8 Strength Principles
The 8 Strength Principles are the foundation upon which the Peace Through Strength philosophy is based. Click on the expandable 8 Principles below to learn more.
Introduction
Introduction
The Peace Through Strength philosophy rests on the argument that if Peace is a goal, then it is best achieved through Strength. Strength -
Rugged Individualism
Personal Responsibility
Personal Security
Inner Strength
Determination
Initiative
The last two points offer a bigger picture meaning for Strength in a community or nation:
Explore these Principles in more detail by clicking on the expandable links below.
1. Rugged Individualism
1. Rugged Individualism
”Speak softly and carry a big stick.” "Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it." "A man's got to do what a man's got to do."
2. Personal Responsibility
2. Personal Responsibility
”You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.” "People might not get all they work for in this world, but they must certainly work for all they get."
3. Personal Security
3. Personal Security
”Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples’ liberty’s teeth.” "The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good." "A people armed and free, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition and is a bulwark for the nation against foreign invasion and domestic oppression." "Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property... Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them." "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." "When a government betrays the people by amassing too much power and becoming tyrannical, the people have no choice but to exercise the original rights of self defense - to fight the government." "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." "To disarm the people is the best and most effectual Way to enslave them." "To preserve Liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
4. Inner Strength
4. Inner Strength
”You have to believe in yourself.” "Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn't have it in the beginning." "We gain the strength of the temptation we resist." "Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power." "You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." "Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have." "I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death." "If your heart acquires strength, you will be able to remove blemishes from others without thinking evil of them." "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." "Courage is being scared to death... and saddling up anyway."
5. Determination
5. Determination
”Never give in – never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” "Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing." "Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person." "The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will."
6. Initiative
6. Initiative
”And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” "Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one's potential."
7. Patriotism
7. Patriotism
”Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world, but the Marines don’t have that problem.” "The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous." "Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories."
8. Duty
8. Duty
”Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” "Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground." "The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose." "Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state."
