“Hearts and minds” – from the Bible to Vietnam to the Middle East…

THE FAMOUS BIBLICAL QUOTE: “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.”         St. Paul         A famous line from his Epistle to the Philippians, c. 62 A.D.          This Biblical verse from Philippians 4:7 helped popularize two famous phrases: “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding” and “hearts and minds.”

JOHN ADAMS’ REVOLUTIONARY WAR QUOTE: “The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments of their duties and obligations...This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people, was the real American Revolution.”          John Adams         Second President of the United States        From a letter he wrote to Hezekiah Niles, February 13, 1818

LBJ’S VIETNAM WAR QUOTE: “We must be ready to fight in Vietnam, but the ultimate victory will depend upon the hearts and the minds of the people who actually live out there.”        Lyndon Baines Johnson        36th President of the United States        His famous (and infamous) “Hearts and Minds” speech (May 4, 1965)

THE GREEN BERETS’ VIETNAM WAR COUNTERQUOTE: “If you've got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.”         U.S. Green Berets slogan during the Vietnam War

AN IRAQ WAR VARIATION: “What have you done to win Iraqi hearts and minds today?.”         Headline on posters that US General David Petraeus ordered to be posted in American military facilities in Iraq in 2003. The line reflected policies in the “Counterinsurgency Manual” he wrote, which were supposed to help to gain Iraqi support for the continued US presence in their country and to reduce attacks on US troops by “insurgents.”

AN AFGHANISTAN WAR VARIATION: “[General] Petraeus’s counterinsurgency manual, with all its talk of winning hearts and minds, is pure Vietnam.”         Jonathan Schell (1924-2014)                American columnist and author         In a 2009 commentary in The Nation about the “counterinsurgency” policies created by Gen. Petraeus, which were then being applied in Afghanistan.

PRESIDENT OBAMA’S QUOTE ABOUT ISLAMIC EXTREMISM: “We know that military force alone cannot solve this problem…Our campaign to prevent people around the world from being radicalized to violence is ultimately a battle for hearts and minds.”        Barack Obama        44th President of the United States        In an op-ed he wrote about the recent wave of killings by Islamic extremists, fist published in the L.A. Times on February 17, 2015

A RESPONSE TO OBAMA'S QUOTE: “Anytime I see the ‘win their hearts and minds’ as the key driver of our warfare strategy I know we’re screwed.”         Reader comment posted on a PoliticalHotwire.com thread titled “Obama administration solution to stop ISIS...get them jobs!”

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“The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”

THE FAMOUS MISQUOTE: “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”        Attributed to Mark Twain (1835-1910)        American humorist, journalist, novelist and social critic        According to a widely-repeated legend, Twain made this quip when he heard there were rumors he had died and that one newspaper had printed his obituary. Another common variation of the line uses the words “…have been greatly exaggerated.” Sometimes the quip is given as “Reports of my death are grossly exaggerated.”        However, all of the commonly-heard versions using “greatly exaggerated” or “grossly exaggerated” are misquotes.        As noted in many scholarly books of quotations and explained in a post on my This Day in Quotes blog, what Twain actually said was “The report of my death was an exaggeration.”        The origin of the more familiar misquote versions of Twain’s response seems to be an embellished anecdote in Chapter 197 of Albert Bigelow Paine’s biography of Twain, which was published in 1912, two years after Twain’s death.

A RECENT PARAPHRASE BY PRESIDENT OBAMA: “As Mark Twain said, you know, rumors of my demise may be a little exaggerated at this point.”        President Barack Obama        His response during a White House press conference on April 30, 2013, when a reporter asked if he still had the political “juice” needed to get his legislative proposals passed by Congress, in light of his recent high profile failures to get gun control and budget legislation approved.

THE DICK CHENEY INVERSE PARAPHRASE: “The rumors that Cheney is alive are somewhat exaggerated. It’s Mark Twain in reverse.”        Hans Blix        Swedish diplomat and politician        His answer in a 2004 interview in the New York Times when asked if US Vice President Dick Cheney had seemed more “wooden” than President George W. Bush during a meeting Blix had with them prior to the Second Gulf War (a.k.a. the 2003 invasion of Iraq).        Blix led the international weapons inspection teams charged with determining if Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, a claim Bush and Cheney pushed as the main reason to invade the country. As Blix pointed out, no WMDs were found. Of course, this fact was was dismissed by Bush and Cheney.

