Harold MacMillan Quotes

Government exists to defend the weak and the poor and the injured party; the rich and the strong can better take care of themselves.

It can be dangerous to weaken the strong in our attempts to strengthen the weak.

It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.

My definition of a decent society is one that first of all takes care of its losers, and protects its weak.

Who needs the protection of the Bill of Rights most? The weak, the most vulnerable in society.

It's a matter of taking the side of the weak against the strong, something the best people have always done.

As I have said before, our society cannot be truly prosperous until it respects the rights of the most vulnerable among us.

If the strong exploit the weak, democracy will not be stable.

All of us are like locks. No matter how strong the bolt, there’s always a key out there that opens it.

Christian faith does not involve repressing one's anxiety in order to appear strong. On the contrary, it means recognizing one's weakness, accepting the inward truth about oneself, confessing one's anxiety, and still to believe, that is to say that the Christian puts his trust not in his own strength, but in the grace of God.

The greatest crime of welfare isn't that it's a waste of money, but that it's a waste of people.

Conservatives are better talking about opportunity and growth in the abstract, while liberals talk more about poor people. Right now we [americans] need a good, optimistic, conservative opportunity ideology that is totally geared toward lifting up the poor. That's what I most want to see in candidates.

Till I see money spent on the betterment of man instead of on his idleness and destruction, I shall not believe in any perfect form of government.

My notion of democracy is that under it the weakest shall have the same opportunities as the strongest.

I do not believe in the doctrine of the greatest good of the greatest number. The only real, dignified, human doctrine is the greatest good of all.

I use hate as a weapon to defend myself; had I been strong, I would never have needed that kind of weapon.

In the enclave, the strong and the physically perfect survived, but if you were strong, you protected the weak until they had an opportunity to grow into their own power.

A real strong fighter should always look dignified and calm... I believe that any expression of aggression is an expression of weakness.

Time and place often give advantage to the weak over the strong.

You are the Protector of the Small. You see real people in the humans and animals overlooked by your peers. There will always be work for you.

Many evil things there are that your strong walls and bright swords do not stay.

It is my duty to say: Something has to change. I say that very directly, in clear words so that nobody can misunderstand me. And I believe in our new initiative for continuing education and vocational training. For French people who are socially disadvantaged, this means real recognition and support.

It's an old story; it's as old as our history. The difference between Democrats and Republicans has always been measured in courage and confidence. The Republicans believe that the wagon train will not make it to the frontier unless some of the old, some of the young, some of the weak, are left behind by the side of the trail. The strong, the strong they tell us, will inherit the land. We Democrats believe in something else. We Democrats believe that we can make it all the way with the whole family intact, and we have more than once.

There weren’t many people in this world who would let you be vulnerable and still believe you were strong.

But if the strength ain't real, I recall thinking the very last thing that day, before I finally passed out, then the weakness sure enough is. Weakness is true and real. I used to accuse the kid of faking his weakness. But faking proves the weakness is real. Or you wouldn't be so weak as to fake it. No, you can't ever fake being weak. You can only fake being strong. . .