PhilRoberson.com--Phil's Heroes

Phil's Heroes

The following are my heroes listed in chronological order.

Washington, George (1732-1799)

"The tumultuous populace of large cities are ever to be dreaded. Their indiscriminate violence prostrates for the time all public authority, and its consequences are sometimes extensive and terrible."

"I know of no pursuit in which more real and important services can be rendered to any country than by improving its agriculture, its breed of useful animals, and other branches of a husbandman's cares."

Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1826)

Probably my number one hero. Statesman, Philosopher, Intellectual, Architect of our country and Architect of buildings, Horticulturalist, you name it. Passionate defender of individual liberties.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

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Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865)

"No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent."

"The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just."

"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves, and, under a just God, cannot long retain it."

Sitting Bull (1834?-1890)

"What treaty that the whites have kept has the red man broken? Not one. What treaty that the white man ever made with us have they kept? Not one. When I was a boy the Sioux owned the world; the sun rose and set on their land; they sent ten thousand men to battle. Where are the warriors now? Who slew them? Where are our lands? Who owns them? What white man can say I stole his land or a penny of his money? Yet they say I am a thief. What white women, however lonely, was ever captive or insulted by me? Yet they say I am a bad Indian. What white man has ever seen me drunk? Who has ever come to me hungry and unfed? Who has ever seen me beat my wives or abuse my children? What laws have I broken? Is it wrong for me to love my own? Is it wicked for me because my skin is red? Because I am a Sioux; because I was born where my father lived: because I would die for my people and my country?"

"I wish all to know that I do not propose to sell any part of my country, nor will I have the whites cutting our timber along the rivers, more especially the oak. I am particularly fond of the little groves of oak trees. I love to look at them, because they endure the wintry storm and the summer's heat, and--not unlike ourselves--seem to flourish by them."

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Chief Joseph (1840?-1904)

"If you tie a horse to a stake, do you expect he will grow fat? If you pen an Indian up on a small spot of earth, and compel him to stay there, he will not be contented, nor will he grow and prosper. I have asked some of the great white chiefs where they get their authority to say to the Indian that he shall stay in one place, while he sees white men going where they please. They can not tell me."

"Tell General Howard I know his heart. What he told me before I have in my heart. I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led the young men is dead. It is cold and we have no blanket. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food; no one knows where they are--perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me my chiefs. I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

Roosevelt, Theodore (1858-1919)

"Speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far."

"It is difficult to make our material condition better by the best law, but it is easy enough to ruin it by bad laws."

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood."

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King, Martin Luther, Jr. (1929-1968)

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

"One who breaks an unjust law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law."

Reagan, Ronald (1911- )

"No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!"

"Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them."

"The government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."

"I have recently been told that I am one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease. . .. I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead."

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These are my heroes. I haven't done an exhaustive study or anything. It is just that when I think of who in history I admire, these men come to mind. I realize they are all from America's history, and that they are all men. They also represent both the best and the worst times in America's history. I am sure that there are others that I could add to this list if I looked into it, but I have deep respect for everyone on this list, and they are good, important people to me.