Hubert H. Humphrey Quotes & Sayings

The measure of a civilization is how it treats those at the dawn of life, the margins of life and the twilight of life. — Hubert H. Humphrey

To err is human. To blame someone else is politics. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Freedom is hammered out on the anvil of discussion, dissent, and debate. — Hubert H. Humphrey

The leadership for civil rights has to take place in the White House or it is going to take place in the streets. — Hubert H. Humphrey

It is not enough to merely defend democracy. To defend it may be to lose it; to extend it is to strengthen it. Democracy is not property; it is an idea. — Hubert H. Humphrey

If there is dissatisfaction with the status quo, good. If there is ferment, so much the better. If there is restlessness, I am pleased. Then let there be ideas, and hard thought, and hard work. If man feels small, let man make himself bigger. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Johnson had a sense of humor, and he could kid with me," he would say. "Johnson didn't enjoy talking with most liberals. He didn't think they had a sense of humor. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Hubert Humphrey with kids"Be clear where America stands. Human brotherhood and equal opportunity for every man, woman, and child, we are committed to it, in America and around the world." — Hubert H. Humphrey

For the first time in the history of mankind, one generation literally has the power to destroy the past, the present and the future, the power to bring time to an end. — Hubert H. Humphrey

The road to freedom, here and everywhere, begins in the classroom. — Hubert H. Humphrey

You cannot go around and keep score. If you keep score on the good things and the bad things, you'll find out that you're a very miserable person. God gave man the ability to forget, which is one of the greatest attributes you have. Because if you remember everything that's happened to you, you generally remember that which is the most unfortunate. — Hubert H. Humphrey

We cannot use a double standard for measuring our own and other people's policies. Our demands for democratic practices in other lands will be no more effective than the guarantees of those practiced in our own country. — Hubert H. Humphrey

What we need are critical lovers of America - patriots who express their faith in their country by working to improve it. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Propaganda, to be effective, must be believed. To be believed, it must be credible. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Like many things in our national life, we miscalculated. We overestimated our ability to control events, which is one of the great dangers of a great power. Power tends to be a substitute for judgment and wisdom. — Hubert H. Humphrey

There is in every American, I think, something of the old Daniel Boone - who, when he could see the smoke from another chimney, felt himself too crowded and moved further out into the wilderness. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Until racial justice and freedom is a reality in this land, our union will remain profoundly imperfect. — Hubert H. Humphrey

History teaches us that the great revolutions aren't started by people who are utterly down and out, without hope and vision. They take place when people begin to live a little better - and when they see how much yet remains to be achieved. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Anyone who thinks that the vice-president can take a position independent of the president of his administration simply has no knowledge of politics or government. You are his choice in a political marriage, and he expects your absolute loyalty. — Hubert H. Humphrey

In the minds and hearts of the American people, there is a great hunger for peace based on a universal recognition of the values of freedom and human dignity. — Hubert H. Humphrey

We should have learnt by now that laws and court decisions can only point the way. They can establish criteria of right and wrong. And they can provide a basis for rooting out the evils of bigotry and racism. But they cannot wipe away centuries of oppression and injustice - however much we might desire it. — Hubert H. Humphrey

And it is to these rights - the right of law and order, the right of life, the right of liberty, the right of a job, the right of a home in a decent neighborhood, and the right to an education - it is to these rights that I pledge my life and whatever capacity and ability I have. — Hubert H. Humphrey

I've never thought my speeches were too long; I've rather enjoyed them. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Unfortunately, our affluent society has also been an effluent society. — Hubert H. Humphrey

The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love. — Hubert H. Humphrey

It is always a risk to speak to the press: they are likely to report what you say. — Hubert H. Humphrey

The message of the United States is not nuclear power. The message of the United States is a spiritual message. It is the message of human ideals; it is the message of human dignity; it is the message of the freedom of ideas, speech, press, the right to assemble, to worship, and the message of freedom of movement of people. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Peace is not passive, it is active. Peace is not appeasement, it is strength. Peace does not 'happen,' it requires work. — Hubert H. Humphrey

I had no money to buy books, so between classes and work, I haunted the library. I even tutored in French with a sliding scale of payment: twenty dollars for an A, fifteen for a B, ten for a C, five for a D. — Hubert H. Humphrey

My philosophy has always been that benefits should percolate up rather than trickle down. — Hubert H. Humphrey

