Fair Opportunity Quotes

In many instances the conduct of colored workmen, and those who have spoken for them, has not been in asking or demanding that equal rights be accorded to them as to white workmen, but somehow conveying the idea that they are to be petted and coddled and given special consideration and special privilege. Of course that can't be done.

I'm pushing for citizen equality not because of some moral idea, but because this is the essential way to crack the corruption that now makes it so Washington can't work.

I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to the point of responsibility. I don't believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.

We respect the role of the Senate. We respect the authority of the Senate to look at the qualifications of Judge Roberts, and at the end of the day I'm optimistic that if given a fair hearing and a fair opportunity, that he will be confirmed.

That will do extremely well, child. You have delighted us long enough. Let the other young ladies have time to exhibit.

We need somebody to give us a chance.

The liberal ideal is that everyone should have fair access and fair opportunity. This is not equality of result. It's equality of opportunity. There's a fundamental difference.

Lyndon Johnson believed the poor deserved a better life than the economy was providing them. He thought private power and greed had to be checked by a vibrant democracy.

Some go to prison for stealing, and others for believing that a better system can be provided and maintained than one that makes it necessary for a man to steal in order to live.

All that the law can do is to shape things so that no injustice shall be done by one to the other, and that each man shall be given the first chance to show the stuff that is in him.

The idea of freedom is quite in accord with a general, though vague, sentiment among us; it is an idea of fair play, of giving everyone a chance; and nothing arouses more general and active indignation among our people than the belief that some one or some class is not getting a fair chance.

In an adequate social order, the untalented should be able to acquire a sense of usefulness and of growth without interfering with the development of talent around them

A wise Government seeks to provide the opportunity through which the best of individual achievement can be obtained, while at the same time it seeks to remove such obstruction, such unfairness as springs from selfish human motives.

We should try to ensure that everyone has a fair opportunity to find a great life. It's a quest that will require political will and ingenious policies. President Obama's proposed expansion of the earned-income tax credit goes in this direction, but we need more.

I'm for innovation and a commitment to a rising tide that lifts all boats for all Americans.

I think most people who were involved with television will tell you, if given a season or given a 13-episode order and getting those episodes on the air, and if viewers don't come, I think most people will tell you they'd walk away. They feel they were given a fair shake, and if viewers didn't come, they didn't come.

Our great progressive struggles have been waged to make sure ordinary citizens, and not just the rich and privileged, share in the benefits of a free society.

Intelligence is a great leveler here as elsewhere

When I first took the bench, I was assigned to handle a calendar of criminal cases. It was an enormous docket. I tried in each case to make sure that the litigants not only in fact received, but also felt that they had received, a full and fair opportunity to be heard.

We have to make our economy work for everyone - not just those at the top - protecting our country and protecting our planet.

One of the most important things we can do right now is empower ordinary working Americans who really do deserve a fair shot in this economy. But I'm not afraid to talk about any issue. But I do believe it is a distraction.

I think the president can set a tone and say we're not divided by gender, age, race. We're all Americans and want the same things. We want the best things for our kids. We want the rules to be fair. If they work hard, get a great education, they should be able to join the middle class.

In talking about equality and asking vehemently for its realization, nobody advocates a curtailment of his own present income.

You've got to give people a fair chance of saying what they believe, and then you've got to decide, "Do you believe 'em?"