Quote of the day–Napoleon Bonaparte

There are only two forces that unite men – fear and interest.

Napoleon Bonaparte
[I was reminded of this when reading Kevin’s excellent post Why We Fight.

Bonaparte’s insight can also be applied to both sides of the gun issue. The anti-gun people use fear a little more than we do but our leaders use it too. We have a much stronger basis in the “interest” part of the equation which is why I think we are winning now. It gives us more staying power. The fear angle fades after a while when the blood doesn’t run in the streets like the anti-gun bigots predicted.–Joe]

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One thought on “Quote of the day–Napoleon Bonaparte

  1. The stick and the carrot, eh?

    Though brevity is the soul of wit, I think Bonaparte’s list is a bit simplistic. I’d add two more: A sense of justice, and anger (or indignation).

    You could make the case that indignation and fear are all forms of “interest” however, as are love and hate.

    Your point is well-made– the antis can’t maintain real fear. Bigotry seems to work better for them.

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