The pursuit of peace resembles the building of a great cathedral. It is the work of a generation. In concept it requires a mater-architect; in execution, the labors of many. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Fortunately, the time has long passed when people liked to regard the United States as some kind of melting pot, taking men and women from every part of the world and converting them into standardized, homogenized Americans. We are, I think, much more mature and wise today. Just as we welcome a world of diversity, so we glory in an America of diversity
an America all the richer for the many different and distinctive strands of which it is woven. — Hubert H. Humphrey

In real life, unlike in Shakespeare, the sweetness of the rose depends upon the name it bears. Things are not only what they are. They are, in very important respects, what they seem to be. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Our greatest songs are still unsung. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Surely anyone who has ever been elected to public office understands that one commodity above all others, namely the trust and confidence of the people, is fundamental in maintaining a free and open political system. — Hubert H. Humphrey

More progress results from the violent execution of an imperfect plan than the perfection of a plan to violently execute. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Here we are the way politics ought to be in America; the politics of happiness, the politics of purpose and the politics of joy. — Hubert H. Humphrey

I believe that each of us can make a difference. That what is wrong can be made right. That people possess the basic wisdom and goodness to govern themselves without conflict. — Hubert H. Humphrey

What you do, what each of us does, has an effect on the country, the state, the nation, and the world. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Never give up on anybody. — Hubert H. Humphrey

The time has arrived in America for the Democratic Party to get out of the shadows of states rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights — Hubert H. Humphrey

The ugliness of bigotry stands in direct contradiction to the very meaning of America. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Oh, my friend, it's not what they take away from you that counts. It's what you do with what you have left. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Today we know that World War II began not in 1939 or 1941 but in the 1920's and 1930's when those who should have known better persuaded themselves that they were not their brother's keeper. — Hubert H. Humphrey

The essence of statesmanship is not a rigid adherence to the past, but a prudent and probing concern for the future. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Senator Goldwater would have been a great success in the movies - working for 18th century Fox. — Hubert H. Humphrey

None of us would trade freedom of expression for the narrowness of the public censor. America is a free market for people who have something to say, and need not fear to say it. — Hubert H. Humphrey

The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously. — Hubert H. Humphrey

I am not here to judge whether people are locked in poverty because of themselves or because of the society in which they live. All I know is that they are there and we are trying to do something about it. — Hubert H. Humphrey

To be realistic today is to be visionary. To be realistic is to be starry-eyed. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Freedom is the most contagious virus known to man. — Hubert H. Humphrey

People in places many of us never heard of, whose names we can't pronounce or even spell, are speaking up for themselves. They speak in languages we once classified as exotic but whose mastery is now essential for our diplomats and businessmen. But what they say is very much the same the world over. They want a decent standard of living. They want human dignity and a voice in their own futures. They want their children to grow up strong and healthy and free. — Hubert H. Humphrey

The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Liberalism, above all, means emancipation - emancipation from one's fears, his inadequacies, from prejudice, from discrimination, from poverty. — Hubert H. Humphrey

You cannot tell a poor boy from a small country town on the plains of South Dakota who has had the opportunity to be a teacher, a mayor, a senator, and a vice president, that America is not a nation of promise. — Hubert H. Humphrey

When the dignity of one person is denied, all of us are denied. — Hubert H. Humphrey

I learnt more about politics during one South Dakota dust storm than in seven years at the university. — Hubert H. Humphrey

The way we treat our children in the dawn of their lives and the way we treat our elderly in the twilight of their lives is a measure of the quality of a nation. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Leadership in today's world requires far more than a large stock of gunboats and a hard fist at the conference table. — Hubert H. Humphrey

The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I have received it. — Hubert H. Humphrey

There can be no compromise on the right of personal security; there can be no compromise on securing of human rights. — Hubert H. Humphrey

If I believe in something, I will fight for it, with all I have. But I do not demand all or nothing. I would rather get something than nothing. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Certainly one of the chief guarantees of freedom under any government, no matter how popular and respected, is the right of the citizens to keep and bear arms. [ ... ] the right of the citizens to bear arms is just one guarantee against arbitrary government and one more safeguard against a tyranny which now appears remote in America, but which historically has proved to be always possible. — Hubert H. Humphrey

The moral test of a society is how that society treats those who are in the dawn of life: the children; ... the elderly. — Hubert H. Humphrey

The test we must set for ourselves is not to march alone but to march in such a way that others will wish to join us. — Hubert H. Humphrey

There are incalculable resources in the human spirit, once it has been set free. — Hubert H. Humphrey

It is better to gain a foot than to stand still, even when you seek to gain a mile. — Hubert H. Humphrey

