Adlai Stevenson Essay, Research Paper

Adlai Stevenson once commented, “It is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them.

” I have observed this statement to be true in all aspects of life, from common everyday activities

such as traffic signals, to world devastating events involving presidents and deadly nuclear weapons.

Many drivers yell, scream, and curse out other drivers daily for not giving turning signals.

Forgetting to turn on signals can lead to dangerous and sometimes deadly accidents. Everyone feels

drivers should practice this simple decency, and that breakers of this ” signal law” should cursed at

. So many people, however, don’t use their turning signals. Sometimes, a person is having a bad day

and has so much on their mind while driving that such small details are forgotten. Or like my mom

on Monday mornings, late driving me to school, the pressure from teenage drivers often causes her

to forget the turning signals. Drivers, like my mom, condemn others for breaking the traffic laws,

but often find they are unable to practice what they preach.

Driving signals seem miniature when compared to crimes such as adultery. The leader of

the free world, Bill Clinton, has said in many speeches how much family loyalty is important for success.

He seems to have great morals as he commands a country that speaks out for justice and peace.

Yet Clinton was recently caught cheating on the first lady, and the U.S., the number one advocate

of global nuclear disarmament has more nuclear weapons, and continues to build them faster than

any three countries combined. It is easy to say and claim something without actually doing it.

The true statement, “It is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them,” by

Adlai Stevenson, holds water from the world of common people to the world of presidents. People

often know what’s right and are quick to proclaim it. After, they realize the often-easier benefits of

the other bad side and their actions no longer match their words. It is hard to kick this dirty habit,

and the only way of doing so is to act first then talk. Even better, is to show how you feel through

your actions and not your words. After all, actions do speak louder than words.