"The deterioration of a government begins almost always by the decay of its principles." ― Charles de Secondat Topic(s): Government More From Charles de Secondat "A man should be mourned at his birth, not at his death." "Each particular society begins to feel its strength, whence arises a state of war between different nations." "People here argue about religion interminably, but it appears that they are competing at the same time to see who can be the least devout." More In Government "A day spent praising the earth and lamenting man’s pollutionist history makes you feel like a superior, sensitive soul."― Russell Baker "Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants. People have the right to expect that these wants will be provided for by this wisdom."― Jimmy Carter "The most powerful recent innovation in government is when states aggressively use community colleges for retraining. In Michigan, where large numbers of workers were displaced from the manufacturing industry, we created a wildly successful program: No Worker Left Behind."― Jennifer Granholm