32 Jon Meacham Quotes for You to Enjoy

Jon Meacham

American Editor

Born: May 20, 1969

Faith Great History Life Political Will

Related authors: Bari Weiss George Horace Lorimer George Jean Nathan George Matthew Adams Herbert Bayard Swope Horace Greeley Walter Murch William Allen White

If a person is homosexual by nature - that is, if one's sexuality is as intrinsic a part of one's identity as gender or skin color - then society can no more deny a gay person access to the secular rights and religious sacraments because of his homosexuality than it can reinstate Jim Crow. Jon Meacham

Nature Gay Rights Secular Gender Skin Society Jim Jim Crow Intrinsic Religious Sexuality More Crow Color Part Identity Because Access His Deny Than Person Then Skin Color Homosexual Homosexuality

A wise nation should cultivate a political spirit that allows opponents to cooperate without fearing an automatic execution from their core supporters. Who knew that the real rogues in American politics would be the ones who dare to get along? Jon Meacham

Politics Wise Political Nation Dare Would Would-Be Spirit Fearing Knew Supporters Along Execution Without Opponents Real Cultivate Rogues Get American Automatic American Politics Should Who Cooperate Core

An unexamined faith is not worth having, for fundamentalism and uncritical certitude entail the rejection of one of the great human gifts: that of free will, of the liberty to make up our own minds based on evidence and tradition and reason. Jon Meacham

Faith Great Liberty Worth Will Free Free Will Own Rejection Our Minds Evidence Gifts Having Make Make Up Tradition Up Human Reason Certitude Based Fundamentalism

Without education, we are weaker economically. Without economic power, we are weaker in terms of national security. No great military power has ever remained so without great economic power. Jon Meacham

Education Great Power National Military Weaker Security Economic Remained Economic Power Economically Terms Without National Security Military Power Ever

I am a huge admirer of Franklin Roosevelt's, and I believe social security has done untold good in alleviating the once-widespread issue of poverty among the elderly. FDR believed in the greatness and generosity of Americans - but he was also a cold-blooded politician. Jon Meacham

Good Poverty Politician Believe Franklin Security Admirer Alleviating He Generosity Untold Also Am Issue Huge Greatness American Done Social Elderly Roosevelt Social Security Believed Among

The fact is that America has been at her most prosperous when government and the private sector have been not at war, but in a wary, if often underplayed, alliance. History is unmistakable on this point. Jon Meacham

War Government History Sector Unmistakable Has-Been Alliance Fact Point Prosperous Most Private Been Private Sector America Often Wary Her

Once the cry and the cause of a generation of progressives to make America safer, fairer and cleaner, 'regulation' is now a dirty word in our politics. Even Democrats are quick to talk about cutting regulations; Republicans hate them with - how to put it? - evangelical fervor. Jon Meacham

Politics Generation Hate Cause Word Progressives Our Once About Dirty Cleaner Put Talk Cry Fairer Make Safer Democrats How Quick Fervor America Republicans Them Cutting Regulation Regulations Evangelical Even Now

Environmental concern is a little like dieting or paying off credit-card debt - an episodically terrific idea that burns brightly and then seems to fade when we realize there's a reason we need to diet or pay down our debt. The reason is that it's really, really hard, and too many of us in too many spheres of life choose the easy over the hard. Jon Meacham

Life Environmental Pay Down Too Our Spheres Easy Seems Fade Idea Over Like Concern Terrific Off Debt Diet Dieting Burns Little Realize Then Us Really Hard Choose Paying Reason Many Brightly Need

Among the many problems with taking the Bible literally is it reduces the most mysterious and complex of realities to simple - even simplistic - terms. Yes, scripture speaks of fire and damnation and eternal bliss, but the Bible is the product of human hands and hearts, and much of the imagery is allegorical, not meteorological. Jon Meacham

Bible Simple Problems Fire Complex Allegorical Mysterious Simplistic Taking Most Terms Bliss Yes Hearts Hands Human Literally Eternal Realities Scripture Much Product Speaks Many Even Among Imagery

