Quotes by Andrew Jackson

My only regrets after leaving office was that I did not shoot Henry Clay, and I didn’t hang John Calhoun

“It is a damn poor mind indeed which cant think of at least two ways to spell any word.”

“Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error”

“Every good citizen makes his countrys honor his own, and cherishes it not only as precious but as sacred. He is willing to risk his life in its defence and is conscious that he gains protection while he gives it.”

“Heaven will be no heaven to me if I do not meet my wife there.”

“Never take counsel of your fears.”

“It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their own selfish purposes.”

“There are no necessary evils in government. Its evils exist only in its abuses.”

“No one need think that the world can be ruled without blood. The civil sword shall and must be red and bloody.”

“The mischief springs from the power which the monied interest derives from a paper currency which they are able to control, from the multitude of corporations with exclusive privileges which they have succeeded in obtaining...and unless you become more watchful in your states and check this spirit of monopoly and thirst for exclusive privileges you will in the end find that the most important powers of government have been given or bartered away….- Andrew Jackson, Farewell Address, 1837”

“We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace-business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionism, war profiteering. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob. Never before in history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hatred for me - and I welcome their hatred. I should like to have it said of my first administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match. I should like to have it said of my second administration that in it these forces met their master.- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Speech at Madison Square Garden”

“The current state of the news media is partially to blame for the public’s general lack of information vital for responsible citizenship in a democracy. The news media has become an aspect of show business, offering merely infotainment. It has evolved into an entity that tends to function as a public relations agency for wealthy and powerful multinational corporations, members of Congress, the current Presidential Administration including the administrations that preceded it. The news media is being utilized as a political tool of suppression and propaganda by those in power, and propaganda is psychological in nature. Full of half-truths and utter misinformation, it’s an arrogant and very commercial strategy that is implemented because it appeals to emotions, fear being the main one relentless talk of national security, personal and community safety, can trigger childhood insecurities and indoctrinated views of authority.”

“The most obvious and condescending tell-tale sign that manipulation is taking place is that no one takes responsibility for the actions of the administration, it’s always some other department who is to blame and never the people who have authority, it’s always some nameless foot-soldiers, a “few bad apples,” when we all know that such excuses don’t hold water, we know who gave the order for soldiers to engage in the abhorrent techniques of torture, we know who told subordinates in the corporation(s) to “fudge the numbers” and “be creative,” we know full well who makes these decisions. President Truman said, “The buck stops here,” now the buck effectively floats over many people never stopping anywhere, so there’s no one to blame.”

“Manipulators rarely advise you to seek new and diverse information or to ‘learn and research for yourself,’ it tends to be safer for exploitative and irresponsible leaders to keep their citizens in the dark; in their view less independent thought is better. Independent thought leads to an inquiring mind, a mindset that eventually leads to the questioning of authority figures, and that is the one thing that inadequate leaders do not want. When a leader discourages questioning of his/her leadership style, actions, and motivations, that is a sign that they have something to hide, that they may not be worthy of the public’s trust. A responsive leader welcomes and encourages questions from the citizens that have entrusted them with their safety, economic stability, and their confidence that a certain level of civility in society will be constant. Responsive leaders would be appalled, disappointed and disgusted if the public did not question such factors.”

“Responsive leaders prefer knowledge and information to be spread as widely as possible among the population, because an informed public is necessary to govern effectively, independent thought produces original ideas and is the key factor by which we progress as a society. When independent thought is stifled society is and will remain stagnant until it is free to flourish once again.”

“Understand that all battles are waged on an unconscious level before they are begun on the conscious one, and this battle is no different. The power structure wishes us to believe that the only options available are those which they present to us, we know this is simply not true, and therefore we must redefine the terrain of this conflict, and clearly, it is a conflict of worldviews and agendas.”

“I have always been afraid of banks.”

“The poet only desires exaltation and expansion. The poet only asks to get his head into the heavens. It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens into his head -- and it is his head that splits.”

It is an infirmity of our nature to mingle our interests and prejudices with the operation of our reasoning powers, and attribute to the objects of our likes and dislikes qualities they do not possess and effects they can not produce.

Take time to deliberate but when the time for action arrives stop thinking and go in.