In a virtuous community, men of sense and of principle will always be placed at the head of affairs. In a declining state of public morals, men will be so blinded to their true interests as to put the incapable and unworthy at the helm. It is therefore vain to complain of the follies or crimes of a government. We must lay our hands on our own hearts and say, "Here is the sin that makes the public sin.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

sin morality government interests

About Ralph Waldo Emerson

Portrait of Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and critical thinking, as well as...

More quotations from Ralph Waldo Emerson

The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

possibility plants trees forests

Every artist was first an amateur.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

learning art amateurism

I can reason down or deny everything, except this perpetual Belly; feed he must and will, and I cannot make him respectable.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

hunger reason rationality denial

Every book is a quotation; and every house is a quotation out of all forests and mines and stone quarries; and every man is a quotation from all his ancestors.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

quotation originality repition

If you put a chain around the neck of a slave, the other end fastens itself around your own.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

More quotations tagged with “government”

When I am abroad, I always make it a rule never to criticize or attack the government of my own country. I make up for lost time when I come home.

—Winston Churchill

politics government criticism home travel

You find lots of little things going on in every community in the country. If there is a world here in a hundred years, it will not be due to any big organization of any sort, no big political group, no big church, no big government. It is going to be saved by millions upon millions of little organizations. It might just be that what Jesus and Jeremiah and Mohammed and Buddha talked about will come true.

politics history government Jesus community organizations churches

Conservatives have historically seen people falling through the cracks in society and said, That's the way things work, survival of the fittest. Liberals see people falling through the cracks and say, We've got to do something about those people falling through the cracks, so we need a strong government that can provide programs and assist those people. Populists say there shouldn't be any cracks; let's fix them.

—Jim Hightower

politics society government conservative liberal populism

It is supposed to be part of the American tradition that if we want to step out of line, we step out of line. Democracy isn't falling in line behind the president. Democracy is for people to think independently, be skeptical of government, look around and try to find out what's going on. And if they find out that government is deceiving them, to speak out as loudly as they can.

politics power democracy government protest America skepticism

Artists who whine because they need a grant and the government doesn't help them—well, tough shit. I had the same problem. I worked in a bookstore for seven years to make money to buy art supplies. And that was fine. I don't think artists should ever expect anything from anybody. For the artist, sacrifice and hardship are a part of the process.

art government sacrifice

History

20 Dec 2014 Added