---
title: "American liberty has been tentatively saved for the last few decades … — Philip Wylie Quote #14 | QuotesBy.net"
description: "American liberty has been tentatively saved for the last few decades not by the self-discipline of its citizens but by their instincts, which have no… — a quote by Philip Wylie."
image: "https://quotesby.net/wp-content/themes/quotesby-editorial/assets/og-default.png"
---

> # American liberty has been tentatively saved for the last few decades not by the self-discipline of its citizens but by their instincts, which have not yet been blunted quite enough to prevent the people from realizing imminent dangers at the eleventh hour. Twice, now, we have turned at the last moment and armed ourselves to prevent the discipline of ruthlessness-the next most powerful discipline to responsible liberty-from overthrowing us. This second time, we came within months, and perhaps even weeks, as a body of common men, of a position from which not even our instincts could have extricated us. It is not yet utterly certain that we have escaped, but the presumption is that we shall.

[Philip Wylie](https://quotesby.net/Philip-Wylie)\#14

[Discipline](https://quotesby.net/topics/discipline/)[Instinct](https://quotesby.net/topics/instinct/)[National security](https://quotesby.net/topics/national-security/)[Policy](https://quotesby.net/topics/policy/)[Preparation](https://quotesby.net/topics/preparation/)[Security](https://quotesby.net/topics/security/)

[WhatsApp (opens in a new tab)](https://wa.me/?text=%E2%80%9CAmerican%20liberty%20has%20been%20tentatively%20saved%20for%20the%20last%20few%20decades%20not%20by%20the%20self-discipline%20of%20its%20citizens%20but%20by%20their%20instincts%2C%20which%20have%20not%20yet%20been%20blunted%20quite%20enough%20to%20prevent%20the%20people%20from%20realizing%20imminent%20dangers%20at%20the%20eleventh%20hour.%20Twice%2C%20now%2C%20we%20have%20turned%20at%20the%20last%20moment%20and%20armed%20ourselves%20to%20prevent%20the%20discipline%20of%20ruthlessness-the%20next%20most%20powerful%20discipline%20to%20responsible%20liberty-from%20overthrowing%20us.%20This%20second%20time%2C%20we%20came%20within%20months%2C%20and%20perhaps%20even%20weeks%2C%20as%20a%20body%20of%20common%20men%2C%20of%20a%20position%20from%20which%20not%20even%20our%20instincts%20could%20have%20extricated%20us.%20It%20is%20not%20yet%20utterly%20certain%20that%20we%20have%20escaped%2C%20but%20the%20presumption%20is%20that%20we%20shall.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20Philip%20Wylie%20https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FPhilip-Wylie%2F14%2F)[X (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%E2%80%9CAmerican%20liberty%20has%20been%20tentatively%20saved%20for%20the%20last%20few%20decades%20not%20by%20the%20self-discipline%20of%20its%20citizens%20but%20by%20their%20instincts%2C%20which%20have%20not%20yet%20been%20blunted%20quite%20enough%20to%20prevent%20the%20people%20from%20realizing%20imminent%20dangers%20at%20the%20eleventh%20hour.%20Twice%2C%20now%2C%20we%20have%20turned%20at%20the%20last%20moment%20and%20armed%20ourselves%20to%20prevent%20the%20discipline%20of%20ruthlessness-the%20next%20most%20powerful%20discipline%20to%20responsible%20liberty-from%20overthrowing%20us.%20This%20second%20time%2C%20we%20came%20within%20months%2C%20and%20perhaps%20even%20weeks%2C%20as%20a%20body%20of%20common%20men%2C%20of%20a%20position%20from%20which%20not%20even%20our%20instincts%20could%20have%20extricated%20us.%20It%20is%20not%20yet%20utterly%20certain%20that%20we%20have%20escaped%2C%20but%20the%20presumption%20is%20that%20we%20shall.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20Philip%20Wylie&url=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FPhilip-Wylie%2F14%2F)[Facebook (opens in a new tab)](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FPhilip-Wylie%2F14%2F)

## About this quote

What does it mean?America's recent survival owes to instinct rather than self‑discipline; we narrowly avoided disaster twice by reacting at the last moment.In plain termsInstinct saved the nation when discipline failed.What can you take from it?Develop both instinctive vigilance and disciplined preparation.

### Where it applies

- crisis management
- public safety drills
- policy planning

### Putting it to work

- run early‑warning systems
- train emergency responders
- promote civic vigilance

### Questions to consider

- How can we institutionalize preparedness?
- What role does public awareness play in averting crises?

### Another view

Relying on instinct can lead to panic and poor decisions.

## More from Philip Wylie

1. > There is no liberty for a man under any discipline except that which is self-imposed. The imposition of disciplines by the state is called fascism, or tyranny,…

[Permalink to quote \#13](https://quotesby.net/Philip-Wylie/13/ "Permalink to quote 13")
2. > Our Protestant churches, and, even more especially, the Catholic Church, devote an incredible portion of their political energy-perhaps most of it-to interfere…

[Permalink to quote \#15](https://quotesby.net/Philip-Wylie/15/ "Permalink to quote 15")
3. > Love of liberty is laudable and logically the chief political end of man, so long as it is hitched to responsibleness. Eighteenth century man, politically educ…

[Permalink to quote \#12](https://quotesby.net/Philip-Wylie/12/ "Permalink to quote 12")

## Related quotes

1. > We are at war, and our security as a nation depends on winning that war.

[Condoleezza Rice](https://quotesby.net/Condoleezza-Rice)[Condoleezza Rice quote \#12](https://quotesby.net/Condoleezza-Rice/12/ "Permalink to quote 12")
2. > In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his…

[Hillary Clinton](https://quotesby.net/Hillary-Clinton)[Hillary Clinton quote \#15](https://quotesby.net/Hillary-Clinton/15/ "Permalink to quote 15")
3. > 'No nation would refuse to fight an invading army because some expert argued it would be cheaper to invest in defenses against future invasions. It is not a ma…

[Ratu Epeli Ganilau](https://quotesby.net/Ratu-Epeli-Ganilau)[Ratu Epeli Ganilau quote \#27](https://quotesby.net/Ratu-Epeli-Ganilau/27/ "Permalink to quote 27")

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "Quotation",
    "text": "American liberty has been tentatively saved for the last few decades not by the self-discipline of its citizens but by their instincts, which have not yet been blunted quite enough to prevent the people from realizing imminent dangers at the eleventh hour. Twice, now, we have turned at the last moment and armed ourselves to prevent the discipline of ruthlessness-the next most powerful discipline to responsible liberty-from overthrowing us. This second time, we came within months, and perhaps even weeks, as a body of common men, of a position from which not even our instincts could have extricated us. It is not yet utterly certain that we have escaped, but the presumption is that we shall.",
    "url": "https://quotesby.net/Philip-Wylie/14/",
    "spokenByCharacter": {
        "@type": "Person",
        "name": "Philip Wylie"
    }
}
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
    "itemListElement": [
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 1,
            "name": "Home",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/"
        },
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 2,
            "name": "Authors",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/authors/"
        },
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 3,
            "name": "Philip Wylie",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/Philip-Wylie"
        },
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 4,
            "name": "Quote #14",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/Philip-Wylie/14/"
        }
    ]
}
```