--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [President Johnson] had the political…" description: "\"[President Johnson] had the political will to say that having one in five Americans living in the kind of abject conditions their fellow citizens assoc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f8/anna-quindlen-467_battlefields_president-johnson-had-the-political-will_112628.jpg" --- # \[President Johnson\] had the political will to say that… ![“[President Johnson] had the political will to say that having one in five Americans living in the kind of abject conditions their fellow citizens associated with Third World countries and the novels of Dickens was as dangerous as any battlefield enemy.” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f8/anna-quindlen-467_battlefields_president-johnson-had-the-political-will_112628.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f8/anna-quindlen-467_battlefields_president-johnson-had-the-political-will_112628.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f8/anna-quindlen-467_battlefields_president-johnson-had-the-political-will_112628.jpg) > “\[President Johnson\] had the political will to say that having one in five Americans living in the kind of abject conditions their fellow citizens associated with Third World countries and the novels of Dickens was as dangerous as any battlefield enemy.” [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poverty and deprivation within a wealthy nation pose a moral threat comparable to external enemies, demanding urgent political action. **In simple terms:** Domestic inequality is a dangerous enemy. Key Takeaway Neglecting the poor undermines national security. Themes social justice politics economic inequality public health Mood urgent concerned Type political commentary social critique When to use this quote - policy debates on welfare - urban renewal projects - community health assessments Key Concepts structural violence moral economics Practical Applications - Allocate resources to low‑income neighborhoods - Implement universal basic services Questions to Reflect On - What policies most effectively reduce domestic deprivation? - How can public perception shift to view poverty as a security issue? A Different Perspective Comparing poverty to warfare may oversimplify complex socioeconomic dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Battlefields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battlefields/) [Citizens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizens/) [Conditions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conditions/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Dangerous Battlefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous-battlefield-1334009/) [Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dickens/) [Dickens Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dickens-dangerous-1334008/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Fellows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fellows/) [Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) [Having Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-americans-1334010/) [Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/johnson/) [Johnson Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/johnson-political-1334011/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-will/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [President johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president-johnson/) [Third world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/third-world/) [Third world countries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/third-world-countries/) [Thirds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirds/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [President Johnson did not want the Vietnam War to broaden. He wanted the North Vietnamese to leave their brothers in the South alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-westmoreland/president-johnson-did-not-want-the-vietnam-war-to-broaden-he-wanted/) [William Westmoreland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-westmoreland/) > [I'm sure that President Johnson would never have pursued the war in Vietnam if he'd ever had a Fulbright to Japan, or say Bangkok,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/i-m-sure-that-president-johnson-would-never-have-pursued-the-war-in/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [With 450,000 U. S. troops now in Vietnam, it is time that Congress decided whether or not to declare a state of war exists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/with-450-000-u-s-troops-now-in-vietnam-it-is-time-that-congress/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“Cyril H. 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Its enactment, following the longest continuous debate in the history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perez/on-july-2-1964-president-johnson-signed-into-law-the-civil-rights-act/) [Thomas Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perez/) > [The consequences of President Johnsons campaign of deliberate deception regarding Vietnam could hardly have been more catastrophic for the nation, the military, the president,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/the-consequences-of-president-johnsons-campaign-of-deliberate/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [I don't understand it, how President Johnson can send troops to Vietnam and cannot send troops to Selma, Alabama, to protect people whose only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lewis/i-don-t-understand-it-how-president-johnson-can-send-troops-to/) [John Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lewis/) > [“On February 7, President Johnson met at the White House with five black leaders, including Frederick Douglass, who came to lobby for a civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/on-february-7-president-johnson-met-at-the-white-house-with-five/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [“FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover “mistrusted and disliked all three Kennedy brothers. President Johnson and Hoover had mutual fear and hatred for the Kennedys,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-brussell/fbi-director-j-edgar-hoover-mistrusted-and-disliked-all-three-kennedy/) [Mae Brussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-brussell/) > [ My dad challenged every president from President \[Dwight\] Eisenhower and Vice President \[Richard\] Nixon to President \[J.F\] Kennedy, Vice President \[Lindon\] Johnson to President… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-sharpton/my-dad-challenged-every-president-from-president-dwight-eisenhower/) [Al Sharpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-sharpton/) > [Medicare is a promise we made to seniors more than four decades ago. When President Johnson signed Medicare into law, one in three seniors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-garamendi/medicare-is-a-promise-we-made-to-seniors-more-than-four-decades-ago/) [John Garamendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-garamendi/) > [ The origins of these \[schooling\] federal policies were tied to President Johnson's war on poverty. Supplemental funds were sent to school districts serving poor… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-noguera/the-origins-of-these-schooling-federal-policies-were-tied-to/) [Pedro Noguera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-noguera/) > [President Johnson offered the middle of the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wasserman/president-johnson-offered-the-middle-of-the-road/) [Lew Wasserman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wasserman/) > [Everybody has their own idea of what's a poet. Robert Frost, President Johnson, T.S.Eliot, Rudolf Valentino - they're all poets. I like to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/everybody-has-their-own-idea-of-what-s-a-poet-robert-frost-president/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## More by Anna Quindlen > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/sometimes-change-came-all-at-once-with-a-sound-like-a-fire-taking/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Loss as muse. Loss as character. Loss as