Walt Whitman Quotes

Democracy without morality is impossible.

There is a moral dimension, for me, in anything that's any good.

Nobody has a franchise on what is good.

A great man is made up of qualities that meet or make great occasions.

What is good for democracy is good for America.

A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle; and patriotism is loyalty to that principle.

The cause of France is identical with that of Righteousness.

I'm a fan of anything that's good, especially when it's conscientiously good.

At base, the ugly meaning of collaborator carries an implication of treason: betrayal of one's nation, of one's ideology, of one's morality, of one's values.

I have spent my life fighting for our country and our values. When those values are jeopardized, when our democracy is threatened, I believe it is our responsibility to speak out and demand accountability.

There was no quality Robert Kennedy admired more than courage.

The true greatness of nations is in those qualities which constitute the greatness of the individual.

What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task. This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

It has not been my fortune to know very much of Freemasonry, but I have had the great fortune to know many Freemasons and have been able in that way to judge the tree by its fruit. I know of your high ideals. I have seen that you hold your meetings in the presence of the open Bible, and I know that men who observe that formality have high sentiments of citizenship, of worth, and character. That is the strength of our Commonwealth and nation.

Wherever there are qualities there are likewise quantities, but not always vice versa.

A nation has honor precisely as it has fleas - on this or that body. The statesman who talks of honor - unless he means something else, quite different - is a rogue.

Commitment is a word that cannot stand alone. We must always ask, "Committed to what?" . . . . let us be committed to . . . using Jesus Christ as our master teacher.

In the end we must have people to match our principles, not the reverse.

Heart of a solider with a brain to teach your whole nation.

Look for players with character and ability. But remember, character comes first.

They said we were soft, that we would not fight, that we could not win. We are not a warlike nation. We do not go to war for gain or for territory; we go to war for principles, and we produce young men like these. I think I told every one of them that I would rather have that medal, the Congressional Medal of Honor, than to be President of the United States.

The only Christian work is good work, well done

Never neglect the little things. Never skimp on that extra effort, that additional few minutes, that soft word of praise or thanks, that delivery of the very best that you can do. It does not matter what others think, it is of prime importance, however, what you think about you. You can never do your best, which should always be your trademark, if you are cutting corners and shirking responsibilities. You are special. Act it. Never neglect the little things.

Strive for perfection - never be content with mediocrity. You don't win until you conquer the little flaws. You don't beat these great ones until your form is perfect. This is true in all of life. A flaw in a product can ruin a business. A personal failing, a little one, can ruin a person's life. Don't be content with mediocrity - strive to live up to the greatest within you.

Our colleges ought to have lit up in us a lasting relish for a better kind of man, a loss of appetite for mediocrities.