more information on the history of this poem and song, see America the Beautiful - Wikipedia.

Adams, John -- Letter (1776-07-03, a.m.) to Abigail Adams

Dave — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 21:11:40 +0000

Yesterday the greatest Question was decided, which ever was debated in America, and a greater perhaps, never was or will be decided among Men. A Resolution was passed without one dissenting Colony “that these united Colonies, are, and of right ought to be free and independent States, and as such, they have, and of Right ought to have full Power to make War, conclude Peace, establish Commerce, and to do all the other Acts and Things, which other States may rightfully do.” You will see in a few days a Declaration setting forth the Causes, which have impell’d Us to this mighty Revolution, and the Reasons which will justify it, in the Sight of God and Man. A Plan of Confederation will be taken up in a few days.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1776-07-03, a.m.) to Abigail Adams
(Source)

Independence was voted on and approved by the Continental Congress on 1776-07-02, and the final text of the justifying Declaration of Independence approved and signed on 1776-07-04. Adams was writing on the day in-between.

Rogers, Will -- Column (1926-10-17), “Weekly Article: Will Rogers Back in U. S. Wants To Hear About Your Vote” [No. 201]

Dave — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 17:33:27 +0000

Then [President Coolidge] said he wished I had the time to go up into Canada and see what kind of deal I could make in the way of annexation, that Canada was just about on the verge of seeing the advantage of having a working connection with some live growing concern. […]
Now from what I can see, there don’t seem to be any demand in Canada to join in with us and be murdered or run over with us. They strike me as entirely too sane a nation to fit in our scheme of things down home. Why, you can still buy a drink without having to take a whole case, and can believe in Evolution. You can do both of these things and not be considered an Atheist up here.
They have the queerest ideas of what is right and wrong that way. Now I have no idea but what we could take them over and make a paying proposition out of them, for the country now is supplying about everything we use in the way of raw materials. But I hate to interrupt a friendship that has been going on now pretty steady since the battle of Lake Erie. You see they don’t owe us and they still think we are pretty good neighbors, so if we can just keep from annexing them, and keep from loaning them anything in the way of a government debt, why we ought to be friends for years to come. […]
What we need is some good country to annex us.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Column (1926-10-17), “Weekly Article: Will Rogers Back in U. S. Wants To Hear About Your Vote” [No. 201]
(Source)

Shorter versions of this are given in Bryan Sterling (ed.), Will Rogers Speaks (2023):

Stevenson, Adlai -- Speech (1955-04-11), “New China Policy” (radio address)

Dave — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 22:04:19 +0000

I know some politicians who tell us that we don’t need allies. Life would certainly be much simpler if that were so, for our friends can be highly irritating. But it is not so.

Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech (1955-04-11), “New China Policy” (radio address)
(Source)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Lecture (1873-12) “Individuality,” Chicago Free Religious Society

Dave — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 15:24:30 +0000

To Paine, Jefferson, and Franklin, are we indebted, more than to all others, for a human government, and for a Constitution in which no God is recognized superior to the legally expressed will of the people.
They knew that to put God in the Constitution was to put man out. They knew that the recognition of a Deity would be seized upon by fanatics and zealots as a pretext for destroying the liberty of thought. They knew the terrible history of the church too well to place in her keeping, or in the keeping of her God, the sacred rights of man. They intended that all should have the right to worship, or not to worship; that our laws should make no distinction on account of creed. They intended to found and frame a government for man, and for man alone. They wished to preserve the individuality and liberty of all; to prevent the few from governing the many, and the many from persecuting and destroying the few.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Lecture (1873-12) “Individuality,” Chicago Free Religious Society
(Source)

Full title "Arraignment of the Church and a Plea for Individuality." Collected in The Gods and Other Lectures (1876).

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1941-03-29), Jackson Day Radio Broadcast, U.S.S. Potomac

Dave — Thu, 08 May 2025 19:59:41 +0000

All of the great freedoms which form the basis of our American democracy are part and parcel of that concept of free elections, with free expression of political choice between candidates of political parties. For such elections guarantee that there can be no possibility of stifling freedom of speech, freedom of the press and the air, freedom of worship.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Speech (1941-03-29), Jackson Day Radio Broadcast, U.S.S. Potomac
(Source)

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1941-03-29), Jackson Day Radio Broadcast, U.S.S. Potomac

Dave — Thu, 01 May 2025 15:47:38 +0000

In our country, disagreements among us are expressed in the polling place. In the dictatorships, disagreements are suppressed in the concentration camp.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Speech (1941-03-29), Jackson Day Radio Broadcast, U.S.S. Potomac
(Source)

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1941-03-29), Jackson Day Radio Broadcast, U.S.S. Potomac

Dave — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 23:30:32 +0000

The dictators cannot seem to realize that here in America our people can maintain two parties, and at the same time maintain an inviolate and indivisible Nation. The totalitarian mentality is too narrow to comprehend the greatness of a people who can be divided in party allegiance at election time, but remain united in devotion to their country and to the ideals of democracy at all times.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Speech (1941-03-29), Jackson Day Radio Broadcast, U.S.S. Potomac
(Source)

Ferber, Edna -- Cimarron, ch. 23 [Sabra] (1930)

Dave — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 22:51:59 +0000

If American politics are too dirty for women to take part in, there’s something wrong with American politics.

Edna Ferber (1886-1968) American author and playwright
Cimarron, ch. 23 [Sabra] (1930)
(Source)

The book is set in the late 19th Century.

Arendt, Hannah -- Interview (1973-10) with Roger Errera, Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF)

Dave — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 23:20:11 +0000

The [American] Founding Fathers never believed that tyranny could arise out of the executive office, because they did not see this office in any different light but as the execution of what the legislation has decreed in various forms. I leave it at that. We know today that the greatest danger of tyranny is, of course, the executive.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Interview (1973-10) with Roger Errera, Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF)

Arendt was referring specifically to the Watergate Scandal and Nixon's abuse of power.

Parts of this interview were turned into an episode of the French TV series "Un certain regard," directed by Jean-Claude Lubtchansky, first broadcast 1974-07-06. (Source (Video))

Rogers, Will -- Essay (1928-05-12), “More Letters from a Self-Made Diplomat to His President,” Saturday Evening Post, Vol. 200, No. 46

Dave — Fri, 21 Mar 2025 19:32:22 +0000

So we started in to pay some attention to our neighbors to the south. Up to now our calling card to Mexico or Central America had been a gunboat or a bunch of Violets shaped like Marines. We could never understand why Mexico wasent just crazy about us; for we always had their good-will, and Oil and coffee and minerals, at heart.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Essay (1928-05-12), “More Letters from a Self-Made Diplomat to His President,” Saturday Evening Post, Vol. 200, No. 46
(Source)

Excerpted in Donald Day (ed.), The Autobiography of Will Rogers, ch. 14 (1949), which indicates Rogers' trip to Mexico was in December 1927. The text there is the same except at the very beginning, where it reads "We've started in to pay ..."

Shortened variant:

I see where we are starting to pay some attention to our neighbors to the south. We could never understand why Mexico wasn't just crazy about us, for we have always had their good will, and oil and minerals, at heart.

Lincoln, Abraham -- Speech (1863-11-19), “Dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg [Gettysburg Address],” Pennsylvania

Dave — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 23:02:11 +0000

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Speech (1863-11-19), “Dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg [Gettysburg Address],” Pennsylvania
(Source)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Speech (1876-07-04), “Centennial Oration [The Declaration of Independence],” Peoria, Illinois

Dave — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 19:56:51 +0000

Seven long years of war — fighting for what? For the principle that all men are created equal — a truth that nobody ever disputed except a scoundrel; nobody, nobody in the entire history of this world. No man ever denied that truth who was not a rascal, and at heart a thief; never, never, and never will. What else were they fighting for? Simply that in America every man should have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Nobody ever denied that except a villain; never, never. It has been denied by kings — they were thieves. It has been denied by statesmen — they were liars. It has been denied by priests, by clergymen, by cardinals, by bishops, and by popes — they were hypocrites.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Speech (1876-07-04), “Centennial Oration [The Declaration of Independence],” Peoria, Illinois
(Source)

Baldwin, James -- The Fire Next Time, “My Dungeon Shook” (1963)

Dave — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 17:54:06 +0000

This innocent country set you down in a ghetto in which, in fact, it intended that you should perish. Let me spell out precisely what I mean by that, for the heart of the matter is here, and the root of my dispute with my country. You were born where you were born and faced the future that you faced because you were black and for no other reason. The limits of your ambition were, thus, expected to be set forever. You were born into a society which spelled out with brutal clarity, and in as many ways as possible, that you were a worthless human being. You were not expected to aspire to excellence: you were expected to make peace with mediocrity.

James Baldwin (1924-1987) American novelist, playwright, activist
The Fire Next Time, “My Dungeon Shook” (1963)
(Source)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Speech (1876-07-04), “Centennial Oration [The Declaration of Independence],” Peoria, Illinois

Dave — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 16:08:22 +0000

So our fathers said: “We will form a secular government, and under the flag with which we are going to enrich the air, we will allow every man to worship God as he thinks best.” They said: “Religion is an individual thing between each man and his creator, and he can worship as he pleases and as he desires.” And why did they do this? The history of the world warned them that the liberty of man was not safe in the clutch and grasp of any church. They had read of and seen the thumbscrews, the racks, and the dungeons of the Inquisition. They knew all about the hypocrisy of the olden time. They knew that the church had stood side by side with the throne; that the high priests were hypocrites, and that the kings were robbers. They also knew that if they gave power to any church, it would corrupt the best church in the world. And so they said that power must not reside in a church, or in a sect, but power must be wherever humanity is — in the great body of the people.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Speech (1876-07-04), “Centennial Oration [The Declaration of Independence],” Peoria, Illinois
(Source)

Carlyle, Thomas -- Essay (1850-02-01), “The Present Time,” Latter-Day Pamphlets, No. 1

Dave — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 20:36:32 +0000

My friend, brag not yet of our American cousins! Their quantity of cotton, dollars, industry and resources, I believe to be almost unspeakable; but I can by no means worship the like of these. What great human soul, what great thought, what great noble thing that one could worship, or loyally admire, has yet been produced there? None: the American cousins have yet done none of these things.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Essay (1850-02-01), “The Present Time,” Latter-Day Pamphlets, No. 1
(Source)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Speech (1876-07-04), “Centennial Oration [The Declaration of Independence],” Peoria, Illinois

Dave — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 17:32:17 +0000

Our fathers founded the first secular government that was ever founded in this world. Recollect that. The first secular government; the first government that said every church has exactly the same rights and no more; every religion has the same rights, and no more. In other words, our fathers were the first men who had the sense, had the genius, to know that no church should be allowed to have a sword; that it should be allowed only to exert its moral influence.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Speech (1876-07-04), “Centennial Oration [The Declaration of Independence],” Peoria, Illinois
(Source)

Rogers, Will -- Column (1930-04-07), “Daily Telegram”

Dave — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 21:30:56 +0000

That’s the characteristic of our country. We can get all lathering at the time over some political campaign promise, or some conference pledge, but if the thing just drags along long enough we forget what it was that originally promised. The short memories of the American voters is what keeps our politicians in office.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Column (1930-04-07), “Daily Telegram”
(Source)

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1965-01-20), Inaugural Address, Washington, D. C.

Dave — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 15:24:12 +0000

Justice requires us to remember that when any citizen denies his fellow, saying, “His color is not mine,” or “His beliefs are strange and different,” in that moment he betrays America, though his forebears created this Nation.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Speech (1965-01-20), Inaugural Address, Washington, D. C.
(Source)

This is in the formal text of the speech, delivered at the US Capitol building, but a review of the videos (1, 2, 3) shows this as part of a large section of the speech he skipped (from the end of the "AMERICAN COVENANT" section directly to the "AMERICAN BELIEF" section).

Wallace, Henry -- “The Danger of American Fascism,” New York Times (1944-04-09)

Dave — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 14:52:16 +0000

The American fascists are most easily recognized by their deliberate perversion of truth and fact. Their newspapers and propaganda carefully cultivate every fissure of disunity, every crack in the common front against fascism. They use every opportunity to impugn democracy. They use isolationism as a slogan to conceal their own selfish imperialism. They cultivate hate and distrust of both Britain and Russia. They claim to be superpatriots, but they would destroy every liberty guaranteed by the Constitution. They demand free enterprise, but are the spokesmen for monopoly and vested interest. Their final objective toward which all their deceit is directed is to capture political power so that, using the power of the state and the power of the market simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjection.

