Jeff Fortenberry Quotes

A President's hardest task is not to do what is right, but to know what is right.

Consider what you think justice requires, and decide accordingly. But never give your reasons; for your judgment will probably be right, but your reasons will certainly be wrong.

doing what is right is easy. The problem is knowing what is right

There's no statute of limitations on doing what's right.

I believe in people. Human beings, deep down, are essentially good. Any jury can filter through whatever bull might be thrown their way and use common sense to get to the truth of a case. Juries make the right decisions, almost unfailingly, because people know right from wrong.

As long as I take the responsibility of the choice, I have to make the choice that is as right as possible.

I have to do what's right.

There is no man more dangerous, in a position of power, than he who refuses to accept as a working truth the idea that all a man does should make for rightness and soundness, that even the fixing of a tariff rate must be moral.

See it all. See it fairly. Be truthful, be sensible and be careful with language. When nothing depends on man, everything depends on him.

What influences our behavior, and what our level of responsibility is, are very complex issues. And anytime we try to make this simplistic, we don't serve people well.

If in doubt, don't. If still in doubt, do what's right.

It is not who is right, but what is right, that is of importance.

Conduct, which involves a decision of the ultimate fate of the agent cannot be based on illusions.

Men have the power of thinking that they may avoid sin.

I have to be able to be honest and be credible, and I think I can say, 'This guy did not have his best game today' rather than, 'He is awful and I cannot believe he did that.'

It is up to us to make the right choice and the right decisions.

Part of the satisfaction of tattling surely comes from showing oneself to adults as a good moral agent, a responsible being who is sensitive to right and wrong. But I would bet that children would tattle even if they could do so only anonymously. They would do it just to have justice done.

For Republicans, accepting responsibility means accepting punishment; for Democrats, it means only an admission of error and a suggestion they'll do better in the future. This double standard must end.

I would like us to think about it more explicitly, and not take our intuitions as the given of ethics, but rather to reflect on it, and be more open about the fact that something is an ethical issues and think what we ought to do about it.

The true humanist maintains a just balance between sympathy and selection.

You ask yourself not if this or that is expedient, but if it is right.

Wrong is for other people.

Knowledge without justice ought to be called cunning rather than wisdom.

I have always tried my best to do what I thought was the right thing at the time.

Ethical decisions ensure that everyone's best interests are protected. When in doubt, don't.