life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/loss-as-muse-loss-as-character-loss-as-life/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/knowledge-of-our-own-mortality-is-the-greatest-gift-god-ever-gives-us/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [You teach your 16-year-old with your heart in your mouth to be a good driver and none of that makes any difference when some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-teach-your-16-year-old-with-your-heart-in-your-mouth-to-be-a-good/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Every reader, I suspect, has a book like this somewhere in his or her past, a book that seemed to hold within it, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/every-reader-i-suspect-has-a-book-like-this-somewhere-in-his-or-her/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“I’ve finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-ve-finally-recognized-my-body-for-what-it-is-a-personality-delivery/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [A man who builds his own pedestal had better use strong cement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/a-man-who-builds-his-own-pedestal-had-better-use-strong-cement/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“In England I am always madam; I arrived too late to ever be a miss. In New York I have only been madamed once,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-england-i-am-always-madam-i-arrived-too-late-to-ever-be-a-miss-in/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“Yet there was always in me, even when I was very small, the sense that I ought to be somewhere else. And wander I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/yet-there-was-always-in-me-even-when-i-was-very-small-the-sense-that/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I can't think of a single downside to motherhood now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-can-t-think-of-a-single-downside-to-motherhood-now/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It would take a helluva man to replace no man at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-would-take-a-helluva-man-to-replace-no-man-at-all/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Not writing at all leads to nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/not-writing-at-all-leads-to-nothing/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Reading has always been my home, my sustenance, my great invincible companion. "Book love," Trollope called it. "It will make your hours pleasant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-always-been-my-home-my-sustenance-my-great-invincible/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) [Explore all 538 Anna Quindlen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## More Battlefields quotes > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Men grow old quickly on the battlefield.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/men-grow-old-quickly-on-the-battlefield/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [We have won an armistice on a single battlefield, not peace in our world. We may not now relax our guard nor cease our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/we-have-won-an-armistice-on-a-single-battlefield-not-peace-in-our/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [Madaming is the sort of thing that happens to you - like getting a battlefield commission or becoming the dean of women at Stanford…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-stanford/madaming-is-the-sort-of-thing-that-happens-to-you-like-getting-a/) [Sally Stanford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-stanford/) > [It is unfortunate when final decisions are made by chieftains headquartered miles away from the front, where they can only guess at conditions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/attila-the-hun/it-is-unfortunate-when-final-decisions-are-made-by-chieftains/) [Attila the Hun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/attila-the-hun/) > [There are courageous and honest men enough in both sections to fight. There is no question of courage involved. The people of both sections…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-toombs/there-are-courageous-and-honest-men-enough-in-both-sections-to-fight/) [Robert Toombs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-toombs/) > [Energy will be the immediate test of our ability to unite this Nation, and it can also be the standard around which we rally.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/energy-will-be-the-immediate-test-of-our-ability-to-unite-this-nation/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [The women has her own battlefield with every child she brings into the world she fights a battle for the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-women-has-her-own-battlefield-with-every-child-she-brings-into/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [What's always got me is the fact that when people talked on the telly about Iraq, before Afghanistan kicked off, you'd get only these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-kemp/what-s-always-got-me-is-the-fact-that-when-people-talked-on-the-telly/) [Ross Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-kemp/) > [I was in the midst of it all - saw war where war is worst - not on the battlefields, no - in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-was-in-the-midst-of-it-all-saw-war-where-war-is-worst-not-on-the/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [A dance performance is rather like going out into a battlefield. You have to hold the attention of as many as five to 10,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamini-krishnamurthy/a-dance-performance-is-rather-like-going-out-into-a-battlefield-you/) [Yamini Krishnamurthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamini-krishnamurthy/) > [ \[on L. Ron Hubbard\] I'm not in favor of his religion by any means. But he wrote a book called 'Battlefield Earth' that was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/on-l-ron-hubbard-i-m-not-in-favor-of-his-religion-by-any-means-but-he/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Digiphrenia - how technology lets us be in more than one place - and self - at the same time. Drone pilots suffer more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/digiphrenia-how-technology-lets-us-be-in-more-than-one-place-and-self/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [All the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/all-the-people-of-all-the-nations-which-had-fought-in-the-first-world/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Browse all 231 Battlefields quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battlefields/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[President Johnson] had the political will to say that having one in five Americans living in the kind of abject conditions their fellow citizens associated with Third World countries and the novels of Dickens was as dangerous as any battlefield enemy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anna Quindlen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/president-johnson-had-the-political-will-to-say-that-having-one-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Battlefields" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/president-johnson-had-the-political-will-to-say-that-having-one-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f8/anna-quindlen-467_battlefields_president-johnson-had-the-political-will_112628.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f8/anna-quindlen-467_battlefields_president-johnson-had-the-political-will_112628.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f8/anna-quindlen-467_battlefields_president-johnson-had-the-political-will_112628.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[President Johnson] had the political will to say that having one in five Americans living in the kind of…” — Anna Quindlen", "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": "Anna Quindlen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "[President Johnson] had the political will...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/president-johnson-had-the-political-will-to-say-that-having-one-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/president-johnson-had-the-political-will-to-say-that-having-one-in/#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 } } ] } ```