"THEY said that I should lose my ideals and begin to believe in the methods of practical politicians. Now, I have not lost my ideals in the least; my faith in fundamentals is exactly what it always was. What I have lost is my old childlike faith in practical politics. I am still as much concerned as ever about the Battle of Armageddon; but I am not so much concerned about the General Election. As a babe I leapt up on my mother's knee at the mere mention of it. No; the vision is always solid and reliable. The vision is always a fact. It is the reality that is often a fraud."
~G.K. Chesterton: Orthodoxy, Chap. IV─The Ethics of Elfland.
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Discover the Wit & Wisdom of Gilbert Keith Chesterton
Showing posts with label politicians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politicians. Show all posts
10/26/15
Chesterton on politicians and government:
● "Representative government has many minor disadvantages, one of them being that it is never representative." ─in Charles Dickens.
● "The trouble with modern England is not how many or how few people vote. It is that, however many people vote, a small ring of administrators do what they please." ─quoted in The Colonist, Oct. 27, 1909.
● "I know that most politicians are engaged in trying to imitate the other politicians, which cannot be considered as a school of virtue." ─Illustrated London News, July 9, 1910.
● "The modern representative not only does not represent his constituents—he does not even represent himself." ─Illustrated London News, Aug. 31, 1912.
● “When a politician is in opposition he is an expert on the means to some end; and when he is in office he is an expert on the obstacles to it.” ─Illustrated London News, March 6, 1918.
● “It is the mark of our whole modern history that the masses are kept quiet with a fight. They are kept quiet by the fight because it is a sham-fight; thus most of us know by this time that the Party System has been popular only in the sense that a football match is popular.” ─A Short History of England.
“It is hard to make government representative when it is also remote.”
─Illustrated London News, August 17, 1918.
● "The men whom the people ought to choose to represent them are too busy to take the jobs. But the politician is waiting for it. He’s the pestilence of modern times. What we should try to do is make politics as local as possible. Keep the politicians near enough to kick them. The villagers who met under the village tree could also hang their politicians to the tree. It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged." ─Cleveland Press interview, March 1, 1921.
● "Politicians have to live in the future, because they know they have done nothing but evil in the past." ─Illustrated London News, June 10, 1933.
● "He was very public, as public men go; but they all seem to become hazier as they mount higher. It is the young and unknown who have decisive doctrines and sharply declared intentions. I once expressed it by saying, I think with some truth, that politicians have no politics." ─Autobiography.
● "Everybody is familiar with jeers against politicians, jokes about political payments, journalistic allusions to the sale of honours or the Secret Party Fund; above all, nobody is now shocked by them. Perhaps it would be better if they were shocked, or in other words shamed by them. If they were ashamed of them, they might possibly make some attempt to alter them." ─Autobiography.
● "The worst sort of politicians could play any game they liked with the honour of England and the happiness of Europe, if they were backed and boomed by some vulgar monopolist millionaire; and these insolent interests nearly brought us to a crash in the supreme crisis of our history; because Parliament had come to mean only a secret government by the rich." ─Autobiography.
● "The trouble with modern England is not how many or how few people vote. It is that, however many people vote, a small ring of administrators do what they please." ─quoted in The Colonist, Oct. 27, 1909.
● "I know that most politicians are engaged in trying to imitate the other politicians, which cannot be considered as a school of virtue." ─Illustrated London News, July 9, 1910.
● "The modern representative not only does not represent his constituents—he does not even represent himself." ─Illustrated London News, Aug. 31, 1912.
● “When a politician is in opposition he is an expert on the means to some end; and when he is in office he is an expert on the obstacles to it.” ─Illustrated London News, March 6, 1918.
● “It is the mark of our whole modern history that the masses are kept quiet with a fight. They are kept quiet by the fight because it is a sham-fight; thus most of us know by this time that the Party System has been popular only in the sense that a football match is popular.” ─A Short History of England.
“It is hard to make government representative when it is also remote.”
─Illustrated London News, August 17, 1918.
● "The men whom the people ought to choose to represent them are too busy to take the jobs. But the politician is waiting for it. He’s the pestilence of modern times. What we should try to do is make politics as local as possible. Keep the politicians near enough to kick them. The villagers who met under the village tree could also hang their politicians to the tree. It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged." ─Cleveland Press interview, March 1, 1921.
● "Politicians have to live in the future, because they know they have done nothing but evil in the past." ─Illustrated London News, June 10, 1933.
● "He was very public, as public men go; but they all seem to become hazier as they mount higher. It is the young and unknown who have decisive doctrines and sharply declared intentions. I once expressed it by saying, I think with some truth, that politicians have no politics." ─Autobiography.
● "Everybody is familiar with jeers against politicians, jokes about political payments, journalistic allusions to the sale of honours or the Secret Party Fund; above all, nobody is now shocked by them. Perhaps it would be better if they were shocked, or in other words shamed by them. If they were ashamed of them, they might possibly make some attempt to alter them." ─Autobiography.
● "The worst sort of politicians could play any game they liked with the honour of England and the happiness of Europe, if they were backed and boomed by some vulgar monopolist millionaire; and these insolent interests nearly brought us to a crash in the supreme crisis of our history; because Parliament had come to mean only a secret government by the rich." ─Autobiography.
10/20/15
"It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged"
"THE men whom the people ought to choose to represent them are too busy to take the jobs. But the politician is waiting for it. He’s the pestilence of modern times. What we should try to do is make politics as local as possible. Keep the politicians near enough to kick them. The villagers who met under the village tree could also hang their politicians to the tree. It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged."
~G.K. Chesterton: Cleveland Press interview, March 1, 1921.
