Michael Ignatieff Quotes

If one of my boys was asking me if they should go into politics, I'd say there's only one reason to go into public life and that's to help people.

Join cooperatively with one another, put aside self-interest, and take on service to the public …

I am drawn to public service.

I think that the best profession or the best thing to do is to be a public servant... I mean there's nothing better than working for the people - working for the common people out there and being a servant, a public servant, and I have seen this.

I was raised in a spirit of the importance of service to your fellow man. My mom is a senator back home in South Africa. My father is a very caring and generous individual.

I have a lifelong devotion to public service.

Are you a politician asking what your country can do for you or a zealous one asking what you can do for your country? If you are the first, then you are a parasite; if the second, then you are an oasis in the desert.

I've been so blessed to be part of a family that has dedicated its life to public service.

I am privileged to be able to work for the people of Hawaii in whatever capacity.

We should all spend some time of our life doing service to our country. To me, I would give up a couple of years.

I want to serve the people.

My whole life has been dedicated to public service.

I think serving your government is the greatest thing in the world.

Those who devote their lives to serving our country, children, and neighborhoods are giving back. They have answered the call to serve.

Public Service was never meant to be an easy living.

I want to do things for the people of this country.

I believe very, very strongly that when you serve, you serve the entire state.

I believe all of us want to do good for our country.

Every day, people serve their neighbors and our nation in many different ways, from helping a child learn and easing the loneliness of those without a family to defending our freedom overseas. It is in this spirit of dedication to others and to our country that I believe service should be broadly and deeply encouraged.

I have always been very open about my respect for public service.

My dad spent most of the '50s and early '60s actually acting as sort of an advance man for the Justice Department, as a civil rights lawyer. So it was actually reading his papers after he passed away a few years ago that first started me thinking about this... What fraction of your life do you spend in service to your fellow man?

The decision to serve needs to be independent of your politics.

I'm most interested in public service. I think that's something that I got from being part of my family, which is such an honor.

Benefit to the community precedes benefit to the individual.

True patriots measure themselves not by personal wealth or power but by the degree to which they contribute to the community.