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One Of Our Defects As A Nation Is A Tendency To Use What Have Been Called "weasel Words."
-Theodore Roosevelt
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One Of Our Defects

Theodore Roosevelt
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One Of Our Defects As A Nation Is A Tendency To Use What Have Been Called "weasel Words."

Understanding the Quote: "one of our defects as a nation is a tendency to use..."

This quote by Theodore Roosevelt reflects deeply on the theme of presidential. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Presidential, Use, Tendencies, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Theodore Roosevelt interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt is celebrated for insightful thoughts on presidential and use. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Presidential
Use
Tendencies
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The General Tendency Towards An Eight-hour Working Day Has Undoubtedly Been Healthful, And It Is Wise For The State To Set A Good Example As An Employer Of Labor, Both As To The Number Of Hours Of Labor Exacted And As To Paying A Just And Reasonable Wage.
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The Only Man Who Makes No Mistakes Is The Man Who Never Does Anything. Do Not Be Afraid To Make Mistakes Providing You Do Not Make The Same One Twice.
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Let Us Live In The Harness, Striving Mightily.
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I Believe That This Republic Will Endure For Many Centuries. If So There Will Doubtless Be Among Its Presidents Protestants And Catholics, And Very Probably At Some Time, Jews. I Have Consistently Tried While President To Act In Relation To My Fellow Americans Of Catholic Faith As I Hope That Any Future President Who Happens To Be Catholic Will Act Towards His Fellow Americans Of Protestant Faith. Had I Followed Any Other Course I Should Have Felt That I Was Unfit To Represent The American People.
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A Man Who Has Never Gone To School May Steal From A Freight Car; But If He Has A University Education, He May Steal The Whole Railroad.
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A Party Should Not Contain Utterly Incongruous Elements, Radically Divided On The Real Issues, And Acting Together Only On False And Dead Issues Insincerely Painted As Real And Vital. It Should Not In The Several States As Well As In The Nation Be Prostituted To The Service Of The Baser Type Of Political Boss. It Should Be So Composed That There Should Be A Reasonable Agreement In The Actions Taken By It Both In The Nation And In The Several States. Judged By These Standards, Both Of The Old Parties Break Down.
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Comparison Is The Thief Of Joy.
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I Abhor Unjust War. I Abhor Injustice And Bullying By The Strong At The Expense Of The Weak, Whether Among Nations Or Individuals. I Abhor Violence And Bloodshed. I Believe That War Should Never Be Resorted To When, Or So Long As, It Is Honorably Possible To Avoid It. I Respect All Men And Women Who From High Motives And With Sanity And Self-respect Do All They Can To Avert War. I Advocate Preparation For War In Order To Avert War; And I Should Never Advocate War Unless It Were The Only Alternative To Dishonor.
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The Wolf Is The Arch Type Of Ravin, The Beast Of Waste And Desolation.
Arches
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Men
Constructive Change Offers The Best Method For Avoiding Destructive Change.
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Avoiding
Constructive
Every Man Owes Some Of His Time To The Upbuilding Of The Profession To Which He Belongs.
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Profession
Every Man
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Advice
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When Liberty Becomes License, Some Form Of One-man Power Is Not Far Distant.
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Liberty
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Is America A Weakling, To Shrink From The Work Of The Great World Powers? No! The Young Giant Of The West Stands On A Continent And Clasps The Crest Of An Ocean In Either Hand. Our Nation, Glorious In Youth And Strength, Looks Into The Future With Eager Eyes And Rejoices As A Strong Man To Run A Race.
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Ocean
I Never Keep Boys Waiting. It's A Hard Trial For A Boy To Wait.
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Waiting
President
Unless The Man Is Master Of His Soul All Other Kinds Of Mastery Amount To Little.
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Soul
Mastery
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Fighting
Men
Justice Consists Not In Being Neutral Between Right And Wrong, But Finding Out The Right And Upholding It, Wherever Found, Against The Wrong.
Justice
Found
Findings
Just As Little Can We Afford To Follow The Doctrinaires Of An Impossible - And Incidentally Of A Highly Undesirable - Social Revolution Which, In Destroying Individual Rights - Including Property Rights - And The Family, Would Destroy The Two Chief Agents In The Advance Of Mankind, And The Two Chief Reasons Why Either The Advance Or The Preservation Of Mankind Is Worthwhile.