~G.K. Chesterton: Cleveland Press interview, March 1, 1921.
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9/13/14
Chesterton on Government and Politicians....
■ "Representative government has many minor disadvantages, one of them being that it is never representative." (Charles Dickens. 1906)
■ "The trouble with modern England is not how many or how few people vote. It is that, however many people vote, a small ring of administrators do what they please." (quoted in the Colonist, Oct. 27, 1909)
■ "I know that most politicians are engaged in trying to imitate the other politicians, which cannot be considered as a school of virtue."
(Illustrated London News, July 9, 1910)
■ "The modern representative not only does not represent his constituents—he does not even represent himself." (Illustrated London News, Aug. 31, 1912)
■ "THE men whom the people ought to choose to represent them are too busy to take the jobs. But the politician is waiting for it. He’s the pestilence of modern times. What we should try to do is make politics as local as possible. Keep the politicians near enough to kick them. The villagers who met under the village tree could also hang their politicians to the tree. It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged." (interview with the Cleveland Press, 1921)
■ "Politicians have to live in the future, because they know they have done nothing but evil in the past." (Illustrated London News, June 10, 1933)
■ "The trouble with modern England is not how many or how few people vote. It is that, however many people vote, a small ring of administrators do what they please." (quoted in the Colonist, Oct. 27, 1909)
■ "I know that most politicians are engaged in trying to imitate the other politicians, which cannot be considered as a school of virtue."
(Illustrated London News, July 9, 1910)
■ "The modern representative not only does not represent his constituents—he does not even represent himself." (Illustrated London News, Aug. 31, 1912)
■ "THE men whom the people ought to choose to represent them are too busy to take the jobs. But the politician is waiting for it. He’s the pestilence of modern times. What we should try to do is make politics as local as possible. Keep the politicians near enough to kick them. The villagers who met under the village tree could also hang their politicians to the tree. It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged." (interview with the Cleveland Press, 1921)
■ "Politicians have to live in the future, because they know they have done nothing but evil in the past." (Illustrated London News, June 10, 1933)
10/12/13
"Things that the people do care about"
“OUT of Parliament the politician persuades the people that he really wants what they want. Inside Parliament the politician persuades the people that they really want what he wants. But what is really intolerable, what is really atrocious, is certainly this – that politicians should venture not merely to deceive the people about the things that the people do care about, but should insolently attempt to oppress the people in the things that the people do care about. The greatest miracle is the fact that politicians are tolerated.”
~G.K. Chesterton: Illustrated London News, Dec. 22, 1906.
~G.K. Chesterton: Illustrated London News, Dec. 22, 1906.
4/12/13
Chesterton on Politicians
“REPRESENTATIVE government has many minor disadvantages, one of them being that it is never representative.”
— Charles Dickens.
"THE trouble with modern England is not how many or how few people vote. It is that, however many people vote, a small ring of administrators do what they please."
— Quoted in Colonist, 10/27/09
"I KNOW that most politicians are engaged in trying to imitate the other politicians, which cannot be considered as a school of virtue."
— Illustrated London News, 7/9/10
“I WOULD rather a boy learnt in the roughest school the courage to hit a politician, or gained in the hardest school the learning to refute him – rather than that he should gain in the most enlightened school the cunning to copy him.”
— Illustrated London News, 8/31/12
“THE modern representative not only does not represent his constituents—he does not even represent himself.”
— Illustrated London News, 8/31/12.
"THE men whom the people ought to choose to represent them are too busy to take the jobs. But the politician is waiting for it. He’s the pestilence of modern times. What we should try to do is make politics as local as possible. Keep the politicians near enough to kick them. The villagers who met under the village tree could also hang their politicians to the tree. It’s terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hung today."
— Interview with Cleveland Press, 3/1/21
“POLITICIANS have to live in the future, because they know they have done nothing but evil in the past.”
— Illustrated London News, 6/10/33.
— Charles Dickens.
"THE trouble with modern England is not how many or how few people vote. It is that, however many people vote, a small ring of administrators do what they please."
— Quoted in Colonist, 10/27/09
"I KNOW that most politicians are engaged in trying to imitate the other politicians, which cannot be considered as a school of virtue."
— Illustrated London News, 7/9/10
“I WOULD rather a boy learnt in the roughest school the courage to hit a politician, or gained in the hardest school the learning to refute him – rather than that he should gain in the most enlightened school the cunning to copy him.”
— Illustrated London News, 8/31/12
“THE modern representative not only does not represent his constituents—he does not even represent himself.”
— Illustrated London News, 8/31/12.
"THE men whom the people ought to choose to represent them are too busy to take the jobs. But the politician is waiting for it. He’s the pestilence of modern times. What we should try to do is make politics as local as possible. Keep the politicians near enough to kick them. The villagers who met under the village tree could also hang their politicians to the tree. It’s terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hung today."
— Interview with Cleveland Press, 3/1/21
“POLITICIANS have to live in the future, because they know they have done nothing but evil in the past.”
— Illustrated London News, 6/10/33.
11/18/12
"Politicians are dull"
"FOR FEAR of the newspapers politicians are dull, and at last they are too dull even for the newspapers. The speeches in our time are more careful and elaborate, because they are meant to be read, and not to be heard. And exactly because they are more careful and elaborate, they are not so likely to be worthy of a careful and elaborate report. They are not interesting enough. So the moral cowardice of modern politicians has, after all, some punishment attached to it by the silent anger of heaven. Precisely because our political speeches are meant to be reported, they are not worth reporting. Precisely because they are carefully designed to be read, nobody reads them."
~G.K. Chesterton: All Things Considered.
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