Howard Gardner Quotes

I wanted to be what my high-school civics and history teacher thought of as a good American. That automatically involved taking an interest in government.

Good citizenship and defending democracy means living up to the ideals and values that make this country great.

The most important thing we stressed is that we want those kids to be productive citizens.

I believe to go along to get along is unpatriotic. I believe that agreeing with your government on everything they do is unpatriotic. I believe a patriot stands up and holds your government's feet to the fire. Because if you do that, you will get good government.

Democracy doesn't require a whole lot of work of its citizens, but it requires some: It requires taking a good look outside once in a while, and considering the bad news and what it might mean, and making the occasional tough choice, and soberly taking stock of what your real interests are.

Religion creates community, community creates altruism and altruism turns us away from self and towards the common good... There is something about the tenor of relationships within a religious community that makes it the best tutorial in citizenship and good neighborliness.

People crave trustworthy information about the world we live in. Some people want it because it is essential to the way they make a living. Some want it because they regard being well-informed as a condition of good citizenship. Some want it because they want something to exchange over dinner tables and water coolers.

Balancing the common good with the freedom and liberty to exercise that individuality has been and remains a challenge for those committed to democracy while understanding that the polis ensures our participation and therefore our citizenship.

I think it's easier than ever to hear only what you want to hear. That doesn't make a good citizen.

If we are to perpetuate the state, we must not only produce citizens, but good citizens - men and women of sound bodies, clear minds and clean souls.

As individuals, people are inherently good. I have a somewhat more pessimistic view of people in groups. And I remain extremely concerned when I see what's happening in our country, which is in many ways the luckiest place in the world. We don't seem to be excited about making our country a better place for our kids.

I think I've been a great citizen.

There is this absurd assumption that the revitalisation of the public sphere is always a good thing. I think people tend to confuse 'civic' and 'civil,' and they believe that everything that is done by citizens is necessarily a good thing because you build a network, an association.

Every good citizen adds to the strength of a nation.

The strength and power of a country depends absolutely on the quantity of good men and women in it.

I authored the Universal National Service Act because I believe that everyone in America should contribute to the greater good of America.

We pay a price when we deprive children of the exposure to the values, principles, and education they need to make them good citizens.

Since my retirement, I've spent a lot of time trying to help the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina. A society like this just can't afford an uneducated underclass of citizens.

Empowerment is not about doing the same thing the same way in the same environment. It's about building the man and the woman and doing so with a view to creating better citizens and, by extension, better patriots in this society of ours.

I believe that engaging in the political process is part of being a good person.

My feeling is, if you're going to be called a celebrity, you might as well use it for some good. It's better to testify for school lunches in front of Congress than get drunk in a bar somewhere and misbehave.

Let us all take more responsibility, not only for ourselves and our families but for our communities and our country.

I just consider it a part of good citizenship.

National service is America at its best.

The young people ... must recognize that they will get from their country tomorrow what they give her today.