I stand on this rostrum with a sense of deep humility and great pride - humility in the weight of those great American architects of our history who have stood here before me; pride in the reflection that this home of legislative debate represents human liberty in the purest form yet devised.

Douglas MacArthur

Categorized in : War Home Humility

A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.

Douglas MacArthur

confidence leadership inspirational

The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.

Douglas MacArthur

military war peace

Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up interest wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self-distrust, fear and despair; these are the long, long years that bow the head and turn the growing spirit back to dust. Whatever your years, there is in every being's heart the love of wonder, the undaunted challenge of events, the unfailing childlike appetite for what next, and the joy and the game of life.

Douglas MacArthur

giving-up heart numbers

I am concerned for the security of our great Nation; not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within.

Douglas MacArthur

new-world-order gun military

History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline. There has been either a spiritual awakening to overcome the moral lapse or a progressive deterioration leading to ultimate national disaster.

Douglas MacArthur

liberty political spiritual

Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons.

Douglas MacArthur

warfare army military

Duty, Honor, Country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.

Douglas MacArthur

rallying-point honor country

Talk of imminent threat to our national security through the application of external force is pure nonsense. Our threat is from the insidious forces working from within which have already so drastically altered the character of our free institutions - those institutions we proudly called the American way of life.

Douglas MacArthur

character war way

By profession I am a soldier and take pride in that fact. But I am prouder - infinitely prouder - to be a father. A soldier destroys in order to build; the father only builds, never destroys. The one has the potentiality of death; the other embodies creation and life. And while the hordes of death are mighty, the battalions of life are mightier still. It is my hope that my son, when I am gone, will remember me not from the battle field but in the home repeating with him our simple daily prayer, Our Father Who Art in Heaven.

Douglas MacArthur

prayer life art

Youth is not entirely a time of life; it is a state of mind. Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old by deserting their ideals. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubts; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair.

Douglas MacArthur

self-confidence attitude years

For those to whom much is given, much is required. It is not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up. There is no substitute for victory.

Douglas MacArthur

knocked-down get-up victory

Even when opportunity knocks, a man still has to get up off his seat and open the door.

Douglas MacArthur

opportunity doors men

Have a good plan, execute it violently, and do it today.

Douglas MacArthur

planning plans today

No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.

Douglas MacArthur

patriotic freedom inspirational

Give me ten thousand Filipino soldiers and I will conquer the world.

Douglas MacArthur

conquer-the-world soldier giving

Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid, one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

Douglas MacArthur

strong thank-you children

Rules are mostly made to be broken and are too often for the lazy to hide behind.

Douglas MacArthur

lazy broken rules-and-regulations

Beware not the enemy from 'without' but the enemy from 'within'.

Douglas MacArthur

enemy

You are remembered for the rules you break.

Douglas MacArthur

bad-ass legacy military

We are not retreating - we are advancing in another direction.

Douglas MacArthur

veterans-day military witty