Such a result in turn tends to throw the decent man and the wilful wrongdoer into close association, and in the end to drag down the former to the latter's level; for the man who becomes a lawbreaker in one way unhappily tends to lose all respect for law and to be willing to break it in many ways.
Roosevelt warns that strict laws can lead to a breakdown of respect for the law among both decent individuals and wrongdoers.
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I absolutely agree with you that this matter is not one to be decided with any reference to the personal preferences or interests of any man, but purely from the standpoint of the interests of the people as a whole.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood.
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