I am a strong individualist by personal habit, inheritance, and conviction; but it is a mere matter of common sense to recognize that the State, the community, the citizens acting together, can do a number of things better than if they were left to individual action.
All the resources we need are in the mind.
The death-knell of the republic had rung as soon as the active power became lodged in the hands of those who sought, not to do justice to all citizens, rich and poor alike, but to stand for one special class and for its interests as opposed to the interests of others.
The government is us; WE are the government, you and I.“- Theodore Roosevelt.
In foreign affairs we must make up our minds that, whether we wish it or not, we are a great people and must play a great part in the world. It is not open to us to choose whether we will play that great part or not. We have to play it. All we can decide is whether we shall play it well or ill.
There is not one among us in whom a devil does not dwell; at some time, on some point, that devil masters each of us... It is not having been in the Dark House, but having left it, that counts.
And it is through strife and the readiness for strife that a man or a nation must win greatness. So, let the world know that we are here and willing to pour out our blood, our treasure, our tears. And that America is ready and if need be desirous of battle.
It is a mere truism to say that every nation, whether in America or anywhere else, which desires to maintain its freedom, its independence, must ultimately realize that the right of such independence cannot be separated from the responsibility of making good use of it.
At times a man must cut loose from his associates and stand alone for a great cause; but the necessity for such action is almost as rare as the necessity for revolution.
As regards the extraordinary prizes, the element of luck is the determining factor.
In advocating any measure we must consider not only its justice but its practicability.
There is filth on the floor, and it must be scraped up with the muck-rake.
People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives.
In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.
Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you’ve got to start young.
It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.
A man who is good enough to shed his blood for the country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards.
Rhetoric is a poor substitute for action, and we have trusted only to rhetoric. If we are really to be a great nation, we must not merely talk; we must act big.
The worst lesson that can be taught to a man is to rely upon others and to whine over his sufferings.
Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president.