You can't hoot with the owls and then soar with the eagles — Hubert H. Humphrey

We will be remembered not for the power of our weapons but for the power of our compassion, our dedication to human welfare. — Hubert H. Humphrey

I learned more about the economy from one South Dakota dust storm that I did in all my years of college. — Hubert H. Humphrey

There is a lot of difference between failure and defeat. Failure is when you are defeated and neither learn nor contribute anything. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Behind every successful man is a proud wife and a surprised mother-in-law. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Our opposition will never understand the Democratic Party. Our Party is
to the unpracticed eyes of the old Republican Tories
a mysterious contraption that usually seems to be moving in a thousand directions. What they don't know is what hurts them. For all that movement in the Democratic Party is caused by the internal combustion of creative ferment, of ideas, of people vigorously committed to the proposition that change and social progress are not only to be desired; they are necessities of twentieth-century America. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Never give in,never give up,never surrender no matter what! — Hubert H. Humphrey

We live by hope. We do not ever get all we want when we want it. But we have to believe that someday, somehow, some way, it will be better and that we can make it so. — Hubert H. Humphrey

It the Senator can find in Title VII any language which provides that an employer will have to hire on the basis of percentage or quota related to color, race, religion, or national origin, I will start eating the pages one after another, because it is not in there. — Hubert H. Humphrey

I have seen in the Halls of Congress more idealism, more humanness, more compassion, more profiles of courage than in any other institution that I have ever known. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Life's unfairness is not irrevocable; we can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves. — Hubert H. Humphrey

The great challenge which faces us is to assure that, in our society of big-ness, we do not strangle the voice of creativity, that the rules of the game do not come to overshadow its purpose, that the grand orchestration of society leaves ample room for the man who marches to the music of another drummer. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Never give in and never give up. — Hubert H. Humphrey

My favorite sandwich is peanut butter, baloney, cheddar cheese, lettuce, and mayonnaise on toasted bread with catsup on the side. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Each child is an adventure into a better life - an opportunity to change the old pattern and make it new. — Hubert H. Humphrey

If today there is a proper American "sphere of influence" it is this fragile sphere called earth upon which all men live and share a common fate
a sphere where our influence must be for peace and justice. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Capital, and the question of who owns it and therefore reaps the benefit of its productiveness, is an extremely important issue that is complementary to the issue of full employment ... I see these as twin pillars of our economy: Full employment of our labor resources and widespread ownership of our capital resources. Such twin pillars would go a long way in providing a firm underlying support for future economic growth that would be equitably shared. — Hubert H. Humphrey

We will have to decide today whether we will design the future or resign ourselves to it. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Equality means equality for all- no exceptions, no 'yes, buts', no asterisked footnotes imposing limits. — Hubert H. Humphrey

What do we want for people? Human dignity, personal expression and fulfillment, justice, freedom. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Though everyone has an equal right to speak,
not all have earned an equal right to be taken seriously. — Hubert H. Humphrey

There are those who say to you - we are rushing this issue of civil rights. I say we are 172 years late. — Hubert H. Humphrey

When people generally are aware of a problem, it can be said to have entered the public consciousness. When people get on their hind legs and holler, the problem has not only entered the public consciousness
it has also become a part of the public conscience. At that point, things in our democracy begin to hum. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Much of our American progress has been the product of the individual who had an idea; pursued it; fashioned it; tenaciously clung to it against all odds; and then produced it, sold it, and profited from it. — Hubert H. Humphrey

This is the first generation in all of recorded history that can do something about the scourge of poverty. We have the means to do it. We can banish hunger from the face of the earth. — Hubert H. Humphrey

I do not feel that we should allow a shortage of funds to prevent cities from financing needed projects. — Hubert H. Humphrey

There are not enough jails, not enough police, not enough courts to enforce a law not supported by the people. — Hubert H. Humphrey

When we say, 'One nation under God, with liberty and justice for all', we are talking about all people. We either ought to believe it or quit saying it . — Hubert H. Humphrey

Foreign policy is really domestic policy with its hat on. — Hubert H. Humphrey

In this time of national crises ... per haps we would do well to spend a few minutes in considering projects which grace and embellish the earth, instead of shaking it. — Hubert H. Humphrey

We need an America with the wisdom of experience. But we must not let America grow old in spirit. — Hubert H. Humphrey

We are in danger of making our cities places where business goes on but where life, in its real sense, is lost. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Before people will do anything, they have got to eat. And if you are really looking for a way for people to lean on you and to be dependent on you, in terms of their cooperation with you, it seems to me that food dependence would be terrific. — Hubert H. Humphrey