Henry Wallace (1888-1965) American politician, journalist, farmer, businessman
“The Danger of American Fascism,” New York Times (1944-04-09)
(Source)

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1965-01-20), Inaugural Address, Washington, D. C.

Dave — Fri, 25 Oct 2024 17:45:23 +0000

In a land of great wealth, families must not live in hopeless poverty. In a land rich in harvest, children just must not go hungry. In a land of healing miracles, neighbors must not suffer and die untended. In a great land of learning and scholars, young people must be taught to read and write.

Jacobs, Jane -- The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Part 4, ch. 22 (1961)

Dave — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 22:26:47 +0000

There are dangers in sentimentalizing nature. Most sentimental ideas imply, at bottom, a deep if unacknowledged disrespect. It is no accident that we Americans, probably the world’s champion sentimentalizers about nature, are at one and the same time probably the world’s most voracious and disrespectful destroyers of wild and rural countryside.

Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) American-Canadian journalist, author, urban theorist, activist
The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Part 4, ch. 22 (1961)
(Source)

Smith, Sydney -- Edinburgh Review, No. 65, Article 3 (1820-01)

Dave — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 22:30:33 +0000

In the four quarters of the globe, who reads an American book? Or goes to an American play? or looks at an American picture or statue? What does the world yet owe to American physicians or surgeons? What new substances have their chemists discovered? Or what old ones have they advanced? What new constellations have been discovered by the telescopes of Americans? Who drinks out of American glasses? Or eats from American plates? Or wears American coats or gowns? or sleeps in American blankets? Finally, under which of the old tyrannical governments of Europe is every sixth man a slave, whom his fellow-creatures may buy and sell and torture?

Sydney Smith (1771-1845) English clergyman, essayist, wit
Edinburgh Review, No. 65, Article 3 (1820-01)
(Source)

Review of Adam Seybert, Statistical Annals of the United States of America (1818).

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1964-05-22), Graduation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Dave — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 16:45:54 +0000

The purpose of protecting the life of our Nation and preserving the liberty of our citizens is to pursue the happiness of our people. Our success in that pursuit is the test of our success as a Nation.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Speech (1964-05-22), Graduation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
(Source)

Introducing his new Great Society policy agenda. See Jefferson.

Clinton, Bill -- Speech (1993-01-20), Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.

Dave — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 13:24:14 +0000

Our Founders saw themselves in the light of posterity. We can do no less. Anyone who has ever watched a child’s eyes wander into sleep knows what posterity is. Posterity is the world to come; the world for whom we hold our ideals, from whom we have borrowed our planet, and to whom we bear sacred responsibility.

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. 1946) American politician, US President (1993-2001)
Speech (1993-01-20), Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.
(Source)

Rogers, Will -- Article (1928-05-26), “Letter of a Self-Made Diplomat to His President,” Saturday Evening Post

Dave — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 15:33:50 +0000

What is Tradition? It’s the thing we laugh at the English for having, and we beat them practicing it.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Article (1928-05-26), “Letter of a Self-Made Diplomat to His President,” Saturday Evening Post
(Source)

Collected in More Letters of a Self-Made Diplomat to His President (1928) [ed. Steven Gragert].

Barzun, Jacques -- God’s Country and Mine, Part 2, ch. 8 (1954)

Dave — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 20:29:08 +0000

Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball, the rules and realities of the game — and do it by watching first some high school or small-town teams.

Jacques Barzun (1907-2012) French-American historian, educator, polymath
God’s Country and Mine, Part 2, ch. 8 (1954)
(Source)

Jacobs, Jane -- “No Virtue in Meek Conformity” (1952)

Dave — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 00:05:08 +0000

I do not think military readiness, in itself, will defeat Communism. I do not think we can consider the job finished with that. I think it buys us time to do the bigger job. We must demonstrate that it is possible to overcome poverty, misery and decay by democratic means, and that we must ourselves believe, and must show others, that our American tradition of the dignity and liberty of the individual is not a luxury for easy times but is the basic source of strength and security of a successful society.

Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) American-Canadian journalist, author, urban theorist, activist
“No Virtue in Meek Conformity” (1952)
(Source)

Foreword to her response to a State Department Loyalty Security Board interrogatory (1952-03-25). Reprinted in Vital Little Plans (2016).

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1965-03-15), “The American Promise,” Joint Session of Congress [43:30]

Dave — Sat, 13 Jan 2024 00:02:39 +0000

This is the richest and most powerful country which ever occupied the globe. The might of past empires is little compared to ours. But I do not want to be the President who built empires, or sought grandeur, or extended dominion.
I want to be the President who educated young children to the wonders of their world.
I want to be the President who helped to feed the hungry and to prepare them to be taxpayers instead of tax-eaters.
I want to be the President who helped the poor to find their own way and who protected the right of every citizen to vote in every election.
I want to be the President who helped to end hatred among his fellow men and who promoted love among the people of all races and all regions and all parties.
I want to be the President who helped to end war among the brothers of this earth.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Speech (1965-03-15), “The American Promise,” Joint Session of Congress [43:30]
(Source)

A nationally broadcast address, introducing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Jacobs, Jane -- “No Virtue in Meek Conformity” (1952)

Dave — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 19:39:24 +0000

I was brought up to believe that there is no virtue in conforming meekly to the dominant opinion of the moment. I was encouraged to believe that simple conformity results in stagnation for a society, and that American progress has been largely owing to the opportunity for experimentation, the leeway given initiative, and to a gusto and a freedom for chewing over odd ideas. I was taught that the American’s right to be a free individual, not at the mercy of the state, was hard-won and that its price was eternal vigilance, and that I too would have to be vigilant. I was made to feel that it would be a disgrace to me, as an individual, if I should not value or should give up rights that were dearly bought.

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1965-03-15), “The American Promise,” Joint Session of Congress [11:51]

Dave — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 19:34:36 +0000

Many of the issues of civil rights are very complex and most difficult. But about this there can and should be no argument. Every American citizen must have an equal right to vote. There is no reason which can excuse the denial of that right. There is no duty which weighs more heavily on us than the duty we have to ensure that right.
Yet the harsh fact is that in many places in this country men and women are kept from voting simply because they are Negroes.
Every device of which human ingenuity is capable has been used to deny this right. The Negro citizen may go to register only to be told that the day is wrong, or the hour is late, or the official in charge is absent. And if he persists, and if he manages to present himself to the registrar, he may be disqualified because he did not spell out his middle name or because he abbreviated a word on the application.
And if he manages to fill out an application he is given a test. The registrar is the sole judge of whether he passes this test. He may be asked to recite the entire Constitution, or explain the most complex provisions of State law. And even a college degree cannot be used to prove that he can read and write.
For the fact is that the only way to pass these barriers is to show a white skin.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Speech (1965-03-15), “The American Promise,” Joint Session of Congress [11:51]
(Source)

A nationally broadcast address, introducing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1965-03-15), “The American Promise,” Joint Session of Congress [07:41]

Dave — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 20:10:44 +0000

There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem. And we are met here tonight as Americans — not as Democrats or Republicans — we are met here as Americans to solve that problem.
This was the first nation in the history of the world to be founded with a purpose. The great phrases of that purpose still sound in every American heart, North and South: “All men are created equal” — “government by consent of the governed” — “give me liberty or give me death.” Well, those are not just clever words, or those are not just empty theories. In their name Americans have fought and died for two centuries, and tonight around the world they stand there as guardians of our liberty, risking their lives.
Those words are a promise to every citizen that he shall share in the dignity of man. This dignity cannot be found in a man’s possessions; it cannot be found in his power, or in his position. It really rests on his right to be treated as a man equal in opportunity to all others. It says that he shall share in freedom, he shall choose his leaders, educate his children, and provide for his family according to his ability and his merits as a human being.
To apply any other test — to deny a man his hopes because of his color or race, his religion or the place of his birth — is not only to do injustice, it is to deny America and to dishonor the dead who gave their lives for American freedom.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Speech (1965-03-15), “The American Promise,” Joint Session of Congress [07:41]
(Source)

A nationally broadcast address, introducing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Twain, Mark -- Following the Equator, ch. 20, Epigraph (1897)

Dave — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 20:58:26 +0000

It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to exercise either of them.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Following the Equator, ch. 20, Epigraph (1897)
(Source)

Cited as from Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar. Sometimes misquoted "... never to practice either."

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1965-03-15), “The American Promise,” Joint Session of Congress [06:27]

Dave — Fri, 08 Dec 2023 20:20:17 +0000

In our time we have come to live with moments of great crisis. Our lives have been marked with debate about great issues; issues of war and peace, issues of prosperity and depression. But rarely in any time does an issue lay bare the secret heart of America itself. Rarely are we met with a challenge, not to our growth or abundance, our welfare or our security, but rather to the values and the purposes and the meaning of our beloved Nation.
The issue of equal rights for American Negroes is such an issue. And should we defeat every enemy, should we double our wealth and conquer the stars, and still be unequal to this issue, then we will have failed as a people and as a nation.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Speech (1965-03-15), “The American Promise,” Joint Session of Congress [06:27]
(Source)

A nationally broadcast address, introducing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Cheever, Susan -- A Woman’s Life (1994)

Dave — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 14:02:40 +0000

The actual American childhood is less Norman Rockwell and Walt Disney than Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe.

Susan Cheever (b. 1943) American writer, memoirist
A Woman’s Life (1994)
(Source)

Mauldin, Bill -- Back Home, ch. 14 (1947)

Dave — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 18:44:29 +0000

I have heard people say we should be strong so that if there is another war we can win it, then show the world the right way to live afterward. This is old stuff, and it is poppycock. Our behavior hardly qualifies us as world leaders. Ours is one of the most conservative governments in the world today, and one of the most bumbling. We have more provincialism and bigotry and superstition and prejudice per square mile than almost any other nation. We like to think of ourselves as a young, progressive country, but, while we do have energy, we have become smug and self-satisfied.

Bill Mauldin (1921-2003) American editorial cartoonist, writer
Back Home, ch. 14 (1947)
(Source)

Truman, Harry S -- Speech, National Archives (1952-12-15)

Dave — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 05:30:22 +0000

The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence can live only as long as they are enshrined in our hearts and minds. If they are not so enshrined, they would be no better than mummies in their glass cases, and they could in time become idols whose worship would be a grim mockery of the true faith. Only as these documents are reflected in the thoughts and acts of Americans can they remain symbols of a power that can move the world.

Harry S Truman (1884-1972) US President (1945-1953)
Speech, National Archives (1952-12-15)
(Source)

White, E. B. -- Letter to Stanley Hart White (1944-06)

Dave — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 14:27:19 +0000

I am beginning to feel a little more like an author now that I have had a book banned. The literary life, in this country, begins in jail.

E. B. White (1899-1985) American author, critic, humorist [Elwyn Brooks White]
Letter to Stanley Hart White (1944-06)
(Source)

On reading that the US Army and Navy had refused to publish an "Armed Services Edition" of his Harper's magazine essay collection, One Man's Meat (1942), for "political implications." The decision was later rescinded.

Faulkner, William -- “The Art of Fiction,” Interview by Jean Stein, Paris Review #12 (Spring 1956)

Dave — Mon, 14 Aug 2023 20:05:59 +0000

Maybe the purpose of this sorry and tragic error committed in my native Mississippi by two white adults on an afflicted Negro child is to prove to us whether or not we deserve to survive. Because if we in America have reached that point in our desperate culture when we must murder children, no matter for what reason or what color, we don’t deserve to survive, and probably won’t.

William Faulkner (1897-1962) American novelist
“The Art of Fiction,” Interview by Jean Stein, Paris Review #12 (Spring 1956)
(Source)

Regarding the Emmett Till murder.

Kennedy, John F. -- Speech, Centennial Celebration, University of Washington, Seattle (1961-11-16)

Dave — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 17:39:57 +0000

We are neither “warmongers” nor “appeasers,” neither “hard” nor “soft.” We are Americans, determined to defend the frontiers of freedom, by an honorable peace if peace is possible, but by arms if arms are used against us. And if we are to move forward in that spirit, we shall need all the calm and thoughtful citizens that this great University can produce, all the light they can shed, all the wisdom they can bring to bear. It is customary, both here and around the world, to regard life in the United States as easy. Our advantages are many. But more than any other people on earth, we bear burdens and accept risks unprecedented in their size and their duration, not for ourselves alone but for all who wish to be free.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Speech, Centennial Celebration, University of Washington, Seattle (1961-11-16)
(Source)

Child, Lydia Maria -- Speech, Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society 25th Anniversary Conference (1857)

Dave — Tue, 23 May 2023 19:08:40 +0000

The United States is not a beacon, not a light of freedom! She is a warning, rather than an example to the world!

