“Actually, there is only one ''first question'' of government, and it is ''How should we live?'' or ''What kind of people do we want our citizens to be?''”
“Everywhere, the ethical predicament of our time imposes itself with an urgency which suggests that even the question ''Have we anything to eat?'' will be answered not in material but in ethical terms.”
“I say statecraft is soulcraft. Just as all education is moral education because learning conditions conduct, most legislation is moral legislations because it conditions the action and the thought of the nation in broad and important spheres in life.”
“The character ethic, which I believe to be the foundation of success, teaches that there are basic principles of effective living, and that people can only experience true success and enduring happiness as they learn and integrate these principles into their basic character.”