A pair of quotes concerning politics, political leaders and political parties...
(1) It behooves you, therefore, to think and act for yourself and your people. The great principles of right and wrong are legible to every reader; to pursue them requires not the aid of many counselors. The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest. Only aim to do your duty, and mankind will give you credit where you fail. - Thomas Jefferson, A Summary View of the Rights of British America — 1775
(2) Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the Spirit of Party generally. . . . A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume. - George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796
Politics isn't bean bag as Tip O'Neill once said; it is an endeavour that belongs to the body politic of society and requires our steadfast attention. So too is keeping our political leaders, whatever persuasion they are, on the straight and narrow. That also requires a civic society that is educated in civics and thought, things sorely lacking in today's "I want it now, damn the costs!" society.
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