Lydia Maria Child (1802-1880) American abolitionist, activist, journalist, suffragist
Speech, Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society 25th Anniversary Conference (1857)
(Source)

On slavery in the US, two months before the Dredd Scott decision.

Almost always elided as "The United States ... is a warning, rather than example to the world."

Rogers, Will -- Radio broadcast (1935-06-09)

Dave — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 15:15:26 +0000

In this country, people don’t vote for, they vote against.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Radio broadcast (1935-06-09)
(Source)

Einstein, Albert -- Speech, Lincoln University, Pennsylvania (3 May 1946)

Dave — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 19:05:39 +0000

There is a separation of colored people from white people in the United States. That separation is not a disease of colored people. It is a disease of white people. I do not intend to be quiet about it.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-American physicist
Speech, Lincoln University, Pennsylvania (3 May 1946)
(Source)

As reported in the the Baltimore Afro-American (11 May 1946). There was essentially no mainstream (white) press coverage of his visit to the Black college, or transcript of his ten minutes of remarks. No copy of his speech or notes has been found.

Sometimes paraphrased, "The separation of races is not a disease of ...."

Rogers, Will -- Article (1932-02-27), “Letter of a Self-Made Diplomat to His President,” Saturday Evening Post

Dave — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 18:54:27 +0000

It always will seem funny to us United Staters that we are about the only ones that really know how to do everything right. I don’t know how a lot of these other Nations have existed as long as they have till we could get some of our people around and show ’em really how to be Pure and Good like us.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Article (1932-02-27), “Letter of a Self-Made Diplomat to His President,” Saturday Evening Post
(Source)

Collected in More Letters of a Self-Made Diplomat to His President (1928) [ed. Steven Gragert].

Herzog, Werner -- (Spurious)

Dave — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 20:44:18 +0000

Dear America: You are waking up as Germany once did, to the awareness that 1/3 of your people would kill another 1/3, while 1/3 watches.

Werner Herzog (b. 1942) German film director, screenwriter, author, actor
(Spurious)

Though frequently showing up in social media attributed to Herzog, this was first published by the @wernertwertzog Twitter parody account (23 Aug 2017). The account is operated by William Pannapacker, American literature professor at Hope College, Holland, Michigan.

More information about this quotation:

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- Essay (1948-10), “An Open Letter to America’s Students,” Reader’s Digest

Dave — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 06:12:04 +0000

Never let yourself be persuaded that any one Great Man, any one leader, is necessary to the salvation of America. When America consists of one leader and 143,000,000 followers, it will no longer be America. Truly American leadership is not of any one man. It is of multitudes of men — and women.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) American general, US President (1953-61)
Essay (1948-10), “An Open Letter to America’s Students,” Reader’s Digest
(Source)

The quote can be found (without citation) in different locations with various numbers for the US population.

The letter was written while Eisenhower was President of Columbia University.

Van Dyke, Henry -- “America’s Prosperity” (1 Oct 1916), The Red Flower: Poems Written in War Time (1917)

Dave — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 14:55:46 +0000

They tell me thou art rich, my country: gold
In glittering flood has poured into thy chest;
Thy flocks and herds increase, thy barns are pressed
With harvest, and thy stores can hardly hold
Their merchandise; unending trains are rolled
Along thy network rails of East and West;
Thy factories and forges never rest;
Thou art enriched in all things bought and sold!

But dost thou prosper? Better news I crave.
O dearest country, is it well with thee
Indeed, and is thy soul in health?
A nobler people, hearts more wisely brave,
And thoughts that lift men up and make them free, —
These are prosperity and vital wealth!

Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933) American clergyman and writer
“America’s Prosperity” (1 Oct 1916), The Red Flower: Poems Written in War Time (1917)
(Source)

Todorov, Tzvetan -- The New World Disorder: Reflections of a European, ch. 3 (2005)

Dave — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 18:56:32 +0000

American society has always exercised a stronger pressure on individual behavior than Western European societies; but in time of war this pressure is notched a few degrees, and starts to become quite alarming.

Tzvetan Todorov (1939-2017) Bulgarian-French historian, philosopher, literary critic, sociologist
The New World Disorder: Reflections of a European, ch. 3 (2005)
(Source)

Commager, Henry Steele -- Interview (1970-02) by John A. Garraty, “American Nationalism,” Interpreting American History: Conversations with Historians, Part 1, ch. 4 (1970)

Dave — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 17:33:36 +0000

We should not be surprised that the Founding Fathers didn’t foresee everything, when we see that the current Fathers hardly ever foresee anything.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Interview (1970-02) by John A. Garraty, “American Nationalism,” Interpreting American History: Conversations with Historians, Part 1, ch. 4 (1970)
(Source)

Excerpted in "Conversations with Historians," American Heritage magazine (1970-02).

Halsey, Margaret -- The Folks at Home, “The Five O’Clock Shadow over the United States” (1952)

Dave — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 16:09:19 +0000

The crucial disadvantage of aggression, competitiveness, and skepticism as national characteristics is that these qualities cannot be turned off at five o’clock.

Margaret Halsey (1910-1997) American writer
The Folks at Home, “The Five O’Clock Shadow over the United States” (1952)
(Source)

Commager, Henry Steele -- Essay (1947-00), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 4, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168

Dave — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 15:56:38 +0000

[Loyalty] is a tradition, an ideal, and a principle. It is a willingness to subordinate every private advantage for the larger good. It is an appreciation of the rich and diverse contributions that can come from the most varied sources. It is allegiance to the traditions that have guided our greatest statesmen and inspired our most eloquent poets — the traditions of freedom, equality, democracy, tolerance, the tradition of the higher law, of experimentation, co-operation, and pluralism. It is a realization that America was born of revolt, flourished on dissent, became great through experimentation.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1947-00), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 4, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168
(Source)

Reprinted in Freedom, Loyalty, Dissent (1954).

Commager, Henry Steele -- “Who Is Loyal to America?” Harper’s Magazine #1168 (Sep 1947)

Dave — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 21:09:57 +0000

We should not forget that our tradition is one of protest and revolt, and it is stultifying to celebrate the rebels of the past — Jefferson and Paine, Emerson and Thoreau — while we silence the rebels of the present.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
“Who Is Loyal to America?” Harper’s Magazine #1168 (Sep 1947)
(Source)

Reprinted in Freedom, Loyalty, Dissent (1954).

Hertzberg, Hendrik -- “Antidisestablishmentarianism,” The New Republic (1985-09-16)

Dave — Fri, 21 Jan 2022 19:12:37 +0000

Where is it written that if you don’t like religion you are somehow disqualified from being a legitimate American? What was Mark Twain, a Russian?

Hendrik Hertzberg (b. 1943) American journalist, editor, speech writer, political commentator
“Antidisestablishmentarianism,” The New Republic (1985-09-16)
(Source)

Reprinted in Politics: Observations and Arguments, 1966-2004 (2005). Responding to a speech from William Bennett, Secretary of Education, about liberals having an "aversion to religion," thus requiring government promotion of "Judeo-Christian tradition."

Commager, Henry Steele -- “Who Is Loyal to America?” Harper’s Magazine #1168 (Sep 1947)

Dave — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 14:50:59 +0000

Independence was an act of revolution; republicanism was something new under the sun; the federal system was a vast experimental laboratory. Physically Americans were pioneers; in the realm of social and economic institutions, too, their tradition has been one of pioneering. From the beginning, intellectual and spiritual diversity have been as characteristic of America as racial and linguistic. The most distinctively American philosophies have been transcendentalism — which is the philosophy of the Higher Law — and pragmatism — which is the philosophy of experimentation and pluralism. These two principles are the very core of Americanism: the principle of the Higher Law, or of obedience to the dictates of conscience rather than of statutes, and the principle of pragmatism, or the rejection of a single good and of the notion of a finished universe. From the beginning Americans have known that there were new worlds to conquer, new truths to be discovered. Every effort to confine Americanism to a single pattern, to constrain it to a single formula, is disloyalty to everything that is valid in Americanism.

Commager, Henry Steele -- Essay (1947-09), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 3, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168

Dave — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 15:25:55 +0000

Who are those who are really disloyal? Those who inflame racial hatreds, who sow religious and class dissensions. Those who subvert the Constitution by violating the freedom of the ballot box. Those who make a mockery of majority rule by the use of the filibuster. Those who impair democracy by denying equal educational facilities. Those who frustrate justice by lynch law or by making a farce of jury trials. Those who deny freedom of speech and of the press and of assembly. Those who press for special favors against the interest of the commonwealth. Those who regard public office as a source of private gain. Those who would exalt the military over the civil. Those who for selfish and private purposes stir up national antagonisms and expose the world to the ruin of war.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1947-09), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 3, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168
(Source)

Regarding disloyalty tests and loyalty oaths. Reprinted in Freedom, Loyalty, Dissent (1954).

Commager, Henry Steele -- Essay (1947-07), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 2, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168

Dave — Wed, 29 Dec 2021 21:29:05 +0000

Who among American heroes could meet their tests, who would be cleared by their committees? Not Washington, who was a rebel. Not Jefferson, who wrote that all men are created equal and whose motto was “rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.” Not Garrison, who publicly burned the Constitution; or Wendell Phillips, who spoke for the underprivileged everywhere and counted himself a philosophical anarchist; not Seward of the Higher Law or Sumner of racial equality. Not Lincoln, who admonished us to have malice toward none, charity for all; or Wilson, who warned that our flag was “a flag of liberty of opinion as well as of political liberty”; or Justice Holmes, who said that our Constitution is an experiment and that while that experiment is being made “we should be eternally vigilant against attempts to check the expression of opinions that we loathe and believe to be fraught with death.”

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1947-07), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 2, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168
(Source)

Reprinted in Freedom, Loyalty, Dissent (1954)

Commager, Henry Steele -- Essay (1947-09), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 1, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168

Dave — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 20:54:58 +0000

What is the new loyalty? It is, above all, conformity. It is the uncritical and unquestioning acceptance of America as it is — the political institutions, the social relationships, the economic practices. It rejects inquiry into the race question or socialized medicine, or public housing, or into the wisdom or validity of our foreign policy. It regards as particularly heinous any challenge to what is called “the system of private enterprise,” identifying that system with Americanism. It abandons evolution, repudiates the once popular concept of progress, and regards America as a finished product, perfect and complete.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1947-09), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 1, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168
(Source)

Reprinted in Freedom, Loyalty, Dissent (1954).

Snyder, Timothy -- On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, ch. 18 (2017)

Dave — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 13:36:54 +0000

Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come. They will need it.

Timothy Snyder (b. 1969) American historian, author
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, ch. 18 (2017)
(Source)

Reeves, Richard V. -- “Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich,” New York Times (10 Jun 2017)

Dave — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 20:16:56 +0000

I see now that English class consciousness has an important silver lining. At least there we know that class is a real fact of social life. Posh Brits are more likely to see that their position is at least in part the result of good fortune. For Americans to solve the problem of their deepening class divisions, we will have to start by admitting their existence and our complicity in maintaining them. We need to raise our consciousness about class. And yes, I am looking at you.

Richard V. Reeves (b. 1969) British historian, journalist, political theorist
“Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich,” New York Times (10 Jun 2017)
(Source)

Loofbourow, Lili -- “This Is America,” Slate (19 Aug 2018)

Dave — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 16:56:24 +0000

The problem isn’t that our national character is too invested in civility. It’s that a certain segment of our population is desperate to be freed from it.

Lili Loofbourow (contemp.) American essayist, critic, author
“This Is America,” Slate (19 Aug 2018)
(Source)

Fussell, Paul -- “The Initial Shock,” Interview by Sheldon Hackney, Humanities (Nov/Dec 1996)

Dave — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 19:06:06 +0000

I’m a pacifist about certain things. I’m a pacifist in the way I define national interest. I use this example frequently: If the Mexicans decided to cross the Texas border with firearms, I would be down there in a moment with a rifle and a whistle to direct the troops to repel them. If the United States is attacked, I will defend it. My problem is the United States’ defending the interests of the Union Oil Company or the United Fruit Company. Those are not American interests. They’re private-money interests, and that bothers me a great deal.

Paul Fussell (1924-2012) American cultural and literary historian, author, academic
“The Initial Shock,” Interview by Sheldon Hackney, Humanities (Nov/Dec 1996)
(Source)

Reeves, Richard V. -- “Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich,” New York Times (10 Jun 2017)

Dave — Thu, 27 May 2021 16:18:27 +0000

Imagine my horror at discovering that the United States is more calcified by class than Britain, especially toward the top. The big difference is that most of the people on the highest rung in America are in denial about their privilege. The American myth of meritocracy allows them to attribute their position to their brilliance and diligence, rather than to luck or a rigged system. At least posh people in England have the decency to feel guilty.

