--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I may be wrong in that, but not I think…" description: "\"I may be wrong in that, but not I think in putting the questions. In our modern democracy the government needs not a unanimous but a general support fo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/494/douglas-hurd-19856_before_i-may-be-wrong-in-that-but-not-i-think-i_1415604.png" --- # I may be wrong in that, but not I think in putting the… ![“I may be wrong in that, but not I think in putting the questions. In our modern democracy the government needs not a unanimous but a general support for war before it orders our forces to fight.” quote by Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/494/douglas-hurd-19856_before_i-may-be-wrong-in-that-but-not-i-think-i_1415604.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/494/douglas-hurd-19856_before_i-may-be-wrong-in-that-but-not-i-think-i_1415604.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/494/douglas-hurd-19856_before_i-may-be-wrong-in-that-but-not-i-think-i_1415604.png) > “I may be wrong in that, but not I think in putting the questions. In our modern democracy the government needs not a unanimous but a general support for war before it orders our forces to fight.” [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues that war decisions need broad public support, not unanimity, before military action **In simple terms:** War should have general public backing, not necessarily full agreement Key Takeaway Seek widespread public support before entering war Themes politics war public opinion Mood cautious reflective Type political strategic When to use this quote - parliamentary debates - public referendums - media campaigns - civil society advocacy Key Concepts Democratic legitimacy military engagement consensus building Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms ensure genuine public support? - How to balance minority dissent with majority will? A Different Perspective Public opinion can be manipulated, making true consensus hard to gauge ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Before](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/before/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democracy Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy-government-281889/) [Fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight/) [Forces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forces/) [General](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/general/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Modern Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-democracy-260414/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Orders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orders/) [Our](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Putting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/putting/) [Questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [Support War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support-war-596157/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Unanimous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unanimous/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong/) [Wrong Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-think/) ## Related quotes > [Where are the real sources of human dignity, freedom and modern democracy, if not in the concept of infinity to which all men are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/where-are-the-real-sources-of-human-dignity-freedom-and-modern/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [“But a democracy is bound in the end to be obscene, for it is composed of myriad disunited fragments, each fragment assuming to itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/but-a-democracy-is-bound-in-the-end-to-be-obscene-for-it-is-composed/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [The crisis of modern democracy is a profound one. Free elections, a free press and an independent judiciary mean little when the free market…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-crisis-of-modern-democracy-is-a-profound-one-free-elections-a/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Any dictatorship would be better than modern democracy. 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Commons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-commons/) > [The trouble in modern democracy is that men do not approach to leadership until they have lost the de e to lead anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-beveridge/the-trouble-in-modern-democracy-is-that-men-do-not-approach-to-2/) [William Beveridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-beveridge/) > [A modern democracy is a tyranny whose borders are undefined; one discovers how far one can go only by traveling in a straight line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/a-modern-democracy-is-a-tyranny-whose-borders-are-undefined-one/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Unanimous votes are rare in parliament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-lewis/unanimous-votes-are-rare-in-parliament/) [Clive Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-lewis/) > [This view of the text comports with the all but unanimous understanding of the Founding Fathers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashcroft/this-view-of-the-text-comports-with-the-all-but-unanimous/) [John Ashcroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashcroft/) > [They all agree, they are all unanimous in Congress, in the States, on the rostrum, in the sanctuary - everywhere they declare that slavery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-toombs/they-all-agree-they-are-all-unanimous-in-congress-in-the-states-on/) [Robert Toombs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-toombs/) > [We must be unanimous; there must be no pulling different ways; we must hang together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hancock/we-must-be-unanimous-there-must-be-no-pulling-different-ways-we-must/) [John Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hancock/) > [Audiences respond in entirely different ways. One thing is unanimous - music binds us altogether.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksey-igudesman/audiences-respond-in-entirely-different-ways-one-thing-is-unanimous/) [Aleksey Igudesman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksey-igudesman/) > [“unanimous. They are like many parts of a single mind,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/unanimous-they-are-like-many-parts-of-a-single-mind/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) ## More by Douglas Hurd > [We, Britain and Germany, can neither of us be happy about our handling of the Iraq war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/we-britain-and-germany-can-neither-of-us-be-happy-about-our-handling/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [Diplomacy is unfashionable in the world of knee-jerk reaction and the dogmatic sound bite on television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/diplomacy-is-unfashionable-in-the-world-of-knee-jerk-reaction-and-the/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [We must admit that history is enjoyable to a large extent because it enables us to pass judgment on the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/we-must-admit-that-history-is-enjoyable-to-a-large-extent-because-it/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [It is normal for politicians in all countries to profess themselves the pupils of history, anxious to draw the right lessons from her teaching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/it-is-normal-for-politicians-in-all-countries-to-profess-themselves/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [It depends on how it is done but what we are drifting into, which is that people grow up without any sense of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/it-depends-on-how-it-is-done-but-what-we-are-drifting-into-which-is/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [War on Iraq runs the risk of turning the Middle East into an inexhaustible recruiting ground for anti- western terrorism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/war-on-iraq-runs-the-risk-of-turning-the-middle-east-into-an/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [There is nothing false or arrogant about German pride in German technical and business skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/there-is-nothing-false-or-arrogant-about-german-pride-in-german/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [Some people find it difficult to argue with a woman Prime Minister and shrivel up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/some-people-find-it-difficult-to-argue-with-a-woman-prime-minister/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [“Prison is an expensive way of making bad people worse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/prison-is-an-expensive-way-of-making-bad-people-worse/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [A genuinely democratic Iraq might well act as a fresh spur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/a-genuinely-democratic-iraq-might-well-act-as-a-fresh-spur/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [Men like Hitler and Stalin and their immediate lieutenants cannot plead in defence of their actions that these were justified by the accepted values…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/men-like-hitler-and-stalin-and-their-immediate-lieutenants-cannot/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [The tragedy of 9-11 galvanized the American superpower into action, leaving us in Europe divided in its wake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/the-tragedy-of-9-11-galvanized-the-american-superpower-into-action/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [We should be wary of politicians who profess to follow history while only noticing those signposts of history that point in the direction which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/we-should-be-wary-of-politicians-who-profess-to-follow-history-while/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [Margaret Thatcher, growing up in a bombed and battered Britain, derived a distrust which has grown with the years not just of Germany but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/margaret-thatcher-growing-up-in-a-bombed-and-battered-britain-derived/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [But it cannot follow that because weapons and troops are now being deployed we are bound to go to war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/but-it-cannot-follow-that-because-weapons-and-troops-are-now-being/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) [Explore all 32 Douglas Hurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) ## More Before quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. 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