Quotes from 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 .

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.

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

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

My philosophy has always been that benefits should percolate up rather than trickle down.

You can always debate about what you should have done. The question is what are you going to do?

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.

Unfortunately, our affluent society has also been an effluent society.

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.

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.

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

Freedom is the most contagious virus known to man.

National isolation breeds national neurosis.

Never give up on anybody.

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

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.

Obviously, what we need are critical lovers of America — patriots who express their faith in their country by working to improve it.

Never give in and never give up.

Peace is not passive, it is active. Peace is not appeasement, it is strength. Peace does not 'happen,' it requires work.

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.

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.

Freedom is hammered out on the anvil of discussion, dissent, and debate.

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

We believe that to err is human. To blame it on someone else is politics.