Richard V. Reeves (b. 1969) British historian, journalist, political theorist
“Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich,” New York Times (10 Jun 2017)
(Source)

Gordon-Reed, Annette -- “The Captive Aliens Who Remain Our Shame,” New York Review of Books (19 Jan 2017)

Dave — Mon, 24 May 2021 22:38:07 +0000

Americans today often speak of racial prejudice as a thing that simply exists — like air — with no nod to the actual work it takes to create and maintain systems based upon prejudice.

Annette Gordon-Reed (b. 1958) American historian, law professor, author
“The Captive Aliens Who Remain Our Shame,” New York Review of Books (19 Jan 2017)
(Source)

Lahr, John -- “Lives in Limbo,” The New Yorker (26 Mar 2012)

Dave — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 18:21:13 +0000

Envy is the gasoline on which American capitalism runs.

John Lahr (b. 1941) British-based American theater critic, author
“Lives in Limbo,” The New Yorker (26 Mar 2012)
(Source)

Steinbeck, John -- Essay (1960-06-01), “A Primer on the Thirties,” Esquire

Dave — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 22:03:56 +0000

Except for the field organizers of strikes, who were pretty tough monkeys and devoted, most of the so-called Communists I met were middle-class, middle-aged people playing a game of dreams. I remember a woman in easy circumstances saying to another even more affluent: “After the revolution even we will have more, won’t we, dear?” Then there was another lover of proletarians who used to raise hell with Sunday picnickers on her property.

I guess the trouble was that we didn’t have any self-admitted proletarians. Everyone was a temporarily embarrassed capitalist. Maybe the Communists so closely questioned by the investigation committees were a danger to America, but the ones I knew — at least they claimed to be Communists — couldn’t have disrupted a Sunday-school picnic. Besides they were too busy fighting among themselves.

John Steinbeck (1902-1968) American writer
Essay (1960-06-01), “A Primer on the Thirties,” Esquire
(Source)

Collected in Esquire: The Best of Forty Years (1973).

A portion of this was paraphrased in Ronald Wright, A Short History of Progress, ch. 5 "The Rebellion of the Tools" (2004):

John Steinbeck once said that socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.

That paraphrase has, in turn, been frequently given as a direct quotation of Steinbeck.

Hofstadter, Richard -- “The Paranoid Style in American Politics,” Herbert Spencer Lecture, Oxford (Nov 1963)

Dave — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 16:42:41 +0000

But the modern right wing, as Daniel Bell has put it, feels dispossessed: America has been largely taken away from them and their kind, though they are determined to try to repossess it and to prevent the final destructive act of subversion. The old American virtues have already been eaten away by cosmopolitans and intellectuals; the old competitive capitalism has been gradually undermined by socialistic and communistic schemers; the old national security and independence have been destroyed by treasonous plots, having as their most powerful agents not merely outsiders and foreigners as of old but major statesmen who are at the very centers of American power. Their predecessors had discovered conspiracies; the modern radical right finds conspiracy to be betrayal from on high.

Richard Hofstadter (1916-1970) American historian and intellectual
“The Paranoid Style in American Politics,” Herbert Spencer Lecture, Oxford (Nov 1963)
(Source)

Reprinted in Harpers (Nov 1964).

Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem -- “Don’t understand the protests? What you’re seeing is people pushed to the edge,” op-ed, Los Angeles Times (30 May 2020)

Dave — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 21:36:26 +0000

Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible — even if you’re choking on it — until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (b. 1947) American athlete [b. Lew Alcindor]
“Don’t understand the protests? What you’re seeing is people pushed to the edge,” op-ed, Los Angeles Times (30 May 2020)
(Source)

Baldwin, James -- Speech (1965-02-17), Opening Comments, “The American Dream is at the Expense of the American Negro,” debate with William F. Buckley, Jr., Cambridge University, England

Dave — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 18:10:56 +0000

It comes as a great shock around the age of 5, or 6, or 7, to discover that the flag to which you have pledged allegiance, along with everybody else, has not pledged allegiance to you.

James Baldwin (1924-1987) American novelist, playwright, activist
Speech (1965-02-17), Opening Comments, “The American Dream is at the Expense of the American Negro,” debate with William F. Buckley, Jr., Cambridge University, England
(Source)

(Source (Video))

Baldwin, James -- “Stranger in a Village,” Harper’s Magazine (Oct 1953)

Dave — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 00:47:42 +0000

At the root of the American Negro problem is the necessity of the American White man to find a way of living with the Negro in order to be able to live with himself.

James Baldwin (1924-1987) American novelist, playwright, activist
“Stranger in a Village,” Harper’s Magazine (Oct 1953)
(Source)

Reprinted in Notes of a Native Son (1955).

Goldberg, Natalie -- Wild Mind: Living the Writer’s Life, ch. 42 (1990)

Dave — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 19:06:59 +0000

Clarity and perseverance are difficult in American society because the basis of capitalism is greed and dissatisfaction.

Natalie Goldberg (b. 1948) American author, teacher, speaker
Wild Mind: Living the Writer’s Life, ch. 42 (1990)
(Source)

Sinclair, Upton -- Letter to Norman Thomas (25 Sep 1951)

Dave — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 15:15:15 +0000

The American People will take Socialism, but they won’t take the label. I certainly proved it in the case of EPIC. Running on the Socialist ticket I got 60,000 votes, and running on the slogan to “End Poverty in California” I got 879,000. I think we simply have to recognize the fact that our enemies have succeeded in spreading the Big Lie. There is no use attacking it by a front attack, it is much better to out-flank them.

Upton Sinclair (1878-1968) American writer, journalist, activist, politician
Letter to Norman Thomas (25 Sep 1951)
(Source)

Kennedy, Robert F. -- Statement on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Indianapolis (1968-04-04)

Dave — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 16:10:03 +0000

What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black.

Robert Francis Kennedy (1925-1968) American politician
Statement on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Indianapolis (1968-04-04)
(Source)

Polk, James K. -- Diary (1846-10-14 )

Dave — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 21:35:13 +0000

I told him that, thank God, under our constitution there was no connection between Church and State, and that in my action as President of the U.S. I recognized no distinction of creeds in my appointments to office.

James K. Polk (1795-1849) American lawyer, politician, US President (1845-1849)
Diary (1846-10-14 )
(Source)

Kempton, Murray -- Part of Our Time: Some Ruins & Monuments of the Thirties, ch. 8 (1955)

Dave — Fri, 26 Jun 2020 17:35:01 +0000

It is a measure of the Negro’s circumstance that, in America, the smallest things usually take him so very long, and that, by the time he wins them, they are no longer little things: they are miracles.

Murray Kempton (1917-1997) American journalist.
Part of Our Time: Some Ruins & Monuments of the Thirties, ch. 8 (1955)
(Source)

On the formation of the Pullman Porters union.

Sinclair, Upton -- Letter to John Reed (22 Oct 1918)

Dave — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 15:35:12 +0000

American capitalism is predatory, and American politics are corrupt: The same thing is true in England and the same in France; but in all these three countries the dominating fact is that whenever the people get ready to change the government, they can change it.

Upton Sinclair (1878-1968) American writer, journalist, activist, politician
Letter to John Reed (22 Oct 1918)
(Source)

Forster, E. M. -- “Impressions of America,” The Listener (4 Sep 1947)

Dave — Wed, 20 May 2020 15:53:05 +0000

America is rather like life. You can usually find in it what you look for.

E. M. Forster (1879-1970) English novelist, essayist, critic, librettist [Edward Morgan Forster]
“Impressions of America,” The Listener (4 Sep 1947)

Kopkind, Andrew -- “Are We in the Middle of a Revolution?” New York Times Magazine (10 Nov 1968)

Dave — Wed, 13 May 2020 20:43:53 +0000

The art of holding onto power is the American system’s special grace. The trick is to make reform seem so tantalizingly close as to dull the edge of militancy and force the purest revolutionaries into the peripheries of political action.

Andrew Kopkind (1935-1994) American journalist
“Are We in the Middle of a Revolution?” New York Times Magazine (10 Nov 1968)
(Source)

Pratchett, Terry -- Post, alt.fan.pratchett (1994-05-08)

Dave — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 16:46:56 +0000

That seems to point up a significant difference between Europeans and Americans:

A European says: I can’t understand this, what’s wrong with me?
An American says: I can’t understand this, what’s wrong with him?

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Post, alt.fan.pratchett (1994-05-08)
(Source)

Baldwin, James -- In “The Negro After Watts,” Time (27 Aug 1965)

Dave — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 18:17:25 +0000

To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.

James Baldwin (1924-1987) American novelist, playwright, activist
In “The Negro After Watts,” Time (27 Aug 1965)
(Source)

Article placed in the Congressional Record by Robert Byrd (24 Aug 1965).

Mull, Martin -- “20 Questions with Martin Mull,” Playboy (Apr 1984)

Dave — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 18:06:12 +0000

I believe there’s an intrinsic irreverence in the American psyche, and when something comes along that offers even an echo of that irreverence, people respond to it.

Martin Mull (b. 1943) American actor, comedian
“20 Questions with Martin Mull,” Playboy (Apr 1984)

King, Martin Luther -- “The Negro and the American Dream,” speech, North Carolina NAACP, Charlotte (1960-09-25)

Dave — Sat, 27 Jul 2019 02:02:15 +0000

It is a trite yet urgently true observation that if America is to remain a first-class nation, it cannot have second-class citizens.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
“The Negro and the American Dream,” speech, North Carolina NAACP, Charlotte (1960-09-25)
(Source)

King used this line in several of his speeches at the time.

Wharton, Edith -- French Ways and Their Meaning, ch. 4 “Intellectual Honesty” (1919)

Dave — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 00:49:22 +0000

What Mr. Howells said of the American theater is true of the whole American attitude toward life. “A tragedy with a happy ending” is exactly what the child wants before he goes to sleep: the reassurance that “all’s well with the world” as he lies in his cozy nursery. It is a good thing that the child should receive this reassurance; but as long as he needs it he remains a child, and the world he lives in is a nursery-world. Things are not always and everywhere well with the world, and each man has to find it out as he grows up. It is the finding out that makes him grow, and until he has faced the fact and digested the lesson he is not grown up — he is still in the nursery.

Edith Wharton (1862-1937) American novelist
French Ways and Their Meaning, ch. 4 “Intellectual Honesty” (1919)
(Source)

Commenting on William Dean Howells' comment to her on American taste in theater and drama: "What the American public wants is a tragedy with a happy ending."

King, Martin Luther -- Playboy interview (Jan 1965)

Dave — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 00:46:34 +0000

I’d be the first to say that some historical victories have been won by violence; the U.S. Revolution is certainly one of the foremost. But the Negro revolution is seeking integration, not independence. Those fighting for independence have the purpose to drive out the oppressors. But here in America, we’ve got to live together. We’ve got to find a way to reconcile ourselves to living in community, one group with the other. The struggle of the Negro in America, to be successful, must be waged with resolute efforts, but efforts that are kept strictly within the framework of our democratic society. This means reaching, educating and moving large enough groups of people of both races to stir the conscience of the nation.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
Playboy interview (Jan 1965)
(Source)

Frost, Robert -- Comment, “Meet the Press” (22 Mar 1959)

Dave — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 18:37:14 +0000

We’re like a rich father who wishes he knew how to give his son the hardships that made the father such a man.

Robert Frost (1874-1963) American poet
Comment, “Meet the Press” (22 Mar 1959)

When asked by Ernest Lindley whether American civilization had improved or declined in his lifetime. Often misquoted as "Americans are like a rich father who wishes he knew how to give his son the hardships that made him rich."

Tocqueville, Alexis de -- Democracy in America, Vol. 1, “Public Spirit in the United States” (1835) [tr. Reeve (1839)]

Dave — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 06:35:22 +0000

America is therefore a free country, in which, lest anyone be hurt by your remarks, you are not allowed to speak freely of private individuals or of the State; of the citizen or of the authorities; of public or of private undertakings; or, in short, of anything at all, except it be of the climate and the soil; and even then Americans will be found ready to defend either the one or the other, as if they had been contrived by the inhabitants of the country.

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) French writer, diplomat, politician
Democracy in America, Vol. 1, “Public Spirit in the United States” (1835) [tr. Reeve (1839)]
(Source)

McMurtry, Larry -- Oh What a Slaughter: Massacres in the American West: 1846–1890 (2005)

Dave — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 20:37:11 +0000

Americans’ lack of passion for history is well known. History may not quite be bunk, as Henry Ford suggested, but there’s no denying that, as a people, we sustain a passionate concentration on the present and the future. Backward is just not a natural direction for Americans to look — historical ignorance remains a national characteristic.

