Quotes by John W. Gardner

“But a society in which pluralism is not undergirded by some shared values and held together by some measure of mutual trust simply cannot survive. Pluralism that reflects no commitments whatever to...”

“When one may pay out over two million dollars to presidential and Congressional campaigns, the U.S. government is virtually up for sale.”

“Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants.”

“The ultimate goal of the educational system is to shift to the individual the burden of pursing his own education. This will not be a widely shared pursuit until we get over our odd conviction that...”

“It is not easy to be crafty and winsome at the same time, and few accomplish it after the age of six.”

“We pay a heavy price for our fear of failure. It is a powerful obstacle to growth. It assures the progressive narrowing of the personality and prevents exploration and experimentation. There is no ...”

“The world loves talent but pays off on character.”

“One of the reasons people stop learning is that they become less and less willing to risk failure.”

“True happiness involves the full use of one's power and talents.”

“History never looks like history when you are living through it.”

“Leaders come in many forms, with many styles and diverse qualities. There are quiet leaders and leaders one can hear in the next county. Some find strength in eloquence, some in judgment, some in c...”

“For every talent that poverty has stimulated it has blighted a hundred.”

“If you don't give your kid freedom to make choices with money, including stupid choices, he'll make plenty when he gets to college.”

“Men of integrity, by their very existence, rekindle the belief that as a people we can live above the level of moral squalor. We need that belief; a cynical community is a corrupt community.”

“The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: ne...”

“Some people strengthen the society just by being the kind of people they are.”

“Art gropes it stalks like a hunter lost in the woods listening to itself and to everything around it unsure of itself waiting to pounce.”

“John Milton called his school Christ College 'a stony-hearted stepmother'. The ultimate goal of the educational system is to shift to the individual the burden of pursuing his education.”

“One of the reasons mature people stop learning is that they become less and less willing to risk failure.”

“To sensible men every day is a day of reckoning.”