Herbert Hoover Quotes

To sit back and say, 'Oh, we're going to let the government do whatever they want, right or wrong,' is giving up.

Passive acceptance of the teacher's wisdom is easy to most boys and girls. It involves no effort of independent thought, and seems rational because the teacher knows more than his pupils; it is moreover the way to win the favour of the teacher unless he is a very exceptional man. Yet the habit of passive acceptance is a disastrous one in later life. It causes man to seek and to accept a leader, and to accept as a leader whoever is established in that position.

All authority of any kind, especially in the field of thought and understanding, is the most destructive, evil thing. Leaders destroy the followers and followers destroy the leaders. You have to be your own teacher and your own disciple. You have to question everything that man has accepted as valuable, as necessary.

Don't blindly follow any leader.

Don't listen to experts.

No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority.

Each of you, as an individual, must pick your own goals. Listen to others, but do not become a blind follower.

My dad instilled in me to naturally question all authority. I don't follow anything blindly. That's religion, cops, doctors, schools, you name it.

If you organize your life around some political party's list of things you should believe, or an individual that you think is going to come and save you, you are disconnecting yourself from truth. And there is a price to pay.

Any acceptance of authority is the very denial of truth.

As soon as we abandon our own reason, and are content to rely upon authority, there is no end to our troubles.

Atheism is a very positive affirmation of man's ability to think for himself, to do for himself, to find answers to his own problems.

As soon as we cease to pry about at random, we shall come to rely upon accredited bodies of authoritative dogma; and as soon as we come to rely upon accredited bodies of authoritative dogma, not only are the days of our liberty over, but we have lost the password that has hitherto opened to us the gates of success as well.

When an old and distinguished person speaks to you, listen to him carefully and with respect — but do not believe him. Never put your trust into anything but your own intellect. Your elder, no matter whether he has gray hair or has lost his hair, no matter whether he is a Nobel laureate — may be wrong. The world progresses, year by year, century by century, as the members of the younger generation find out what was wrong among the things that their elders said. So you must always be skeptical — always think for yourself.

If we can't think for ourselves, if we're unwilling to question authority, then we're just putty in the hands of those in power.

We must see with our own eyes and not accept any laid-down tradition as if it had some magical power in it.

Always question the authority.

Custom and authority are no sure evidence of truth.

It's about food. It's about your home. It's about your life. The government is worried about all of the above. All I'm saying is you should be worried they're worried. Here's why: They're telling you that you can't take care of yourself. You can't be trusted with what you put in your mouth or what you sign on the mortgage dotted line. So they'll tell you what to put in your mouth and they'll save you from what you signed on that dotted line. Does anyone see a trend here? Personal responsibility has now become government responsibility.

It's the idea that we as people can control our own destinies. The government and the corporations, more even than the government, can't dictate what artwork we're supposed to like or what comedy we're supposed to laugh at.

We can't let others judge information for us.

Freethought is respectable. Freethought is crucial. Freethought needs to be publicized.

Truth for authority, not authority for truth.

Every time that we try to lift a problem from our own shoulders, and shift that problem to the hands of the government, to the same extent we are sacrificing the liberties of our people.

No matter how deeply you distrust the government's judgment, you are too trusting.