Conservative Blog: The Ten Cannots

The Ten Cannots

These have been attributed to Abraham Lincoln, when it was a conservative Presbyterian minister, William J. H. Boetcker, who published them in 1916. While they are not the words of Lincoln, the list was read by Ronald Reagan at the 1992 Republican Convention. That’s good enough for me.

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.

You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.

You cannot build character and courage by destroying men's initiative and independence.

And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.

Seems like a nice way to start a blog entitled “Conservative Principles”.

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