Larry McMurtry (b. 1936) American novelist, essayist, bookseller, screenwriter
Oh What a Slaughter: Massacres in the American West: 1846–1890 (2005)
(Source)

Tocqueville, Alexis de -- Democracy in America, Vol. 1, “Public Spirit of the Townships of New England” (1835)

Dave — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 00:18:43 +0000

Americans rightly think their patriotism is a sort of religion strengthened by practical service.

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) French writer, diplomat, politician
Democracy in America, Vol. 1, “Public Spirit of the Townships of New England” (1835)
(Source)

Alt. trans.: "For in the United States it is believed, and with truth, that patriotism is a kind of devotion which is strengthened by ritual observance." [tr. Reeve (1839)]

Tocqueville, Alexis de -- Democracy in America, ch. 2 (1835) [tr. Reeve (1899)]

Dave — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 02:51:28 +0000

The surface of American society is, if I may use the expression, covered with a layer of democracy, from beneath which the old aristocratic colors sometimes peep.

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) French writer, diplomat, politician
Democracy in America, ch. 2 (1835) [tr. Reeve (1899)]
(Source)

As above, but given as "... sometimes seep."
"American society, if I may put it this way, is like a painting that is democratic on the surface but from time to time allows the old acistocratic colors to peep through." [tr. Goldhammer (2004)]
"The surface of American society is covered with a layer of democratic paint, but from time to time one can see the old aristocratic colors breaking through."

Castro, Julian -- Speech, Democratic National Convention, Charlotte, North Carolina (2012-09-04)

Dave — Wed, 08 Aug 2018 21:50:01 +0000

In the end, the American Dream is not a sprint or even a marathon, but a relay.

Julián Castro (b. 1974) American politician and lawyer
Speech, Democratic National Convention, Charlotte, North Carolina (2012-09-04)
(Source)

King, Martin Luther -- Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (1967)

Dave — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 18:42:10 +0000

Many of the ugly pages of American history have been obscured and forgotten. A society is always eager to cover misdeeds with a cloak of forgetfulness, but no society can fully repress an ugly past when the ravages persist into the present. America owes a debt of justice which it has only begun to pay. If it loses the will to finish or slackens in its determination, history will recall its crimes and the country that would be great will lack the most indispensable element of greatness — justice.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (1967)
(Source)

Mencken, H. L. -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 10 Nov 2017 17:41:00 +0000

The only American invention as perfect as a sonnet.

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
(Attributed)

Referring to the dry martini cocktail.

King, Martin Luther -- “Keep Moving from This Mountain,” Spelman College (10 Apr 1960)

Dave — Fri, 03 Nov 2017 17:50:37 +0000

We must make it clear that in our struggle to end this thing called segregation, we are not struggling for ourselves alone. We are not struggling only to free seventeen million Negroes. The festering sore of segregation debilitates the white man as well as the Negro. We are struggling to save the soul of America.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
“Keep Moving from This Mountain,” Spelman College (10 Apr 1960)
(Source)

Conrad, Barnaby III -- “Martini Madness,” Cigar Aficionado (Spring 1996)

Dave — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 01:03:01 +0000

The Martini is to middle- and upper-class American society what peyote is to the Yaqui Indians: a sacred rite that affirms tribal identity, encourages fanciful thought and — let’s be honest here — delivers a whoppingly nice high.

Barnaby Conrad III (b. 1952) American author, artist, editor
“Martini Madness,” Cigar Aficionado (Spring 1996)
(Source)

Hurston, Zora Neale -- “Crazy for This Democracy,” Negro Digest (Dec 1945)

Dave — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 23:38:01 +0000

I accept this idea of democracy. I am all for trying it out. It must be a good thing if everybody praises it like that. If our government has been willing to go to war and sacrifice billions of dollars and millions of men for the idea I think that I ought to give the thing a trial. The only thing that keeps me from pitching head long into this thing is the presence of numerous Jim Crow laws on the statute books of the nation. I am crazy about the idea of democracy. I want to see how it feels.

Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) American writer, folklorist, anthropologist
“Crazy for This Democracy,” Negro Digest (Dec 1945)

King, Stephen -- Under the Dome, “Busted,” ch. 16 (2009)

Dave — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 03:51:48 +0000

America’s two great specialties are demagogues and rock and roll, and we’ve all heard plenty of both in our time.

Stephen King (b. 1947) American author
Under the Dome, “Busted,” ch. 16 (2009)
(Source)

King, Martin Luther -- “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution,” sermon, National Cathedral, Washington, DC (31 Mar 1968)

Dave — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 01:56:57 +0000

It is an unhappy truth that racism is a way of life for the vast majority of white Americans. Spoken and unspoken, acknowledged and denied, subtle, sometimes not so subtle, the disease of racism permeates and poisons a whole body politic.

And I can see nothing more urgent than for America to work passionately and unrelentingly to get rid of the disease of racism. Something positive must be done. Everyone must share in the guilt as individuals and as institutions. The government must certainly share the guilt. Individuals must share the guilt. Even the church must share the guilt.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
“Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution,” sermon, National Cathedral, Washington, DC (31 Mar 1968)
(Source)

This was King's last sermon before his assassination.

O'Rourke, P. J. -- Parliament of Whores, “The President” (1991)

Dave — Mon, 08 Aug 2016 23:48:14 +0000

In our brief national history, we have shot four of our presidents, worried five of them to death, impeached one and hounded another out of office. And when all else fails, we hold an election and assassinate their characters.

P. J. O'Rourke (b. 1947) American humorist, editor
Parliament of Whores, “The President” (1991)

Maher, Bill -- “Bill Maher, Incorrect American Patriot,” Interview with Sharon Waxman, Washington Post (8 Nov 2002)

Dave — Thu, 21 Jul 2016 01:51:48 +0000

You know, here in America we’re loyal to our flaws. It’s like, if we change even our flaws there’s something wrong.

William "Bill" Maher (b. 1956) American comedian, political commentator, critic, television host.
“Bill Maher, Incorrect American Patriot,” Interview with Sharon Waxman, Washington Post (8 Nov 2002)
(Source)

Deng Xiaoping -- Comment (1983)

Dave — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 15:38:32 +0000

The United States brags about its political system, but the President says one thing during the election, something else when he takes office, something else at midterm and something else when he leaves.

Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997) Chinese revolutionary, politician, statesman [Teng Hsiao-p'ing]
Comment (1983)
(Source)

When asked by a group of American professors about China's political stability. Quoted in Philip West and Frans A. M. Alting von Geusau, The Pacific Rim and the Western World: Strategic, Economic, and Cultural Perspectives (1987).

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1964-07-02), Signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Washington, D.C.

Dave — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 15:39:06 +0000

One hundred and eighty-eight years ago this week a small band of valiant men began a long struggle for freedom. They pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor not only to found a nation, but to forge an ideal of freedom — not only for political independence, but for personal liberty — not only to eliminate foreign rule, but to establish the rule of justice in the affairs of men. That struggle was a turning point in our history. Today in far corners of distant continents, the ideals of those American patriots still shape the struggles of men who hunger for freedom. This is a proud triumph. Yet those who founded our country knew that freedom would be secure only if each generation fought to renew and enlarge its meaning.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Speech (1964-07-02), Signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Washington, D.C.
(Source)

Curtis, George William -- “The Good Fight” (1865)

Dave — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 16:23:32 +0000

The truest American president we have ever had, the companion of Washington in our love and honor, recognized that the poorest man, however outraged, however ignorant, however despised, however black, was, as a man, his equal. The child of the American people was their most prophetic man, because, whether as small shop-keeper, as flat-boatman, as volunteer captain, as honest lawyer, as defender of the Declaration, as President of the United States, he knew by the profoundest instinct and the widest experience and reflection, that in the most vital faith of this country it is just as honorable for an honest man to curry a horse and black a boot as it is to raise cotton or corn, to sell molasses or cloth, to practice medicine or law, to gamble in stocks or speculate in petroleum. He knew the European doctrine that the king makes the gentleman; but he believed with his whole soul the doctrine, the American doctrine, that worth makes the man.

George William Curtis (1824-1892) American essayist, editor, reformer, orator
“The Good Fight” (1865)
(Source)

King, Martin Luther -- Speech (1963-08-28), “I Have a Dream,” Washington, D. C.

Dave — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 17:49:43 +0000

In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
Speech (1963-08-28), “I Have a Dream,” Washington, D. C.
(Source)

See Jefferson.

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1902-11-11), State Chamber of Commerce Banquet, New York City

Dave — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 17:50:10 +0000

The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his weight; that he shall not be a mere passenger, but shall do his share in the work that each generation of us finds ready to hand; and, furthermore, that in doing his work he shall show, not only the capacity for sturdy self-help, but also self-respecting regard for the rights of others.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Speech (1902-11-11), State Chamber of Commerce Banquet, New York City
(Source)

This first part of this passage was quoted by Ronald Reagan at a fundraising dinner for Sen. Mack Mattingly in Atlanta (1985-06-05), discussing reform measures to close up tax loopholes.

Hoover, Herbert -- Letter to George Moses (14 Jun 1928)

Dave — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 18:16:04 +0000

You convey too great a compliment when you say that I have earned the right to the presidential nomination. No man can establish such an obligation upon any part of the American people. My country owes me no debt. It gave me, as it gives every boy and girl, a chance. It gave me schooling, independence of action, opportunity for service and honor. In no other land could a boy from a country village, without inheritance or influential friends, look forward with unbounded hope. My whole life has taught me what America means. I am indebted to my country beyond any human power to repay.

Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) American engineer, bureaucrat, US President (1929-33)
Letter to George Moses (14 Jun 1928)

When learning of his nomination for President; Moses was the chairman of the Republican National Convention.

Bush, George H. W. -- Inaugural Address (20 Jan 1989)

Dave — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 13:15:16 +0000

We have a place, all of us, in a long story. A story we continue, but whose end we will not see. It is the story of a new world that became a friend and liberator of the old, a story of a slave-holding society that became a servant of freedom, the story of a power that went into the world to protect but not possess, to defend but not to conquer.

George H. W. Bush (1924-2018) American politician, diplomat, US President (1989-1993)
Inaugural Address (20 Jan 1989)
(Source)

Blunt, Wilfred -- My Diaries, 1888-1914, 22 Dec 1900 (1921)

Dave — Thu, 26 May 2016 14:01:51 +0000

The old century is very nearly out, and leaves the world in a pretty pass, and the British Empire is playing the devil in it as never an empire before on so large a scale. We may live to see its fall. All the nations of Europe are making the same hell upon earth in China, massacring and pillaging and raping in the captured cities as outrageously as in the Middle Ages. The Emperor of Germany gives the word for slaughter and the Pope looks on and approves. In South Africa our troops are burning farms under Kitchener’s command, and the Queen and the two houses of Parliament, and the bench of bishops thank God publicly and vote money for the work. The Americans are spending fifty millions a year on slaughtering the Filipinos; the King of the Belgians has invested his whole fortune on the Congo, where he is brutalizing the Negroes to fill his pockets. The French and Italians for the moment are playing a less prominent part in the slaughter, but their inactivity grieves them. The whole white race is reveling openly in violence, as though it had never pretended to be Christian. God’s equal curse be on them all! So ends the famous nineteenth century into which we were so proud to have been born.

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (1840-1922) English poet, critic, horse breeder
My Diaries, 1888-1914, 22 Dec 1900 (1921)
(Source)

Ames, Fisher -- Letter (26 Oct 1803)

Dave — Thu, 19 May 2016 14:52:34 +0000

Our country is too big for union, too sordid for patriotism, too democratic for liberty. What is to become of it, He who made it best knows. Its vice will govern it, by practising upon its folly. This is ordained for democracies.

Fisher Ames (1758-1808) American politician, orator
Letter (26 Oct 1803)

Wilson, Woodrow -- “The Democracy of Business,” speech, Salesmanship Congress, Detroit (1916-07-10)

Dave — Thu, 05 May 2016 16:35:00 +0000

We call ourselves a liberal nation, whereas, as a matter of fact, we are one of the most conservative nations in the world. If you want to make enemies, try to change something. You know why it is. To do things to-day exactly the way you did them yesterday saves thinking. It does not cost you anything. You have acquired the habit; you know the routine; you do not have to plan anything, and it frightens you with a hint of exertion to learn that you will have to do it a different way to-morrow.

Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) US President (1913-20), educator, political scientist
“The Democracy of Business,” speech, Salesmanship Congress, Detroit (1916-07-10)
(Source)

Usually trimmed down to just: "If you want to make enemies, try to change something."