Rights
Two
Agents
With Great Victory Comes Great Sacrifice.
Sacrifice
Victory
Great Victory
Speak Softly And Carry A Big Stick; You Will Go Far.
Leadership
Presidential
Sticks
We Can Just As Little Afford To Follow The Doctrinaires Of An Extreme Individualism As The Doctrinaires Of An Extreme Socialism.
Wisdom
Politics
Littles
What I Am To Be, I Am Becoming.
Becoming
The Duties Are Even More Important Than The Rights; And In The Long Run I Think That The Reward Is Ampler And Greater For Duty Well Done, Than For The Insistence Upon Individual Rights.
Running
Thinking
Rights
We Stand At Armageddon And We Battle For The Lord.
Battle
Armageddon
Lord
Among The Wise And High-minded People Who In Self-respecting And Genuine Fashion Strive Earnestly For Peace, There Are The Foolish Fanatics Always To Be Found In Such A Movement And Always Discrediting It The Men Who Form The Lunatic Fringe In All Reform Movements.
Wise
Fashion
Men
This Broken Country Extends Back From The River For Many Miles And Has Been Called Always Be Indian, French Voyager And American Trappers Alike, The Bad Lands.
Country
Land
Rivers
Yes, My Friend, And If You Will Steal For Me Then You Will Steal From Me.
Stealing
My Friends
Ifs
If You Could Kick The Person In The Pants Responsible For Most Of Your Trouble, You Wouldn't Sit For A Month.
Inspirational
Funny
Life
Leave It As It Is. The Ages Have Been At Work On It And Man Can Only Mar It.
Men
Rivers
Age
Do What You Can, With What You Have, Where You Are.
Inspirational
Motivational
Success
The Best Lesson That Any People Can Learn Is That There Is No Patent Cure-all Which Will Make The Body Politic Perfect, And That Any Man Who Is Able Glibly To Answer Every Question As To How To Deal With The Evils Of The Body Politic Is At Best A Foolish Visionary And At Worst An Evil-minded Quack.
Men
People
Evil
I Ask Of Each Mason, Of Each Member, Of Each Brother, That He Shall Remember Ever That There Is Upon Him A Peculiar Obligation To Show Himself In Every Respect A Good Citizen; For After All, The Way He Can Best Do His Duty By The Ancient Order To Which He Belongs Is By Reflecting Credit Upon That Order By Way In Which He Performs His Duty As A Citizen Of The United States.
Brother
Order
United States
I Entirely Appreciate Loyalty To One"s Friends, But Loyalty To The Cause Of Justice And Honor Stands Above It.
Loyalty
Appreciate
Justice
This Country Has Nothing To Fear From The Crooked Man Who Fails. We Put Him In Jail. It Is The Crooked Man Who Succeeds Who Is A Threat To This Country.
Country
Men
Jail
The Spirit Of Brotherhood Recognizes Of Necessity Both The Need Of Self-help And Also The Need Of Helping Others In The Only Way Which Every Ultimately Does Great God, That Is, Of Helping Them To Help Themselves.
Helping Others
Self
Brotherhood
Nothing Worth Having Was Ever Achieved Without Effort.
Moving
Moving Forward
Fitness Motivational
I Always Believe In Going Hard At Everything, Whether It Is Latin Or Mathematics, Boxing Or Football, But At The Same Time I Want To Keep The Sense Of Proportion. It Is Never Worth While To Absolutely Exhaust One's Self Or To Take Big Chances Unless For An Adequate Object. I Want You To Keep In Training The Faculties Which Would Make You, If The Need Arose, Able To Put Your Last Ounce Of Pluck And Strength Into A Contest. But I Do Not Want You To Squander These Qualities.
Sports
Football
Latin
Any Man Who Tries To Excite Class Hatred, Sectional Hate, Hate Of Creeds, Any Kind Of Hatred In Our Community, Though He May Affect To Do It In The Interest Of The Class He Is Addressing, Is In The Long Run With Absolute Certainly That Class's Own Worst Enemy.
Life
Running
Hate
There Is Quite Enough Sorrow And Shame And Suffering And Baseness In Real Life, And There Is No Need For Meeting It Unnecessarily In Fiction.