THE SOAP OPERA VERSION: “Rumors of my chastity have been greatly exaggerated.”        Donna Martin, a character played by actress Tori Spelling in the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210        One of her wisecracks in the “Reunion” episode (Season 8, Ep. 27, first aired April 15, 1998)

THE SPACE OPERA VERSION: “Reports of my assimilation have been greatly exaggerated.”        Captain Jean-Luc Picard, played by actor Patrick Stewart        A quip Picard makes in the movie Star Trek: First Contact (1996), in which some crew members of the USS Enterprise are “assimilated” by the part-machine, part-organic, hive-like life form(s) called the Borg.

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“Speak softly and carry a big stick” – from Teddy Roosevelt to Joe Biden to Jack Nicholson…

TEDDY ROOSEVELT’S FAMOUS BIG STICK: “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”        Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt (1858-1919)        American politician who served as the 26th President of the United States         One of Roosevelt’s favorite sayings, which he popularized but didn’t coin        According to many sources, Roosevelt’s first documented use of the saying was in a letter he wrote on January 26, 1900 when he was the Governor of New York. In the letter (to New York legislator Henry L. Sprague), Roosevelt used it in reference to his recent victory in a political scuffle over who he appointed as the state’s Insurance Commissioner. Powerful leaders in the State Assembly wanted him to reappoint their corrupt crony, Louis Payn. Roosevelt refused and threatened to take the fight public, forcing them to back down. Roosevelt wrote in the letter: “I have always been fond of the West African proverb: ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.’ If I had not carried the big stick, the organization [i.e., the legislature] would not have gotten behind me.”        Roosevelt’s first famous public use of “Speak softly and carry a big stick” was in a speech at the Minnesota State Fair on September 2, 1901, when he was serving as Vice President of the United States under President William McKinley. He linked it in that address to the Monroe Doctrine, the longstanding U.S. policy against interference of European countries in the affairs of countries in the Western Hemisphere. Roosevelt said: “There is a homely adage which runs ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick – you will go far.’ If the American nation will speak softly, and yet keep at a pitch of the highest training a thoroughly efficient navy, the Monroe Doctrine will go far.’” He used the same lines in another oft-cited speech in Chicago on April 2, 1903, after he had been catapulted into the presidency by the assassination of McKinley — and probably in other stump speeches he gave that year during a widely-covered tour of the country.        Since Roosevelt’s presidency, the term “big stick policy” has been employed as a common political term, especially in reference to U.S. foreign policy. It is generally used to refer to policy positions that will be backed up with military force if necessary.        “Speak softly and carry a big stick” has also become a more general saying suggesting that a person should not make blustery threats, but should be ready to use force or leverage to get their way.        There doesn’t seem to be any proof that the saying started out as a West African proverb, as Roosevelt claimed (perhaps jokingly) in his letter to Henry L. Sprague. His later description of it as an adage that existed before he used it is probably true. But Teddy certainly deserves credit for making it a familiar saying and it will be forever be cited as one of his most famous quotations.

BIDEN’S SCHTICK ABOUT OBAMA’S BIG STICK: “President Obama has said, and I quote, now is the time to let our increased pressure sink in, and to sustain the broad international coalition we have built. Now is the time to heed the timeless advice from Teddy Roosevelt: ‘speak softly and carry a big stick.’ I promise you, the President has a big stick. I promise you.”        Joe Biden        Democratic politician and Vice President of the United States        In a widely-reported speech at New York University on April 26, 2012        Biden’s apparent double entendre about the size of President Obama’s, er, stick sparked laughter from his audience and many jokes on talk shows. It’s hard to know whether it was another Biden gaffe or a deliberate attempt at lame humor. In context, Biden’s big stick comments were part of an attack on Obama’s Republican Presidential challenger, Mitt Romney, who had suggested he would declare war on Iran if that country seemed to be continuing an effort to develop nuclear weapons. Biden warned: “This kind of Romney-talk is just not smart.” He then accurately quoted something Pres. Obama had said in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on March 4, 2012. Then he went a metaphor too far.

MITT ROMNEY’S BIG STICK ENVY: “I want to carry the big stick. I hope I don’t have to use it, but I want to make sure we have it so that people understand we are a nation of strength.”        Mitt Romney        Republican politician and presidential candidate        In a speech in Dubuque, Iowa on June 16, 2007, during his previous failed attempt to win the Republican nomination for President

THE GRAFFITI ARTIST’S VARIATION: “Speak softly, but carry a big can of paint.”        Banksy        UK-based artist and social activist best known for his outdoor graffiti art         A quote widely attributed to the edgy artist (who keeps his real name secret)

JACK NICHOLSON’S VARIATION: “Walk softly and carry an armored tank division, I always say.”         Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan R. Jessup in the movie A Few Good Men (1992)       (See this post for some funny variations on Nicholson’s most famous line from the film.)