Maher, Bill -- Victory Begins at Home (20 Jan 2004)

Dave — Wed, 04 May 2016 14:40:37 +0000

You know, if you’re an American and you’re born at this time in history especially, you’re lucky. We all are. We won the world history Powerball lottery, but a little modesty about it might keep the heat off of us. I can’t stand the people who say things like, “We built this country!” You built nothing. I think the railroads were pretty much up by 1980.

William "Bill" Maher (b. 1956) American comedian, political commentator, critic, television host.
Victory Begins at Home (20 Jan 2004)

O'Rourke, P. J. -- Eat the Rich, ch. 10 (1998)

Dave — Wed, 04 May 2016 14:01:47 +0000

Omnipresent amid all the frenzy of Shanghai is that famous portrait, that modern icon. The faintly smiling, bland, yet somehow threatening visage appears in brilliant red hues on placards and posters, and is painted huge on the sides of buildings. Some call him a genius. Others blame him for the deaths of millions. There are those who say his military reputation is inflated, yet he conquered the mainland in short order. Yes, it’s Colonel Sanders.

P. J. O'Rourke (b. 1947) American humorist, editor
Eat the Rich, ch. 10 (1998)

Shaw, George Bernard -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 19:57:26 +0000

England and America are two countries separated by the same language.

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish playwright and critic
(Attributed)

Variants:

"England and America are two peoples separated by a common language."
"England and America are two countries separated by one language."
"The British and the Americans are two great peoples divided by a common tongue."

Possibly a misattribution from Oscar Wilde in 1887: "We have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language."

One of the first attributions to Shaw, without source, was in Reader's Digest (Nov 1942). It also shows up in other articles at the time, referenced as a remark by Shaw but without any actual citation. The phrase is not found in Shaw's published writing.

For further discussion of the quote's origins: Britain and America Are Two Nations Divided by a Common Language – Quote Investigator.

Wilde, Oscar -- The Canterville Ghost (1887)

Dave — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 14:54:24 +0000

Indeed, in many respects, she was quite English, and was an excellent example of the fact that we have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish poet, wit, dramatist
The Canterville Ghost (1887)

See Shaw.

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- Speech, Graduation Exercises, US Military Academy, West Point (3 Jun 1947)

Dave — Tue, 08 Mar 2016 14:35:23 +0000

War is mankind’s most tragic and stupid folly; to seek or advise its deliberate provocation is a black crime against all men. Though you follow the trade of the warrior, you do so in the spirit of Washington — not of Genghis Khan. For Americans, only threat to our way of life justifies resort to conflict.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) American general, US President (1953-61)
Speech, Graduation Exercises, US Military Academy, West Point (3 Jun 1947)

Tocqueville, Alexis de -- Democracy in America, Vol. 1, pt. 2, ch. 14 (1835)

Dave — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 15:19:22 +0000

If an American were condemned to confine his activity to his own affairs, he would be robbed of one half of his existence.

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) French writer, diplomat, politician
Democracy in America, Vol. 1, pt. 2, ch. 14 (1835)

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1940-11-01), Campaign Address, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York

Dave — Thu, 19 Nov 2015 15:35:44 +0000

We are a nation of many nationalities, many races, many religions — bound together by a single unity, the unity of freedom and equality. Whoever seeks to set one nationality against another, seeks to degrade all nationalities. Whoever seeks to set one race against another seeks to enslave all races. Whoever seeks to set one religion against another, seeks to destroy all religion.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Speech (1940-11-01), Campaign Address, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York
(Source)

Lehrer, Tom -- “National Brotherhood Week” (1965)

Dave — Thu, 05 Nov 2015 16:14:12 +0000

Oh, the poor folks hate the rich folks,
And the rich folks hate the poor folks,
All of my folks hate all of your folks,
It’s American as apple pie.

Tom Lehrer (b. 1928) American mathematician, satirist, songwriter
“National Brotherhood Week” (1965)

Lewis, Sinclair -- Babbitt, ch. 34 (1922)

Dave — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 12:55:51 +0000

All of them perceived that American Democracy did not imply any equality of wealth, but did demand a wholesome sameness of thought, dress, painting, morals, and vocabulary.

Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) American novelist, playwright
Babbitt, ch. 34 (1922)

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Speech (8 Dec 1959)

Dave — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 14:25:58 +0000

We cannot exist as a little island of well-being in a world where two-thirds of the people go to bed hungry every night.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Speech (8 Dec 1959)

Kettering, Charles F. -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 14:46:36 +0000

In America we can say what we think, and even if we can’t think, we can say it anyhow.

Charles F. Kettering (1876-1958) American inventor, engineer, researcher, businessman
(Attributed)

Meiklejohn, Alexander -- Testimony before the Senate Sub-Committee on Constitutional Rights (1955)

Dave — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 13:23:17 +0000

Whatever may be the immediate gains and losses, the dangers to our safety arising from political suppression are always greater than the dangers to that safety arising from political freedom. Suppression is always foolish. Freedom is always wise. That is the faith, the experimental faith, by which we Americans have undertaken to live. If we, the citizens of today, cannot shake ourselves free from the hysteria which blinds us to that faith, there is little hope for peace and security, either at home or abroad.

Alexander Meiklejohn (1872-1964) Philosopher, university administrator, civil libertarian
Testimony before the Senate Sub-Committee on Constitutional Rights (1955)

Lewis, Sinclair -- It Can’t Happen Here, ch. 36 (1935)

Dave — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 14:26:37 +0000

He was afraid that the world struggle today was not of Communism against Fascism, but of tolerance against the bigotry that was preached equally by Communism and Fascism. But he saw too that in America the struggle was befogged by the fact that the worst Fascists were they who disowned the word “Fascism” and preached enslavement to Capitalism under the style of Constitutional and Traditional Native American Liberty. For they were thieves not only of wages but of honor. To their purpose they could quote not only Scripture but Jefferson.

Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) American novelist, playwright
It Can’t Happen Here, ch. 36 (1935)
(Source)

Lewis, Sinclair -- (Spurious)

Dave — Tue, 04 Aug 2015 16:53:21 +0000

When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.

Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) American novelist, playwright
(Spurious)

Not found in Lewis' writing. Variants:

James Waterman Wise, Jr., Christian Century (5 Feb 1936): "In a recent address here before the liberal John Reed club said that Hearst and Coughlin are the two chief exponents of fascism in America. If fascism comes, he added, it will not be identified with any 'shirt' movement, nor with an 'insignia,' but it will probably be 'wrapped up in the American flag and heralded as a plea for liberty and preservation of the constitution.'"
Halford E. Luccock, Keeping Life Out of Confusion (1938): "When and if fascism comes to America it will not be labeled 'made in Germany'; it will not be marked with a swastika; it will not even be called fascism; it will be called, of course, 'Americanism.'"
Harrison Evans Salisbury, The Many Americas Shall Be One (1971): "Sinclair Lewis aptly predicted in It Can't Happen Here that if fascism came to America it would come wrapped in the flag and whistling 'The Star Spangled Banner.'" [The quotation is not found in that book.]

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- News conference (13 May 1959)

Dave — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 14:36:17 +0000

I believe that the United States as a government, if it is going to be true to its own founding documents, does have the job of working toward that time when there is no discrimination made on such inconsequential reason as race, color, or religion.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) American general, US President (1953-61)
News conference (13 May 1959)

Cuomo, Mario -- Keynote Address, Democratic National Convention (16 Jul 1984)

Dave — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 16:43:35 +0000

We believe we must be the family of America, recognizing that at the heart of the matter we are bound one to another, that the problems of a retired school teacher in Duluth are our problems; that the future of the child in Buffalo is our future; that the struggle of a disabled man in Boston to survive and live decently is our struggle; that the hunger of a woman in Little Rock is our hunger; that the failure anywhere to provide what reasonably we might, to avoid pain, is our failure.

Mario Cuomo (1932-2015) American politician
Keynote Address, Democratic National Convention (16 Jul 1984)
(Source)

Ellsworth, Oliver -- Essay (17 Dec 1787)

Dave — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 13:20:15 +0000

Some very worthy persons, who have not had great advantages for information, have objected against that clause in the constitution which provides, that no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. They have been afraid that this clause is unfavorable to religion. But my countrymen, the sole purpose and effect of it is to exclude persecution, and to secure to you the important right of religious liberty. We are almost the only people in the world, who have a full enjoyment of this important right of human nature. In our country every man has a right to worship God in that way which is most agreeable to his conscience. If he be a good and peaceable person he is liable to no penalties or incapacities on account of his religious sentiments; or in other words, he is not subject to persecution. But in other parts of the world, it has been, and still is, far different. Systems of religious error have been adopted, in times of ignorance. It has been the interest of tyrannical kings, popes, and prelates, to maintain these errors. When the clouds of ignorance began to vanish, and the people grew more enlightened, there was no other way to keep them in error, but to prohibit their altering their religious opinions by severe persecuting laws. In this way persecution became general throughout Europe.

Oliver Ellsworth (1745-1807) American lawyer, politician, Founder, Supreme Court chief justice (1796-1800)
Essay (17 Dec 1787)
(Source)

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Tomorrow Is Now (1963)

Dave — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 12:26:36 +0000

I am stressing that it is the force of ideas rather than the impact of material things that made us a great nation. It is my conviction, too, that only the power of ideas, of enduring values, can keep us a great nation. For, where there is no vision the people perish.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Tomorrow Is Now (1963)

~Other -- Oliver Sharpin, The American Rebels (1804)

Dave — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 14:06:49 +0000

They are escaped convicts. His Majesty is fortunate to be rid of such rabble. Their true God is power.

(Other Authors and Sources)
Oliver Sharpin, The American Rebels (1804)

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- India and the Awakening East (1953)

Dave — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 13:54:53 +0000

We must show by our behavior that we believe in equality and justice and that our religion teaches faith and love and charity to our fellow men. Here is where each of us has a job to do that must be done at home, because we can lose the battle on the soil of the United States just as surely as we can lose it in any one of the countries of the world.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
India and the Awakening East (1953)

Boutros-Ghali, Boutros -- Unvanquished: A U.S.-U.N. Saga (1999)

Dave — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 15:52:04 +0000

It would be some time before I fully realized that the United States sees little need for diplomacy; power is enough. Only the weak rely on diplomacy. This is why the weak are so deeply concerned with the democratic principle of the sovereign equality of states, as a means of providing some small measure of equality for that which is not equal in fact. Coming from a developing country, I was trained extensively in international law and diplomacy and mistakenly assumed that the great powers, especially the United States, also trained their representatives in diplomacy and accepted the value of it. But the Roman Empire had no need for diplomacy. Nor does the United States. Diplomacy is perceived by an imperial power as a waste of time and prestige and a sign of weakness.

Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1922-2016) Egyptian politician, diplomat, UN Secretary-General (1992-1996)
Unvanquished: A U.S.-U.N. Saga (1999)

Borges, Jorge Luis -- “Autobiographical Notes,” The New Yorker (19 Sep 1970)

Dave — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 12:14:24 +0000

I found America the friendliest, most forgiving, and most generous nation I had ever visited. We South Americans tend to think of things in terms of convenience, whereas people in the United States approach things ethically. This — amateur Protestant that I am — I admired above all. It even helped me overlook skyscrapers, paper bags, television, plastics, and the unholy jungle of gadgets.

Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) Argentine writer
“Autobiographical Notes,” The New Yorker (19 Sep 1970)

Einstein, Albert -- “What Life Means to Einstein,” Interview with G. Viereck, Saturday Evening Post (26 Oct 1929)

Dave — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 14:36:01 +0000

Too many of us look upon Americans as dollar chasers. This is a cruel libel, even if it is reiterated thoughtlessly by the Americans themselves.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-American physicist
“What Life Means to Einstein,” Interview with G. Viereck, Saturday Evening Post (26 Oct 1929)
(Source)

This passage is not included in the chapter of George Sylvester Viereck, Glimpses of the Great (1930) which was built from this interview.

Washington, George -- Letter to the New Church (22 Jan 1793)

Dave — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 20:58:00 +0000

We have abundant reason to rejoice, that, in this land, the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and superstition, and that every person may here worship God according to the dictates of his own heart. In this enlightened age, & in this land of equal liberty, it is our boast, that a man’s religious tenets will not forfeit the protection of the laws, nor deprive him of the right of attaining & holding the highest offices that are known in the United States.

