--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is often easier to fight for…" description: "\"It is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them.\" — Adlai E Stevenson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/adlai-e-stevenson-2-26747_easier_it-is-often-easier-to-fight-for-principl_2972722.png" --- # It is often easier to fight for principles than to live up… ![“It is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them.” quote by Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/adlai-e-stevenson-2-26747_easier_it-is-often-easier-to-fight-for-principl_2972722.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/adlai-e-stevenson-2-26747_easier_it-is-often-easier-to-fight-for-principl_2972722.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/adlai-e-stevenson-2-26747_easier_it-is-often-easier-to-fight-for-principl_2972722.png) > “It is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them.” [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often champion ideals publicly but fail to embody them in daily life. **In simple terms:** Principles are easier to defend than practice. Key Takeaway Align actions with stated values. Themes ethics integrity principles hypocrisy behavior Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - political campaigning - personal relationships - workplace decisions Key Concepts moral philosophy cognitive dissonance social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How do you test your own principles? - What prevents you from living your ideals? A Different Perspective Societal pressure can erode personal integrity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) ## Related quotes > [It is always easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/it-is-always-easier-to-fight-for-one-s-principles-than-to-live-up-to/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [It is easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/it-is-easier-to-fight-for-one-s-principles-than-to-live-up-to-them/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [“It is often easier to fight for one’s principles than it is to live up to them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-steveson/it-is-often-easier-to-fight-for-one-s-principles-than-it-is-to-live/) Adlai E. Steveson > [Surround yourself with human beings, my dear James. They are easier to fight for than principles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-fleming/surround-yourself-with-human-beings-my-dear-james-they-are-easier-to-2/) [Ian Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-fleming/) > [It is easier to fight for principles then to live up to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/higher-grounds/it-is-easier-to-fight-for-principles-then-to-live-up-to-them/) [Higher Grounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/higher-grounds/) > [It would have been easier to fight alone with inadequate forces than to have to accept...responsibility for our ally's lack of fighting qualities and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-kesselring/it-would-have-been-easier-to-fight-alone-with-inadequate-forces-than/) [Albert Kesselring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-kesselring/) > [It's important for me to fight for principles. But I am not willing to cope with the nastiness of politics anymore and the endless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-betancourt/it-s-important-for-me-to-fight-for-principles-but-i-am-not-willing-to/) [Ingrid Betancourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-betancourt/) > [We're in a fight for our principles and our first responsibility is to live by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush-2/we-re-in-a-fight-for-our-principles-and-our-first-responsibility-is/) [George W Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush-2/) > [“I’ve always felt that the mark of a man is his willingness to fight for his principles. It doesn’t matter if you win or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-schaefer/i-ve-always-felt-that-the-mark-of-a-man-is-his-willingness-to-fight/) [Craig Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-schaefer/) > [I love fighting. I want to fight, but there are principles in this game. You've got to have morals. I'm not just going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-rockhold/i-love-fighting-i-want-to-fight-but-there-are-principles-in-this-game/) [Luke Rockhold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-rockhold/) > [This fight against drilling in the Arctic Refuge is a fight about our principles. Its about standing up for our environment, our families and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-fight-against-drilling-in-the-arctic-refuge-is-a-fight-about-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Honestly, I think big guys are easier to fight. They don't move as fast, they get tired quickly and they're not as technical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mir/honestly-i-think-big-guys-are-easier-to-fight-they-don-t-move-as-fast/) [Frank Mir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mir/) > [It is far easier to fight against sin in public than to pray against it in private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/it-is-far-easier-to-fight-against-sin-in-public-than-to-pray-against/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [In that moment she learnt one of the greatest secrets of life: It is often easier to fight for others than it is for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-clement-davies/in-that-moment-she-learnt-one-of-the-greatest-secrets-of-life-it-is/) [David Clement-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-clement-davies/) > [It is much easier to fight through this thing called life with someone, as opposed to fighting alone. I absolutely want to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisaraye-mccoy-misick/it-is-much-easier-to-fight-through-this-thing-called-life-with/) [LisaRaye McCoy-Misick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisaraye-mccoy-misick/) ## More by Adlai E Stevenson > [In youth, everything seems possible; but we reach a point in the middle years when we realize that we are never going to reach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/in-youth-everything-seems-possible-but-we-reach-a-point-in-the-middle/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [Respect for intellectual excellence, the restoration of vigor and discipline to our ideas of study, curricula which aim at strengthening intellectual fiber and stretching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/respect-for-intellectual-excellence-the-restoration-of-vigor-and/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [When you leave here, don't forget why you came. ( to college graduates)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/when-you-leave-here-don-t-forget-why-you-came-to-college-graduates/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [Nature is neutral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/nature-is-neutral/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [Man is a strange animal. He generally cannot read the handwriting on the wall