Quotes about Reform

True, I tore the drapery from the altar; but it was to dress the wounds of the country.

To destroy abuses is not sufficient; customs must be modified. The mill is there no longer; the wind is still there.

To wipe out abuse is not enough; you have to change people's whole outlook. The mill is no longer standing, but the wind's still there, blowing away.

The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.

You can never have a revolution in order to establish a democracy. You must have a democracy in order to have a revolution.

You have young men of color in many communities who are more likely to end up in jail or in the criminal justice system than they are in a good job or in college. And, you know, part of my job, that I can do, I think, without any potential conflicts, is to get at those root causes.

Puritanism was a youthful, vigorous movement.

Gone must be the days of only pointing fingers at others to fix what they may never fix. Our nation's ills are not merely the result of corruption or racism, although these are evil. Our troubles can also be traced directly to ineffective Christians.

The greatest sin of political imagination: Thinking there is no other way except the filthy rotten system we have today.

Erasmus of Rotterdam, a sixteenth-century priest who was committed to reforming the church from within, said, "When faith came to be in writings rather than in hearts, contention grew hot and love grew cold. That which is forced cannot be sincere, and that which is not voluntary cannot please Christ.

Ours is not the first generation to understand the dire need for health reform. And I am not the first president to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last.

The great reformer Martin Luther is quoted as saying, "I have so much to do today, I'll need to spend another hour on my knees.