George Washington (1732–1799) American military leader, Founding Father, US President (1789–1797)
Letter to the New Church (22 Jan 1793)
(Source)

Washington, George -- Letter to George William Fairfax (31 May 1775)

Dave — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 00:41:26 +0000

Unhappy it is though to reflect, that a Brother’s Sword has been sheathed in a Brother’s breast, and that, the once happy and peaceful plains of America are either to be drenched with Blood, or Inhabited by Slaves. Sad alternative! But can a virtuous Man hesitate in his choice?

George Washington (1732–1799) American military leader, Founding Father, US President (1789–1797)
Letter to George William Fairfax (31 May 1775)
(Source)

Mencken, H. L. -- “On Government,” Prejudices: Fourth Series (1924)

Dave — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 16:01:41 +0000

The Bill of Rights was designed trustfully to prohibit forever two of the favorite crimes of all known governments: the seizure of private property without adequate compensation and the invasion of the citizen’s liberty without justifiable cause and due process.

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
“On Government,” Prejudices: Fourth Series (1924)

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt, ch. 43 “Milestones” (1961)

Dave — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 14:51:35 +0000

It seems to me that America’s objective today should be to try to make herself the best possible mirror of democracy that she can. The people of the world can see what happens here. They watch us to see what we are going to do and how well we can do it. We are giving them the only possible picture of democracy that we can: the picture as it works in actual practice. This is the only way other peoples can see for themselves how it works; and can determine for themselves whether this thing is good in itself, whether it is better than they have, better than what other political and economic systems offer them.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt, ch. 43 “Milestones” (1961)
(Source)

Lerner, Max -- “McCarthyism: The Smell of Decay,” New York Post (5 Apr 1950)

Dave — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 15:08:22 +0000

There is a hate layer of opinion and emotion in America. There will be other McCarthys to come who will be hailed as its heroes.

Maxwell "Max" Lerner (1902-1992) American journalist, columnist, educator
“McCarthyism: The Smell of Decay,” New York Post (5 Apr 1950)

Lerner coined the term "McCarthyism" in this article. In 1954, he wrote, "For my own part I doubt seriously whether the word will outlast the political power of the man from whom it derives."

Franklin, Benjamin -- Letter to Sarah Franklin Bache (26 Jan 1784)

Dave — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 14:46:45 +0000

For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him. With all this Injustice, he is never in good Case but like those among Men who live by Sharping & Robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District. [… T]he Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America […] He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Letter to Sarah Franklin Bache (26 Jan 1784)
(Source)

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- “The Chance for Peace,” speech to American Society of Newspaper Editors, Washington (16 Apr 1953)

Dave — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 17:52:00 +0000

The way chosen by the United States was plainly marked by a few clear precepts, which govern its conduct in world affairs.

First: No people on earth can be held, as a people, to be enemy, for all humanity shares the common hunger for peace and fellowship and justice.

Second: No nation’s security and well-being can be lastingly achieved in isolation but only in effective cooperation with fellow-nations.

Third: Any nation’s right to form of government and an economic system of its own choosing is inalienable.

Fourth: Any nation’s attempt to dictate to other nations their form of government is indefensible.

And fifth: A nation’s hope of lasting peace cannot be firmly based upon any race in armaments but rather upon just relations and honest understanding with all other nations.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) American general, US President (1953-61)
“The Chance for Peace,” speech to American Society of Newspaper Editors, Washington (16 Apr 1953)

Also known as the "Cross of Iron" speech.

Mencken, H. L. -- “Essay in American,” Baltimore Evening Sun (1921-11-07)

Dave — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 14:40:44 +0000

When things get so balled up that the people of a country got to cut loose from some other country, and go it on their own hook, without asking no permission from nobody, excepting maybe God Almighty, then they ought to let everybody know why they done it, so that everybody can see they are not trying to put nothing over on nobody. All we got to say on this proposition is this: first, me and you is as good as anybody else, and maybe a damn sight better; second, nobody ain’t got no right to take away none of our rights; third, everyman has got a right to live, to come and go as he pleases, and to have a good time whichever way he likes, so long as he don’t interfere with nobody else. That any government that don’t give a man them rights ain’t worth a damn; also, people ought to choose the kind of government they want themselves, and nobody else ought to have no say in the matter. That whenever any government don’t do this, then the people have got a right to give it the bum’s rush and put in one that will take care of their interests.

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
“Essay in American,” Baltimore Evening Sun (1921-11-07)
(Source)

Rewriting the beginning of the Declaration of Independence in the time's parlance.

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Essay (1961-04), “What Has Happened to the American Dream?” Atlantic Monthly

Dave — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 14:35:45 +0000

The future will be determined by the young, and there is no more essential task today, it seems to me, than to bring before them once more, in all its brightness, in all its splendor and beauty, the American dream, lest we let it fade, too concerned with the ways of earning a living or impressing our neighbors or getting ahead or finding bigger and more potent ways of destroying the world and all that is in it.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Essay (1961-04), “What Has Happened to the American Dream?” Atlantic Monthly
(Source)

(Source (Alternate))

Reagan, Ronald -- Speech (10 Aug 1988)

Dave — Wed, 28 Jan 2015 13:27:45 +0000

Blood that has soaked into the sands of a beach is all of one color. America stands unique in the world: the only country not founded on race but on a way, an ideal. Not in spite of but because of our polyglot background, we have had all the strength in the world. That is the American way.

Ronald Reagan (1911-2006) US President (1981-89), politician, actor
Speech (10 Aug 1988)

On signing a bill providing restitution to Japanese-Americans who had been put in internment camps during World War II. He originally spoke the words as an Army Captain in December 1945 at a "United America Day" rally for the posthumous awarding of the Distinguished Service Cross to Sgt. Kazuo Masuda.

Gaiman, Neil -- Blog entry (2008-12-01), “Why defend freedom of icky speech?”

Dave — Thu, 22 Jan 2015 13:19:25 +0000

I loved coming to the US in 1992, mostly because I loved the idea that freedom of speech was paramount. I still do. With all its faults, the US has Freedom of Speech. The First Amendment states that you can’t be arrested for saying things the government doesn’t like. You can say what you like, write what you like, and know that the remedy to someone saying or writing or showing something that offends you is not to read it, or to speak out against it. I loved that I could read and make my own mind up about something.

Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British author, screenwriter, fabulist
Blog entry (2008-12-01), “Why defend freedom of icky speech?”
(Source)

Mills, C. Wright -- The Power Elite, ch. 14 “The Conservative Mood” (1956)

Dave — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 14:00:26 +0000

America — a conservative country without any conservative ideology — appears now before the world a naked and arbitrary power, as, in the name of realism, its men of decision enforce their often crackpot definitions upon world reality. The second-rate mind is in command of the ponderously spoken platitude. In the liberal rhetoric, vagueness, and in the conservative mood, irrationality, are raised to principle. Public relations and the official secret, the trivializing campaign and the terrible fact clumsily accomplished, are replacing the reasoned debate of political ideas in the privately incorporated economy, the military ascendancy, and the political vacuum of modern America.

C. Wright Mills (1916-1962) American sociologist, academic, author [Charles Wright Mills]
The Power Elite, ch. 14 “The Conservative Mood” (1956)
(Source)

Keillor, Garrison -- “Congress’s Shameful Retreat From American Values,” Chicago Tribune (4 Oct 2006)

Dave — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 13:50:45 +0000

If the government can round up someone and never be required to explain why, then it’s no longer the United States of America as you and I always understood it. Our enemies have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. They have made us become like them.

Garrison Keillor (b. 1942) American entertainer, author
“Congress’s Shameful Retreat From American Values,” Chicago Tribune (4 Oct 2006)
(Source)

Carlin, George -- Show (1988-08-15), What Am I Doing in New Jersey?, Park Performing Arts Center, Union City, New Jersey (HBO)

Dave — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 14:51:07 +0000

And of course this country is founded on the double standard, that’s our history! We were founded on a very basic double standard: this country was founded by slave owners who wanted to be free. Am I right? A group of slave owners who wanted to be free! So they killed a lot of white English people, in order to continue owning their black African people, so they could wipe out of the rest of the red Indian people, and move west and steal the rest of the land from the brown Mexican people, giving them a place to take off and drop their nuclear weapons on the yellow Japanese people. You know what the motto of this country ought to be? “You give us a color, we’ll wipe it out!”

George Carlin (1937-2008) American comedian
Show (1988-08-15), What Am I Doing in New Jersey?, Park Performing Arts Center, Union City, New Jersey (HBO)
(Source)

(Source (Video); dialog verified)

Kennedy, John F. -- Speech, Amherst College (26 Oct 1963)

Dave — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 18:34:51 +0000

I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well. And I look forward to a world which will be safe not only for democracy and diversity but also for personal distinction.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Speech, Amherst College (26 Oct 1963)

Kennedy, John F. -- Report to the American People on Civil Rights (11 Jun 1963)

Dave — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 17:56:03 +0000

This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Report to the American People on Civil Rights (11 Jun 1963)

Bush, George W. -- Inaugural Address (2001-01-20)

Dave — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 13:56:42 +0000

America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests, and teach us what it means to be citizens. Every child must be taught these principles. Every citizen must uphold them; and every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American.

George W. Bush (b. 1946) US President (2001-2009)
Inaugural Address (2001-01-20)
(Source)

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- The White House Years: Mandate for Change: 1953-1956: A Personal Account (1963)

Dave — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 14:13:54 +0000

Un-American activity cannot be prevented or routed out by employing un-American methods; to preserve freedom we must use the tools that freedom provides.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) American general, US President (1953-61)
The White House Years: Mandate for Change: 1953-1956: A Personal Account (1963)

Obama, Barack -- Speech (2004-07-26) Keynote, Democratic National Convention, Boston

Dave — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 15:56:10 +0000

Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation — not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” That is the true genius of America — a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles.

Barack Obama (b. 1961) American politician, US President (2009-2017)
Speech (2004-07-26) Keynote, Democratic National Convention, Boston
(Source)

See Jefferson.

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1915-10-12), “Americanism,” Knights of Columbus, Carnegie Hall, New York City

Dave — Wed, 26 Nov 2014 13:37:49 +0000

All of us, no matter from what land our parents came, no matter in what way we may severally worship our Creator, must stand shoulder to shoulder in a united America for the elimination of race and religious prejudice. We must stand for a reign of equal justice to both big and small.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Speech (1915-10-12), “Americanism,” Knights of Columbus, Carnegie Hall, New York City
(Source)

King, Martin Luther -- Emancipation Proclamation Centennial Address, New York City (12 Sep 1962)

Dave — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 14:02:11 +0000

If our nation had done nothing more in its whole history than to create just two documents, its contribution to civilization would be imperishable. The first of these documents is the Declaration of Independence and the other is that which we are here to honor tonight, the Emancipation Proclamation. All tyrants, past, present and future, are powerless to bury the truths in these declarations, no matter how extensive their legions, how vast their power and how malignant their evil.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
Emancipation Proclamation Centennial Address, New York City (12 Sep 1962)
(Source)

Lincoln, Abraham -- Speech (1854-10-16), “In Reply to Senator Douglas,” Peoria, Illinois

Dave — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 13:46:47 +0000

Near eighty years ago we began by declaring that all men are created equal; but now from that beginning we have run down to the other declaration, that for some men to enslave others is a “sacred right of self-government.” These principles can not stand together. They are as opposite as God and mammon; and whoever holds to the one, must despise the other.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Speech (1854-10-16), “In Reply to Senator Douglas,” Peoria, Illinois
(Source)

Speaking on the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed as "self-government" for residents of those two territories to decide locally whether to allow slavery there.

Lincoln is referencing both the Declaration of Independence and the Bible (Luke 16:13).

Kennedy, Robert F. -- “Day of Affirmation,” address, University of Capetown, South Africa (6 Jun 1966)

Dave — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 14:06:17 +0000

At the heart of that Western freedom and democracy is the belief that the individual man, the child of God, is the touchstone of value, and all society, groups, the state, exist for his benefit. Therefore the enlargement of liberty for individual human beings must be the supreme goal and the abiding practice of any Western society.

Robert Francis Kennedy (1925-1968) American politician
“Day of Affirmation,” address, University of Capetown, South Africa (6 Jun 1966)
(Source)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Lecture (1873-12) “Individuality,” Chicago Free Religious Society

Dave — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 12:16:01 +0000

The Declaration of Independence announces the sublime truth, that all power comes from the people. This was a denial, and the first denial of a nation, of the infamous dogma that God confers the right upon one man to govern others. It was the first grand assertion of the dignity of the human race. It declared the governed to be the source of power, and in fact denied the authority of any and all gods. Through the ages of slavery — through the weary centuries of the lash and chain, God was the acknowledged ruler of the world. To enthrone man, was to dethrone God.
To Paine, Jefferson, and Franklin, are we indebted, more than to all others, for a human government, and for a Constitution in which no God is recognized superior to the legally expressed will of the people.