Real
Suffering
Sorrow
[among The Books He Chooses, A Statesman] Ought To Read Interesting Books On History And Government, And Books Of Science And Philosophy; And Really Good Books On These Subjects Are As Enthralling As Any Fiction Ever Written In Prose Or Verse.
Philosophy
Book
Science
In Every Community There Are Little Knots Of Fantastic Extremists Who Loudly Proclaim That They Are Striving For Righteousness, And Who, In Reality, Do Their Feeble Best For Unrighteousness. Just As The Upright Politician Should Hold In Peculiar Scorn The Man Who Makes The Name Of Politician A Reproach And A Shame, So The Genuine Reformer Should Realize That The Cause He Champions Is Especially Jeopardized By The Mock Reformer Who Does What He Can To Make Reform A Laughingstock Among Decent Men.
Reality
Men
Names
The Bosses Of The Democratic Party And The Bosses Of The Republican Party Alike Have A Closer Grip Than Ever Before On The Party Machines In The States And In The Nation. This Crooked Control Of Both The Old Parties By The Beneficiaries Of Political And Business Privilege Renders It Hopeless To Expect Any Far-reaching And Fundamental Service From Either.
Party
Boss
Political
The Poorest Way To Face Life Is To Face It With A Sneer.
Way
Faces
Life Is
With Self-discipline, All Things Are Possible
Self
Discipline
Formal Education
You Can't Choose Your Potential, But You Can Choose To Fulfill It.
A Thorough Knowledge Of The Bible Is Worth More Than A College Education.
Bible
Christian
Education
Do Not Get Into A Fight If You Can Possibly Avoid It. If You Get In, See It Through. Don't Hit If It Is Honorably Possible To Avoid Hitting, But Never Hit Soft. Don't Hit At All If You Can Help It; Don't Hit A Man If You Can Possibly Avoid It; But If You Do Hit Him, Put Him To Sleep.
Sleep
Fighting
Men
There Are No Words That Can Tell The Hidden Spirit Of The Wilderness, That Can Reveal Its Mystery, Its Melancholy And Its Charm. There Is A Delight In The Hardy Life Of The Open... Apart From This, Yet Mingled With It, Is The Strong Attraction Of The Silent Places, Of The Large Tropic Moons, And The Splendor Of The New Stars; Where The Wanderer Sees The Awful Glory Of Sunrise And Sunset In The Wide Waste Spaces Of The Earth, Unworn Of Man, And Changed Only By The Slow Change Of The Ages Through Time Everlasting.
Strong
Stars
Sunset
I Am Rather More Apt To Read Old Books Than New Ones.
War
Book
Old Books
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
Winning
Greatness
Men
I Don't Think Any President Ever Enjoyed Himself More Than I Did. Moreover, I Don't Think Any Ex-president Ever Enjoyed Himself More.
Thinking
President
Enjoyed
My Hat Is In The Ring.
Hats
Rings
Zeal
Almost Every Man Who Has By His Life-work Added To The Sum Of Human Achievement Of Which The Race Is Proud, Of Which Our People Are Proud, Almost Every Such Man Has Based His Life-work Largely Upon The Teachings Of The Bible
Teaching
Men
Race
Love Of Peace Is Common Among Weak, Short-sighted, Timid, And Lazy Persons; And On The Other Hand Courage Is Found Among Many Men Of Evil Temper And Bad Character. Neither Quality Shall By Itself Avail. Justice Among The Nations Of Mankind, And The Uplifting Of Humanity, Can Be Brought About Only By Those Strong And Daring Men Who With Wisdom Love Peace, But Who Love Righteousness More Than Peace.
Love
Uplifting
Strong
The Establishment Of The National Park Service Is Justified By Considerations Of Good Administration, Of The Value Of Natural Beauty As A National Asset, And Of The Effectiveness Of Outdoor Life And Recreation In The Production Of Good Citizenship.
Effectiveness
National Parks
Administration
There Must Be No Division By Class Hatred, Whether This Hatred Be That Of Creed Against Creed, Nationality Against Nationality, Section Against Section, Or Men Of One Social Or Industrial Condition Against Men Of Another Social And Industrial Condition. We Must Ever Judge Each Individual On His Own Conduct And Merits, And Not On His Membership In Any Class, Whether That Class Be Based On Theological, Social, Or Industrial Considerations.
Men
Class
Judging
Keep Your Eyes On The Stars, And Your Feet On The Ground.
