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I'm sorry that I can't snap my fingers and undo 50 years of bad American foreign policy.

Harry Browne

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Harry Browne
Age: 72 †
Born: 1933
Born: June 17
Died: 2006
Died: March 1
Financial Analyst
Peace Activist
Politician
Radio Personality
Writer
New York City
New York
Harry Edson Browne
Policy
American
Years
Undo
Snap
Snaps
Foreign
Fingers
Sorry

More quotes by Harry Browne

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Contrary to all the blather we here about the unique goodness of the American people or our religious heritage or anything else, the one thing that set this country apart from all others was the Bill of Rights.
Harry Browne
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Being a politician means never having to say you're sorry. You don't have to say, 'I never should have voted to subsidize that ridiculous Enron project in India.' ... After all, they're greedy businessmen and you're a selfless public servant.
Harry Browne
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For those looking for security, be forewarned that there's nothing more insecure than a political promise.
Harry Browne
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When people do things for you, it's because they want to - because you, in some way, give them something meaningful that makes them want to please you, not because anyone owes you anything.
Harry Browne
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Communities don't think, don't believe, don't want, don't have needs, don't have interests and don't make decisions. Only individuals have minds that generate desires and needs - and only individuals can make choices and decisions.
Harry Browne
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Left-wing politicians take away your liberty in the name of children and of fighting poverty, while right-wing politicians do it in the name of family values and fighting drugs. Either way, government gets bigger and you become less free.
Harry Browne
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So what is government?... Very simply, it is an agency of coercion. Of course, there are other agencies of coercion - such as the Mafia. So to be more precise, government is the agency of coercion that has flags in front of its offices.
Harry Browne
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We may not always recognize it, but government plays a bigger role in our lives than any other single person or institution. We spend nearly half of our lives working to pay for it. Children spend more time in government schools than they do with their parents. Birth, death, marriage, every area of our lives feels the influence of government.
Harry Browne
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Forcing people to be generous isn't humanitarian, effective, compassionate or moral. Only acts that are truly voluntary for all concerned can be truly compassionate.
Harry Browne
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Politicians are notoriously economically illiterate. And even when they know what would be the right thing, we don't really expect them to do it.
Harry Browne
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Like many people, most Libertarians feel empathy and sympathy for less fortunate people. But they know you can't have perfection in a world of limited resources.
Harry Browne
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Everything we know about human nature and about government tells us that individuals using their own money will achieve far more good for themselves and far more for others than politicians spending money they didn't have to work to earn.
Harry Browne
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Can you think of a single area of government in which George Bush hasn't already made things worse than Bill Clinton did?
Harry Browne
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Security ... it's simply the recognition that changes will take place and the knowledge that you're willing to deal with whatever happens.
Harry Browne
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It has long been apparent that many people in the media don't believe you're competent to make your own decisions.
Harry Browne
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Freedom and responsibility aren't interconnected things. They are the same thing.
Harry Browne
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A Libertarian society of unfettered individualism spreads its benefits to virtually everyone - not just those who have the resources to seize political power.
Harry Browne
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Once upon a time, government budgets were balanced, our money was sound, the streets were safe, and taxes imposed by all levels of government took less than 10% of our income.
Harry Browne
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While most people in TV, radio, and the press have treated me wonderfully, some of the most important people want to pretend I don't exist.
Harry Browne
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A great burden was lifted from my shoulders the day I realized that no one owes me anything.
Harry Browne