Ali, Muhammad -- Quoted in New York Times (21 Nov 1965)

Dave — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 12:19:19 +0000

I am America. I am the part you won’t recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.

Muhammad Ali (1942-2016) American boxer, activist [b. Cassius Clay]
Quoted in New York Times (21 Nov 1965)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Speech (1876-07-04), “Centennial Oration [The Declaration of Independence],” Peoria, Illinois

Dave — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 12:26:32 +0000

They had the courage not only, but they had the almost infinite wisdom, to declare that all men are created equal. Such things had occasionally been said by some political enthusiast in the olden time, but, for the first time in the history of the world, the representatives of a nation, the representatives of a real, living, breathing, hoping people, declared that all men are created equal. With one blow, with one stroke of the pen, they struck down all the cruel, heartless barriers that aristocracy, that priestcraft, that kingcraft had raised between man and man. They struck down with one immortal blow that infamous spirit of caste that makes a god almost a beast, and a beast almost a god. With one word, with one blow, they wiped away and utterly destroyed, all that had been done by centuries of war — centuries of hypocrisy — centuries of injustice.
One hundred years ago our fathers retired the gods from politics.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Speech (1876-07-04), “Centennial Oration [The Declaration of Independence],” Peoria, Illinois
(Source)

In quotation collections, this last phrase is often concatenated with the first sentence of the speech:

One hundred years ago, our fathers retired the gods from politics. The Declaration of Independence is the grandest, the bravest, and the profoundest political document that was ever signed by the representatives of a people. It is the embodiment of physical and moral courage and of political wisdom.

Kennedy, Robert F. -- Speech, US Senate (Mar 1968)

Dave — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 12:26:38 +0000

Are we like the God of the Old Testament that we can decide, in Washington, D.C., what cities, what towns, what hamlets in Vietnam are going to be destroyed? … Do we have to accept that? … I do not think we have to. I think we can do something about it.

Robert Francis Kennedy (1925-1968) American politician
Speech, US Senate (Mar 1968)

Frequently cited as his last Senate speech about the Vietnam War.

Douglass, Frederick -- “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” speech, Rochester, New York (5 July 1852)

Dave — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 12:48:29 +0000

The 4th of July is the first great fact in your nation’s history — the very ring-bolt in the chain of your yet undeveloped destiny. Pride and patriotism, not less than gratitude, prompt you to celebrate and to hold it in perpetual remembrance. I have said that the Declaration of Independence is the ring-bolt to the chain of your nation’s destiny; so, indeed, I regard it. The principles contained in that instrument are saving principles. Stand by those principles, be true to them on all occasions, in all places, against all foes, and at whatever cost.

Frederick Douglass (1817-1895) American abolitionist, orator, writer
“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” speech, Rochester, New York (5 July 1852)
(Source)

Dunne, Finley Peter -- “Freedom and the Fourth of July” (1897)

Dave — Mon, 13 Oct 2014 12:54:17 +0000

“It looks to me,” he went on in a melancholy tone, “as if they was too much noise an’ smoke about pathritism in America f’r the good ib th’ country.”

Finley Peter Dunne (1867-1936) American humorist and journalist
“Freedom and the Fourth of July” (1897)
(Source)

Coolidge, Calvin -- “Speech on the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence” (5 Jul 1926)

Dave — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 09:17:27 +0000

In its main features the Declaration of Independence is a great spiritual document. It is a declaration not of material but of spiritual conceptions. Equality, liberty, popular sovereignty, the rights of man — these are not elements which we can see and touch. They are ideals. They have their source and their roots in the religious convictions. They belong to the unseen world. Unless the faith of the American people in these religious convictions is to endure, the principles of our Declaration will perish. We can not continue to enjoy the result if we neglect and abandon the cause.

Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) American lawyer, politician, US President (1925-29)
“Speech on the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence” (5 Jul 1926)
(Source)

Brandeis, Louis -- “True Americanism,” speech, Faneuil Hall, Boston (1915-07-05)

Dave — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 09:12:14 +0000

What are the American ideals? They are the development of the individual for his own and the common good; the development of the individual through liberty, and the attainment of the common good through democracy and social justice.

Louis Brandeis (1856-1941) American lawyer, activist, Supreme Court Justice (1916-39)
“True Americanism,” speech, Faneuil Hall, Boston (1915-07-05)
(Source)

Coolidge, Calvin -- “At the Home of Daniel Webster,” speech (1916-07-04)

Dave — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 13:08:42 +0000

The doctrine of the Declaration of Independence, predicated upon the glory of man, and the corresponding duty of society, is that the rights of citizens are to be protected with every power and resource of the State, and a government that does any less is false to the teachings of that great document, of the name American.

Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) American lawyer, politician, US President (1925-29)
“At the Home of Daniel Webster,” speech (1916-07-04)
(Source)

This and other lines from this speech were reused in his speech "Equal Rights" in 1920.

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1935-10-02), San Diego Exposition, Balboa Stadium, San Diego, California

Dave — Wed, 16 Jul 2014 22:35:21 +0000

An American Government cannot permit Americans to starve.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Speech (1935-10-02), San Diego Exposition, Balboa Stadium, San Diego, California
(Source)

(Photo)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1915-10-12), “Americanism,” Knights of Columbus, Carnegie Hall, New York City

Dave — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 18:20:07 +0000

Our nation was founded to perpetuate democratic principles. These principles are that each man is to be treated on his worth as a man without regard to the land from which his forefathers came and without regard to the creed which he professes. If the United States proves false to these principles of civil and religious liberty, it will have inflicted the greatest blow on the system of free popular government that has ever been inflicted.

Coolidge, Calvin -- Speech (1916-07-04), Daniel Webster home, Marshfield, Massachusetts

Dave — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 18:15:39 +0000

July 4, 1776 was a day of history in its high and true significance. Not because the underlying principles set out in the Declaration of Independence were new; they are older than the Christian religion, or Greek philosophy, nor was it because history is made by proclamation of declaration; history is made only by action. But it was an historic day because the representatives of three millions of people vocalized Concord, and Lexington, and Bunker Hill, which gave notice to the world that they proposed to establish an independent nation on the theory that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The wonder and glory of the American people is not the ringing Declaration of that day, but the action then already begun, and in the process of being carried out, in spite of every obstacle that war could interpose, making the theory of freedom and equality a reality.

Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) American lawyer, politician, US President (1925-29)
Speech (1916-07-04), Daniel Webster home, Marshfield, Massachusetts
(Source)

See Jefferson.

McKinley, William -- Speech, Woodstock, Connecticut (4 July 1891)

Dave — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 17:28:41 +0000

In no country is there so much devolving upon the people relating to government as in ours. Unlike any other nation, here the people rule, and their will is the supreme law. It is sometimes sneeringly said by those who do not like free government, that here we count heads. True, heads are counted, but brains also.

William McKinley (1843-1901) US President (1897-1901)
Speech, Woodstock, Connecticut (4 July 1891)
(Source)

Obama, Barack -- Keynote speech, Democratic National Convention (26 Jul 2004)

Dave — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 17:08:54 +0000

There is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America — there’s the United States of America.

Barack Obama (b. 1961) American politician, US President (2009-2017)
Keynote speech, Democratic National Convention (26 Jul 2004)
(Source)

Trollope, Frances -- Domestic Manners of the Americans (1832)

Dave — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 16:49:42 +0000

Other nations have been called thin-skinned, but the citizens of the Union have, apparently, no skins at all; they wince if a breeze blows over them, unless it be tempered with adulation.

Frances Trollope (1779-1863) English novelist and writer
Domestic Manners of the Americans (1832)

Tocqueville, Alexis de -- Democracy in America, Vol. 2, sec. 3, ch. 16 (1840)

Dave — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 13:02:31 +0000

The Americans, in their intercourse with strangers, appear impatient of the smallest censure and insatiable of praise.

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) French writer, diplomat, politician
Democracy in America, Vol. 2, sec. 3, ch. 16 (1840)

Wright, Frank Lloyd -- The Future of Architecture (1953)

Dave — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 12:27:53 +0000

A free America, democratic in the sense that our forefathers intended it to be, means just this: individual freedom for all, rich or poor, or else this system of government we call “democracy” is only an expedient to enslave man to the machine and make him like it.

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) American architect, interior designer, writer, educator [b. Frank Lincoln Wright]
The Future of Architecture (1953)

Kennedy, John F. -- Speech, Philadelphia (31 Oct 1960)

Dave — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 12:23:41 +0000

Finally, I believe in an America with a government of men devoted solely to the public interests — men of ability and dedication, free from conflict or corruption or other commitment — a responsible government that is efficient and economical, with a balanced budget over the years of the cycle, reducing its debt in prosperous times — a government willing to entrust the people with the facts that they have — not a businessman’s government, with business in the saddle, as the late Secretary McKay described this administration of which he was a member — not a labor government, not a farmer’s government, not a government of one section of the country or another, but a government of, for and by the people.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Speech, Philadelphia (31 Oct 1960)
(Source)

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Autobiography, ch. 7 “The War of America the Unready” (1913)

Dave — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 14:14:00 +0000

Americans learn only from catastrophes and not from experience.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Autobiography, ch. 7 “The War of America the Unready” (1913)
(Source)

Lodge, Henry Cabot -- “What the Flag Means” (1915)

Dave — Wed, 28 May 2014 12:13:28 +0000

It is the flag just as much of the man who was naturalized yesterday as of the man whose people have been here many generations.

Henry Cabot Lodge, Sr. (1850-1924) American politician and historian
“What the Flag Means” (1915)

Kennedy, John F. -- Speech, Philadelphia (31 Oct 1960)

Dave — Mon, 26 May 2014 17:35:57 +0000

In short, I believe in an America that is on the march — an America respected by all nations, friends and foes alike — an America that is moving, doing, working, trying — a strong America in a world of peace. That peace must be based on world law and world order, on the mutual respect of all nations for the rights and powers of others and on a world economy in which no nation lacks the ability to provide a decent standard of living for all of its people. But we cannot have such a world, and we cannot have such a peace, unless the United States has the vitality and the inspiration and the strength. If we continue to stand still, if we continue to lie at anchor, if we continue to sit on dead center, if we content ourselves with the easy life and the rosy assurances, then the gates will soon be open to a lean and hungry enemy.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) American politician, author, journalist, US President (1961–63)
Speech, Philadelphia (31 Oct 1960)
(Source)

Kuralt, Charles -- On the Road with Charles Kuralt (1985)

Dave — Wed, 21 May 2014 12:08:50 +0000

To read the front pages, you might conclude that Americans are mostly out for themselves, venal, grasping, and mean-spirited. The front pages have room only for defense contractors who cheat and politicians with their hands in the till. But you can’t travel the back roads very long without discovering a multitude of gentle people doing good for others with no expectation of gain or recognition. The everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines.

Charles Kuralt (1934-1997) American journalist
On the Road with Charles Kuralt (1985)

~Other -- Carol Tavris, Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion, ch. 4 (1982)

Dave — Mon, 19 May 2014 14:09:32 +0000

The difference between the Japanese and the American is summed up in their opposite reactions to the proverb (popular in both nations), “A rolling stone gathers no moss.” Epidemiologist S. Leonard Syme observes that to the Japanese, moss is exquisite and valued; a stone is enhanced by moss; hence a person who keeps moving and changing never acquires the beauty and benefits of stability. To Americans, the proverb is an admonition to keep rolling, to keep from being covered with clinging attachments.

(Other Authors and Sources)
Carol Tavris, Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion, ch. 4 (1982)

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1806-12-03) to Andrew Jackson

Dave — Wed, 30 Apr 2014 12:50:15 +0000

Always a friend to peace, & believing it to promote eminently the happiness & prosperity of mankind, I am ever unwilling that it should be disturbed, as long as the rights & interests of the nation can be preserved. but whensoever hostile aggressions on these require a resort to war, we must meet our duty, & convince the world that we are just friends & brave enemies.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Letter (1806-12-03) to Andrew Jackson
(Source)

FitzGerald, Frances -- Fire in the Lake: The Vietnamese and the Americans in Vietnam (1972)

Dave — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 12:55:19 +0000

Americans see history as a straight line and themselves standing at the cutting edge of it as representatives for all mankind. They believe in the future as if it were a religion; they believe that there is nothing they cannot accomplish, that solutions wait somewhere for all problems, like brides.

Frances FitzGerald (b. 1940) American journalist and author
Fire in the Lake: The Vietnamese and the Americans in Vietnam (1972)