until his back is up against it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/man-is-a-strange-animal-he-generally-cannot-read-the-handwriting-on/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [You will find that the truth is often unpopular and the contest between agreeable fancy and disagreeable fact is unequal. For, in the vernacular,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/you-will-find-that-the-truth-is-often-unpopular-and-the-contest/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [Flattery is all right if you don't inhale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/flattery-is-all-right-if-you-don-t-inhale/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [The elephant has a thick skin, a head full of ivory, and as everyone who has seen a circus parade knows, proceeds best by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/the-elephant-has-a-thick-skin-a-head-full-of-ivory-and-as-everyone/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [Those who corrupt the public mind are just as evil as those who steal from the public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/those-who-corrupt-the-public-mind-are-just-as-evil-as-those-who-steal-2/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [We mean by 'politics' the people's business - the most important business there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/we-mean-by-politics-the-people-s-business-the-most-important-business/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [After four years at the United Nations I sometimes yearn for the peace and tranquillity of a political convention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/after-four-years-at-the-united-nations-i-sometimes-yearn-for-the/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [A diplomat's life is made up of three ingredients: protocol, Geritol and alcohol.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/a-diplomat-s-life-is-made-up-of-three-ingredients-protocol-geritol/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/a-free-society-is-one-where-it-is-safe-to-be-unpopular/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [The free press is the mother of all our liberties and of our progress under liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/the-free-press-is-the-mother-of-all-our-liberties-and-of-our-progress/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) > [Let us talk sense to the American people. Let us tell them the truth, that there are no gains without pains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/let-us-talk-sense-to-the-american-people-let-us-tell-them-the-truth/) [Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) [Explore all 21 Adlai E Stevenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/) ## More Easier quotes > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [I think hair gel was invented to make it easier to identify assholes from a distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/i-think-hair-gel-was-invented-to-make-it-easier-to-identify-assholes/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [It is easier to say you're mad, rather than admitting you're hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-easier-to-say-you-re-mad-rather-than-admitting-you-re-hurt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Nothing is easier than yesterday's solutions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-sperry/nothing-is-easier-than-yesterday-s-solutions/) Roger Sperry > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [Generally, I like all islands. There, it is easier to rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/generally-i-like-all-islands-there-it-is-easier-to-rule/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [It's funny, everything is so much easier when you do it yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carine-roitfeld/it-s-funny-everything-is-so-much-easier-when-you-do-it-yourself/) [Carine Roitfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carine-roitfeld/) > [It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-is-easier-to-perceive-error-than-to-find-truth-for-the-former-lies/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I'm truly, 100% guided by the characters and my Muse. If one of the characters suddenly decided to do something very different, I'd just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-foster/i-m-truly-100-guided-by-the-characters-and-my-muse-if-one-of-the/) [Lori Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-foster/) > [The easier it is to quantify, the less it's worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-easier-it-is-to-quantify-the-less-it-s-worth/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“it is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didnt”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-van-buren/it-is-easier-to-do-a-job-right-than-to-explain-why-you-didnt/) [Martin Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-van-buren/) > [“Often we find it easier to think our way around things rather than to feel our way through them:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/often-we-find-it-easier-to-think-our-way-around-things-rather-than-to/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [I know it is easier said than done, but you have to find a way to surround yourself with positivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-deprince/i-know-it-is-easier-said-than-done-but-you-have-to-find-a-way-to/) [Michaela DePrince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-deprince/) > [God puts you where God needs you. You are where you are supposed to be. The job you are doing may not be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kushner/god-puts-you-where-god-needs-you-you-are-where-you-are-supposed-to-be/) [Lawrence Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kushner/) Browse all 5,480 Easier quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adlai E Stevenson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/it-is-often-easier-to-fight-for-principles-than-to-live-up-to-them/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Easier" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/it-is-often-easier-to-fight-for-principles-than-to-live-up-to-them/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/adlai-e-stevenson-2-26747_easier_it-is-often-easier-to-fight-for-principl_2972722.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/adlai-e-stevenson-2-26747_easier_it-is-often-easier-to-fight-for-principl_2972722.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d79/adlai-e-stevenson-2-26747_easier_it-is-often-easier-to-fight-for-principl_2972722.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them.” — Adlai E Stevenson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Adlai E Stevenson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is often easier to fight...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/it-is-often-easier-to-fight-for-principles-than-to-live-up-to-them/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/it-is-often-easier-to-fight-for-principles-than-to-live-up-to-them/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```