Love
Dream
Stars
The Hardest Lessons To Learn Are Those That Are The Most Obvious.
Lessons
Obvious
Hardest
Wide Differences Of Opinion In Matters Of Religious, Political, And Social Belief Must Exist If Conscience And Intellect Alike Are Not To Be Stunted, If There Is To Be Room For Healthy Growth.
Religious
Differences
Diversity
We Are The Heirs Of The Ages
Age
Heirs
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.
Patriotic
Hands
Class
A Good Shot Must Necessarily Be A Good Man Since The Essence Of Good Marksmanship Is Self-control And Self-control Is The Essential Quality Of A Good Man.
Men
Self
Essence
Where A Trust Becomes A Monopoly The State Has An Immediate Right To Interfere.
States
Monopoly
Interfere
All Daring And Courage, All Iron Endurance Of Misfortune-make For A Finer, Nobler Type Of Manhood.
Iron
History
Endurance
There Is Apt To Be A Lunatic Fringe Among The Votaries Of Any Forward Movement.
Movement
Forward Movement
Fringe
The Most Successful Politician Is He Who Says What The People Are Thinking Most Often In The Loudest Voice.
Success
Thinking
Voice
All For Each, And Each For All, Is A Good Motto; But Only On Condition That Each Works With Might And Main To So Maintain Himself As Not To Be A Burden To Others.
Might
Motto
Burden
It Is Better To Be Faithful Than Famous.
Loyalty
Army
Faithful
War With Evil; But Show No Spirit Of Malignity Toward The Man Who May Be Responsible For The Evil. Put It Out Of His Power To Do Wrong.
War
Men
Evil
I Am Delighted To Have You Play Football. I Believe In Rough, Manly Sports. But I Do Not Believe In Them If They Degenerate Into The Sole End Of Any One's Existence. I Don't Want You To Sacrifice Standing Well In Your Studies To Any Over-athleticism; And I Need Not Tell You That Character Counts For A Great Deal More Than Either Intellect Or Body In Winning Success In Life. Athletic Proficiency Is A Mighty Good Servant, And Like So Many Other Good Servants, A Mighty Bad Master.
Soccer
Sports
Football
Every Reform Movement Has A Lunatic Fringe.
Presidential
Political
Reform
It May Be That At Some Time In The Dim Future Of The Race The Need For War Will Vanish: But That Time Is Yet Ages Distant. As Yet No Nation Can Hold Its Place In The World, Or Can Do Any Work Really Worth Doing, Unless It Stands Ready To Guard Its Right With An Armed Hand.
War
Race
Hands
Don't Spread Patriotism Too Thin.
Military
Spread
A Small Politician, Of Low Capacity And Mean Surroundings, Proud To Act As The Servile Tool Of Men Worse Than Himself But Also Stronger And Abler.
Mean
Men
Stronger
No President Has Ever Enjoyed Himself As Much As I?
Presidential
President
Enjoyed
The Things That Will Destroy America Are Prosperity-at-any-price, Peace-at-any-price, Safety-first Instead Of Duty-first, The Love Of Soft Living, And The Get-rich-quick Theory Of Life.
Love
Inspirational
Wisdom
The Old Parties Are Husks, With No Real Soul Within Either, Divided On Artificial Lines, Boss-ridden And Privilege-controlled, Each A Jumble Of Incongruous Elements, And Neither Daring To Speak Out Wisely And Fearlessly On What Should Be Said On The Vital Issues Of The Day.
Real
Party
Issues
To The Second End, We Hold That Minimum Wage Commissions Should Be Established In The Nation And In Each State To Inquire Into Wages Paid In Various Industries And To Determine The Standard Which The Public Ought To Sanction As A Minimum; And We Believe That, As A Present Installment Of What We Hope For In The Future, There Should Be At Once Established In The Nation And Its Several States Minimum Standards For The Wages Of Women, Taking The Present Massachusetts Law As A Basis From Which To Start And On Which To Improve.
Believe
Law
Massachusetts
I Was A Reasonably Good Student In College ... My Chief Interests Were Scientific. When I Entered College, I Was Devoted To Out-of-doors Natural History, And My Ambition Was To Be A Scientific Man Of The Audubon, Or Wilson, Or Baird, Or Coues Type-a Man Like Hart Merriam, Or Frank Chapman, Or Hornaday, To-day.
Ambition
Science
College
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