Joseph Cannon Quotes

I think that the pendulum will swing back to the other side one day.

Every time I reform in one direction I go overboard in another.

What is down will go up. At the same time, you have to be prepared for what is up to go down.

If you're going down the street and you're going the wrong way, remember - God permits U-turns.

If we don't change direction soon, we'll end up where we're going.

Excess generally causes reaction, and produces a change in the opposite direction, whether it be in the seasons, or in individuals, or in governments.

We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.

If you want good laws, burn those you have and make new ones.

In all human affairs one notices, if one examines them closely, that it is impossible to remove one inconvenience without another emerging.

… snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed.

History is full of changings of the guard—some for the better, some for the worse.

Nobody takes any change seriously unless there's some money involved.

We must strike a balance between speed and thoroughness, between the need for time frames and the avoidance of mistakes which will later cost us dearly.

The function of a progressive is to keep on protesting until things get so bad that a reactionary demands reform.

It is sure to be a year on the brink of catastrophe or rejuvenation.

There are changes in the works.

Change comes in various wavelengths. There are changes in the game, changes in the rules of the game, and changes in how the rules are changed

The one thing I do know is change is coming so quickly

Change is the process by which the future invades our lives

Any man who stands for progress has to criticize, disbelieve and challenge every item of the old faith. Item by item he has to reason out every nook and corner of the prevailing faith. If after considerable reasoning one is led to believe in any theory or philosophy, his faith is welcomed. His reasoning can be mistaken, wrong, misled and sometimes fallacious. But he is liable to correction because reason is the guiding star of his life. But mere faith and blind faith is dangerous: it dulls the brain, and makes a man reactionary.

Each and every civilization in the world is in complete concordance with its people and their condition of living. If a civilization loses this equilibrium it will be lost itself. The inharmonious civilizations die because of their lack of harmony and those who survive are in complete harmony with the changing conditions. The best way of coping with these ever-increasing changes is to come together with the other civilizations.

In our political system it’s easier to block action than to act.

We’ve already decided to change. The question is: In which direction do we change, and from where do we start?

The fact that the young, perceiving themselves at a turning point in history, do not feel at home in the society and wish to change it, is a sign of portentous changes and of the difficult travails within which a new humanity is born.