1. The practice of people with authority to deceive others for personal gain and to increase their own power.
I didn't get this definition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary, but it's the most honest and telling one I've ever come across.
Still, some politicians have been known to speak the truth. As evidence, I offer these quotes from fifteen past U.S. Presidents...
On PERSEVERANCE - "Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air." - John Quincy Adams (1767-1848)
On FAITH - "Faith goes beyond theology and religion and requires considerable work and effort. My faith demands - this is not optional - my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference." - Jimmy Carter (1924- )
On FAITH - "We are a people of faith. We have been so secure in that faith that we have enshrined in our constitution protection for people who profess no faith. And good for us for doing so." - Bill Clinton (1946- )
On PERSEVERANCE - “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” - Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933)
On COOPERATION - “The world must learn to work together, or finally it will not work at all.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969)
On CHARACTER - "Always demanding the best of oneself, living with honor, devoting one's talents and gifts to the benefits of others—these are the measures of success that endure when material things have passed away." - Gerald Ford (1913- 2006)
On ATTITUDE - “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” - Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
On COOPERATION - "There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few we can solve by ourselves." - Lyndon Johnson (1908-1973)
On INITIATIVE - “There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.” - John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)
On COMPASSION - "To ease another's heartache is to forget one's own." - Abraham Lincoln, (1809-1865)
On FAIRNESS - “If you treat people right they will treat you right—ninety percent of the time.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)
On CHARACTER - “The credit belongs to those who are actually in the arena, who strive valiantly; who know the great enthusiasm, the great devotions, and spend themselves in a worthy cause; who at the best know the triumph of high achievement; and who, at their worst, if they fail, fail while daring greatly, so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” - Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)
On COMPOSURE - “If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” - Harry Truman (1884-1972)
On SELF-ESTEEM - “Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company.” - George Washington (1732-1799)
On EFFORT - "It is only by working with an energy which is almost superhuman and which looks to uninterested spectators like insanity that we can accomplish anything worth the achievement." - Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924)
Post by Dennis E. Coates, Ph.D., Copyright 2010. Building Personal Strength .
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1 comment:
I love Clinton's quote, but then he and Carter were my favorite presidents.
Love to you and my dear Kathleen. Happy holidays to you both. I wish you peace and joy.
SB
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