Cynically but accurately put, Americans oppose public intervention or regulation if it helps others, but favor it if it helps them - take social security, disaster relief, public works projects, for example. Jon Meacham

Example Oppose Others Intervention Projects Favor Relief Security Take Put Disaster For Example American Accurately Public Social Them Regulation Cynically Works Social Security Helps

The American Dream may be slipping away. We have overcome such challenges before. To recover the Dream requires knowing where it came from, how it lasted so long and why it matters so much. Jon Meacham

One wonders whether the Obama re-election campaign may be on the right track as it seeks to apply the you-break-it-you-own-it rule to Bush and the American economy. Hardly a day goes by without President Obama or his surrogates arguing that it takes longer than four years to recover from an economic crisis so long in the making. Jon Meacham

Day Economic Crisis Right Track Long President President Obama Rule Crisis Obama Seeks Economic Recover Arguing Takes Longer Re-Election Economy Track Without Making His Years Campaign Than American Goes May Wonders American Economy Whether Bush Right Hardly Four Apply

I've been accused of being old before my time more than once. It's true that I've always felt an affinity for, and been comfortable around, older people. I attribute this to a childhood spent around my grandparents - and even a great-grandparent or two. I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything. Jon Meacham

Time People Old Before Older Once Spent Those More My Time True Attribute Comfortable Around Felt Trade Always Been Affinity Than Accused Childhood Being Experiences Anything Grandparents Even Older People Two

Part of what I loved - and love - about being around older people is the tangible sense of history they embody. I'm interested in military history, for instance, because both my grandfathers fought in World War II. I'm interested in writing because one of those grandfathers wrote books. Jon Meacham

Love War History People Writing World Sense Military Older Books Those Embody About Both Instance Part Wrote Because Around Tangible Being Loved Interested Grandfathers Fought Older People World War World War II

I believe that my children, who are young, will look back on the early years of the 21st century in rather the same way I look back on the middle of the 20th: as a time when seemingly respectable people supported discrimination against Americans simply because those Americans were different from themselves. Jon Meacham

Time People Will Young Believe Early Years Back Respectable Way Those Seemingly Rather Simply Supported Look Because Were Years Discrimination American Same Middle Children Different Against Century Themselves Who Early

It would be wonderful if the public sector were always great, or always terrible; or if the private sector were always great, or always terrible. Alas, reality is more complicated than comforting caricatures. Governments fail, and corporations fail. Jon Meacham

Great Reality Comforting Wonderful Complicated Caricatures Corporations Sector Would Would-Be More Fail Terrible Always Private Were Governments Private Sector Than Public Public Sector Alas

History tells us that America does best when the private sector is energetic and entrepreneurial and the government is attentive and engaged. Who among us, really, would, looking back, wish to edit out either sphere at the entire expense of the other? Jon Meacham

Government Best History Wish Looking Looking Back Other Back Sphere Sector Out Tells Would Entire Entrepreneurial Attentive Edit Does Private Private Sector America Expense Energetic Either Us Really Engaged Who Among

Here is a pretty good rule of thumb for Democratic Presidents: if it didn't work for Franklin D. Roosevelt, who won four terms and a World War, it probably won't work for you either. Jon Meacham

Justified or not, the Supreme Court has a kind of sacred status in American life. For whatever reason, Presidents can safely run against Congress, and vice versa, but I think there is an inherent popular aversion to assaults on the court itself. Perhaps it has to do with an instinctive belief that life needs umpires. Jon Meacham

Life Needs Whatever Vice Versa Congress Think Presidents Kind Run Status Sacred Instinctive Perhaps Supreme Safely Supreme Court Court Versa Umpires Itself American Vice Against Justified American Life Aversion Inherent Reason Popular Belief

The past always seems somehow more golden, more serious, than the present. We tend to forget the partisanship of yesteryear, preferring to re-imagine our history as a sure and steady march toward greatness. Jon Meacham

History Past Our Somehow Steady Seems More Tend Toward Partisanship Sure Always Greatness Than Forget Golden Serious March Present

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