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“Let them eat cake” – the misinterpreted origin, recent political uses and some politically incorrect variations...

THE ALLEGED (BUT DOUBTFUL) ORIGIN: “Let them eat cake.” (“Qu’ils mangent de la brioche.”)        Attributed to Marie Antoinette (1755-1793)        Queen of France from 1774 to 1792; beheaded in 1793 in the wake of the French Revolution         This classic expression of disdain for the common people has traditionally been attributed to Marie Antoinette. She supposedly said it when she was told that most French people were do poor they were unable to buy bread to eat. Many scholars now doubt that she actually said it. Moreover, if she did say the line as traditionally given in French — “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche” — it has long been mistranslated and possibly misunderstood. In English, those words actually mean “Let them eat brioche,” referring to a bakery product that is not what we usually think of as a “cake.” Brioche is a light, fluffy pastry with a flaky crust. As explained by the excellent Phrase Finder site, French law in Marie Antoinette’s time required bakers to sell fancier products like brioche at the same price as a common loaf of bread, to prevent them from using too much of the limited flour supplies to make products that would typically be more profitable to the bakery but unaffordable to poor French families. Thus, “Let them eat brioche” could have been an expression of compassion rather than disdain, suggesting that poor people should have access to a product they would have been unable to afford without price controls.

THE POLITICAL PEAS VERSION: “While chastising the Republicans for not agreeing to a debt ceiling deal that would include his suggestions to cut Medicare and Social Security benefits, President Obama said Congressional members needed to do their work, reach a deal and just ‘eat their peas.’...While no one knows for sure if Marie Antoinette ever really said, ‘Let them eat cake,’ we do know the elite in France all those years ago in the 1700s were clueless to the cries of people who couldn't afford bread much less the cake they had been admonished to eat. It appears that in 2011 in the United States of America, we can now replace that admonition with our own: ‘Let them eat their peas.’”        Donna Smith        Healthcare reform activist and Founder of American Patients United        In an opinion piece posted on OpedNews.com on July 18, 2011

THE POLITICAL CORN (FLAKE) VERSION: “Now, once again the reincarnated Marie Antoinette Michele Bachmann is screaming from the floor of the House of Representatives and from Iowa televisions ‘I will not raise the debt ceiling under any circumstances. Let them eat corn!’ If the GOP once again drive the country and the world into a financial ditch can martial law and a fascist dictatorship in the United States be far behind?”        Karen Fish        Freelance blogger        In an op-ed posted on TheSpoof.com site on July 23, 2011

POLITICALLY INCORRECT VARIATION #1: “Let Them Eat Pussy”        Title of the 1998 debut album by the “psychobilly” rock band Nashville Pussy

POLITICALLY INCORRECT VARIATION #2: “I saw this video once, yeah, they was all dressed up like Marie Antoinette. Well, they wore the wigs. Let Them Eat Cock it was called.”        Actor Fraser Ayres        As the character Clint, in an episode of the BBC comedy TV series The Smoking Room (2004–2005)

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“If not now, when?” – Origin, uses and abuses

FAMOUS PHILOSOPHICAL QUOTE: “If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?”        Hillel the Elder (c. 60 BC-10 AD)        Jewish scholar and religious leader        In the Pirkei Avot (“Ethics of the Fathers”). The meaning of this bit of ancient wisdom has been translated in various ways and is still debated, but it seems to encourage rational self-interest, compassion for others and social activism.

PRO-HEALTH CARE VERSION: “Now, since we took this issue on a year ago, there have been plenty of folks in Washington who’ve said that the politics is just too hard...Don’t do it now. My question to them is: When is the right time? If not now, when? If not us, who?”        President Barack Obama        Commenting on his health care reform legislation        Speech in Glenside, Pennsylvania, March 8, 2010

ANTI-OBAMA COUNTERQUOTE: “With the passage of ‘ObamaCare’ coming on the heels of government takeover of industries and taxpayer-funded bailouts of the irresponsible, many are wondering how we can turn the socialist tide...It is time for the few remaining pockets of traditionalism to take control of their culture and destiny. If not now, when?”       Selwyn Duke        Tennis player and Conservative political pundit       Post on his blog, April 8, 2010

INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS VERSION: “Someone must step forward. If not us, who will extend, promote, defend, protect, and enforce human rights?”        Robert L. Maddex        American attorney specializing in international law         International Encyclopedia Of Human Rights (2000)

INSCRUTABLE CHINESE VERSION: “If not now, Wen?”       Jim Jubak       Investment and stock-picking guru       Headline of his post commenting on the reluctance of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (shown at left) to change China’s monetary policy. On the Jubak Picks site, March 8, 2010.

