We need absolute honesty in public life; and we shall not get it until we remember that truth-telling must go hand in hand with it, and that it is quite as important not to tell an untruth about a decent man as it is to tell the truth about one who is not decent.
This statement, from an essay on public ethics, argues that true honesty in public life requires not only exposing the dishonest but also refraining from false accusations against the upright.
Share
More from Teddy Roosevelt
One of the chief principles for which I have stood, and for which I now stand, and which I have always endeavored and always shall endeavor to reduce to action, is the genuine rule of the people.
The good citizen will demand liberty for himself, and as a matter of pride, he will see to it that others receive the liberty which he thus claims as his own.
the fate of the leader for the time being is of little consequence, but the cause itself must in the end triumph, for its triumph is essential to the well-being of the American people.
I speak of the men of the past partly that they may be honored by our praise of them, but more that they may serve as examples for the future.
Other voices in this conversation
