--- title: "Best John W. Gardner Sayings" description: "John William Gardner was Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) under President Lyndon Johnson. Browse 88 John W. Gardner quotes." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b014/author-john-w-gardner-52438.jpg" --- ![Portrait of John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b014/author-john-w-gardner-52438.jpg) # John W. Gardner (1912–2002) Politician United States **88** quotes in **537** categories Rate this collection: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet John W. Gardner was a politician from the United States, best known for *Self-Renewal*. ## Quick Facts About John W. Gardner Born October 8, 1912 Died February 16, 2002 Nationality United States Profession Politician Notable works Self-Renewal ## About John W. Gardner John William Gardner was Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) under President Lyndon Johnson. He was a strong advocate for citizen participation and founded Common Cause; he became known as "the father of campaign finance reform". ## Awards & Honors Presidential Medal of Freedom NAS Public Welfare Medal honorary doctor of the University of Miami ## Quotes by John W. Gardner · Page 3 > [Men of integrity, by their very existence, rekindle the belief that as a people we can live above the level of moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/men-of-integrity-by-their-very-existence-rekindle-the-belief-that-as/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/john-w-gardner-7687_belief_men-of-integrity-by-their-very-existence_2916651.jpg) > [ The \[nonprofit\] sector is the natural home of nonmajoritarian impulses, movements and values. It comfortably harbors innovators, maverick movements, groups which feel… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/the-nonprofit-sector-is-the-natural-home-of-nonmajoritarian-impulses/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) [Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd6/john-w-gardner-7687_conservative_the-nonprofit-sector-is-the-natural-home_796115.jpg) > [The ultimate goal of the educational system is to shift to the individual the burden of pursing his own education. This will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/the-ultimate-goal-of-the-educational-system-is-to-shift-to-the-2/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) [Burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e1/john-w-gardner-7687_burden_the-ultimate-goal-of-the-educational-sys_2825543.jpg) > [We pay a heavy price for our fear of failure. It is a powerful obstacle to growth. It assures the progressive narrowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/we-pay-a-heavy-price-for-our-fear-of-failure-it-is-a-powerful-2/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49b/john-w-gardner-7687_courage_we-pay-a-heavy-price-for-our-fear-of-fai_2924866.jpg) > [But if we believe what we profess concerning the worth of the individual, then the idea of individual development within a framework…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/but-if-we-believe-what-we-profess-concerning-the-worth-of-the/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/john-w-gardner-7687_age_but-if-we-believe-what-we-profess-concer_3157181.jpg) > [The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/the-society-which-scorns-excellence-in-plumbing-as-a-humble-activity/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) [Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d93/john-w-gardner-7687_activity_the-society-which-scorns-excellence-in-p_900345.jpg) > [Leaders develop their styles as they interact with their constituencies. They move toward the style that seems most effective in dealing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/leaders-develop-their-styles-as-they-interact-with-their/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a3/john-w-gardner-7687_elements_leaders-develop-their-styles-as-they-int_2923083.jpg) > [What leaders have to remember is that somewhere under the somnolent surface is the creature that builds civilizations, the dreamer of dreams,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-gardner/what-leaders-have-to-remember-is-that-somewhere-under-the-somnolent/) [John W. Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/382/john-w-gardner-7687_civilization_what-leaders-have-to-remember-is-that-so_2861947.jpg) ## John W. Gardner by topic [People (14)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/john-w-gardner/) [Leadership (12)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/john-w-gardner/) [Life (11)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/john-w-gardner/) [Leader (10)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/john-w-gardner/) [Excellence (10)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excellence/john-w-gardner/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-gardner/#itemlist", "name": "John W. Gardner Quotes", "numberOfItems": 8, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Men of integrity, by their very existence, rekindle the belief that as a people we can live above the level of moral squalor. We need that belief; a cynical community is a corrupt community.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John W. 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