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About this quote

What does it mean?
He distinguishes between policy disagreements and shared underlying principles.
In plain terms
We disagree on methods but agree on core values.
What can you take from it?
Focus on shared principles when policies differ.

Where it applies

  • negotiations
  • political discourse

Putting it to work

  • find common ground

Questions to consider

  • What binds us together?
  • How do we handle disagreement?

Another view

It assumes shared principles exist even when policies clash deeply.

More from William McKinley

  1. Let us ever remember that our interest is in concord, not in conflict; and that our real eminence rests in the victories of peace, not those of war.

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  2. That's all a man can hope for during his lifetime - to set an example - and when he is dead, to be an inspiration for history.

    Permalink to quote #16
  3. Illiteracy must be banished from the land if we shall attain that high destiny as the foremost of the enlightened nations of the world which, under Providence,…

    Permalink to quote #13

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