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Recommended collection of philosophy quotes... A Dictionary of Philosophical Quotations by Alfred J. Ayer and Jane O'Grady

“Change we can believe in.” That was then, this is now…

THAT WAS THEN QUOTE: “Change we can believe in.”        Presidential candidate Barack Obama        Campaign slogan, 2008

THIS IS NOW COUNTERQUOTE: “I campaigned on the promise of change – change we can believe in, the slogan went…I never suggested that change would be easy, or that I can do it alone. Democracy in a nation of three hundred million people can be noisy and messy and complicated. And when you try to do big things and make big changes, it stirs passions and controversy.”        President Barack Obama        State of the Union Address, Jan. 27, 2010

THAT WAS THEN PUNDIT QUOTE: “It was certainly something that made people THINK…OK, obviously this guy is offering change but, ‘we can believe in’…what does that mean? And for a lot of people that meant he’s not from the Washington gestalt so he might have the ability to bring about change.”         Obama campaign advisor David Plouffe        On C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” show, Nov. 6, 2009

THIS IS NOW PUNDIT COUNTERQUOTE: “On the eve of the first anniversary of President Obama’s inauguration, it’s become painfully obvious that elected officials are not going to save us...The power of special interests to thwart meaningful change — often by co-opting the rhetoric of change but producing in its name a further consolidation of the status quo — has never been stronger.”         Political pundit Arianna Huffington        Comment on her Huffington Post blog, Jan. 18, 2010

VOTER COUNTERQUOTE: “Scott Brown: Change We Can Afford”        Campaign sign made by a supporter of Scott Brown, the Massachusetts Republican elected to fill Ted Kennedy’s Massachusetts Senate seat on Jan. 19, 2010

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Revisiting “Change You Can Believe In”

FAMOUS ORIGINAL SLOGAN: “Change we can believe in.”        Presidential candidate Barack Obama         His famed campaign slogan during the 2008 presidential campaign

UPDATED OBSERVATION: “The ‘change you can believe in’ people have woken up and seen that as kind of a talking point, and I think there’s some disappointment.”        Professor Lawrence Jacobs        Center for the Study of Politics, Univ. of Minnesota        Commenting on voter favorability toward President Obama        USA Today, October 27, 2009

RUSH LIMBAUGH VARIATION: “Rush Limbaugh announced that he was going to be a [Miss America Pageant] judge in 2010...With Limbaugh as a judge, the winner can only be a conservative or a fibber. Of course, the pageant needs to change to keep up with times. But picking Limbaugh is not change you can believe in. And it wouldn’t be smart for a contestant to use that line.”        Newspaper columnist Ken Hoffman        Houston Chronicle, October 13, 2009

SUPERNATURAL VERSION: CORONER: “You expect me to believe you’re CDC?...It’s just that you’re a day early. First time in history I haven’t sat on my ass waiting for you people.” DEAN (impersonating a CDC official): “New administration. Change you can believe in.”        In a Season 5 episode of the TV series, Supernatural, October 2009

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Blessed are the cheesemakers?

FAMOUS BIBLE QUOTE: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”        Jesus Christ        In the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:9

SATIRICAL COUNTERQUOTE: “Ah, blessed are the peacemakers – Colt, Marlin, Winchester, and now Obama, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, brought to you by Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite and smokeless gun powder, son of the man who taught the world to mine harbors and shipping channels.”        Newspaper columnist Casey Jones        In his Salt Lake Journal Tribune column, Oct. 16, 2009

SATIRICAL PYTHONQUOTE: GREGORY (having trouble hearing Jesus): “What was that?” MAN: “I think it was ‘Blessed are the cheesemakers.’” MRS. GREGORY: “What’s so special about the cheesemakers?” GREGORY: “Well, obviously, it’s not meant to be taken literally. It refers to any manufacturers of dairy products.”         The Monty Python movie Life of Brian (1979)        In the Sermon on the Mount scene

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