--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The conservative may clamor against…" description: "\"The conservative may clamor against reform, but he might as well clamor against the centrifugal force. He sighs for the \"good old times,\"--he might as ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/edwin-hubbel-chapin-1652_acorn_the-conservative-may-clamor-against-refo_2942010.png" --- # The conservative may clamor against reform, but he might… ![“The conservative may clamor against reform, but he might as well clamor against the centrifugal force. He sighs for the "good old times,"--he might as well wish the oak back into the acorn.” quote by Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/edwin-hubbel-chapin-1652_acorn_the-conservative-may-clamor-against-refo_2942010.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/edwin-hubbel-chapin-1652_acorn_the-conservative-may-clamor-against-refo_2942010.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/edwin-hubbel-chapin-1652_acorn_the-conservative-may-clamor-against-refo_2942010.png) > “The conservative may clamor against reform, but he might as well clamor against the centrifugal force. He sighs for the "good old times,"--he might as well wish the oak back into the acorn.” [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Conservatives resist change, yearning for nostalgic ideals, yet such resistance is as futile as trying to revert natural growth. **In simple terms:** Resistance to change is futile. Key Takeaway Embrace progress while honoring tradition. Themes conservatism reform nostalgia change Mood critical thoughtful Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy debates - community planning - historical analysis Key Concepts political theory social evolution psychology Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of the past are worth preserving? - How can reform honor heritage? A Different Perspective May overlook valid concerns of tradition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conservatism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatism/) [Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative/) [Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) [Old times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-times/) [Reform](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reform/) [Well wishes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/well-wishes/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [It takes time for an acorn to turn into an oak, but the oak is already implied in the acorn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/it-takes-time-for-an-acorn-to-turn-into-an-oak-but-the-oak-is-already/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [What is a human being, then?' A seed' A... seed?' An acorn that is unafraid to destroy itself in growing into a tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-zindell/what-is-a-human-being-then-a-seed-a-seed-an-acorn-that-is-unafraid-to/) [David Zindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-zindell/) > [Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-smith/even-a-blind-squirrel-finds-an-acorn-now-and-again/) [Will Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-smith/) > [The truth, I discovered, is a tree that grows as a man gains access to experience. A child sees the acorn of his daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/the-truth-i-discovered-is-a-tree-that-grows-as-a-man-gains-access-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [An infinity of forest lies dormant within the dreams on one acorn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-infinity-of-forest-lies-dormant-within-the-dreams-on-one-acorn/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As naturally as the oak bears an acorn and the vine a gourd, man bears a poem, either spoken or done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-naturally-as-the-oak-bears-an-acorn-and-the-vine-a-gourd-man-bears/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [ACORN, you may recall, is the left-wing activist group with longtime ties to community organizer-turned-President Barack Obama. The nonprofit, which now takes in 40…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-malkin/acorn-you-may-recall-is-the-left-wing-activist-group-with-longtime/) [Michelle Malkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-malkin/) > [Schoolchildren and older people like the idea of planting trees. For children, it's interesting that an acorn will grow into an oak, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-anderson/schoolchildren-and-older-people-like-the-idea-of-planting-trees-for/) [Clive Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-anderson/) > [Before the acorn can bring forth the oak, it must become itself a wreck. No plant ever came from any but a wrecked seed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-whitall-smith/before-the-acorn-can-bring-forth-the-oak-it-must-become-itself-a/) [Hannah Whitall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-whitall-smith/) > [Oak trees come out of acorns, no matter how unlikely that seems. An acorn is just a tree's way back into the ground. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-ann-grau/oak-trees-come-out-of-acorns-no-matter-how-unlikely-that-seems-an/) [Shirley Ann Grau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-ann-grau/) > [The acorn of ambition often grows into an oak from which men hang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-acorn-of-ambition-often-grows-into-an-oak-from-which-men-hang/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think character never changes; the Acorn becomes an Oak, which is very little like an Acorn to be sure, but it never becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hester-lynch-piozzi/i-think-character-never-changes-the-acorn-becomes-an-oak-which-is/) [Hester Lynch Piozzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hester-lynch-piozzi/) > [Eventually, even a blind squirell will find an acorn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cornette/eventually-even-a-blind-squirell-will-find-an-acorn/) [Jim Cornette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cornette/) > [The tallest oak tree once was an acorn that any pig could have swallowed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/the-tallest-oak-tree-once-was-an-acorn-that-any-pig-could-have/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [You cannot plant an acorn in the morning, and expect that afternoon to sit in the shade of an oak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/you-cannot-plant-an-acorn-in-the-morning-and-expect-that-afternoon-to/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) ## More by Edwin Hubbel Chapin > [In the history of man it has been very generally the case that when evils have grown insufferable they have touched the point of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/in-the-history-of-man-it-has-been-very-generally-the-case-that-when/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [Life, whether in this world or any other, is the sum of our attainment, our experience, our character. The conditions are secondary. In what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/life-whether-in-this-world-or-any-other-is-the-sum-of-our-attainment/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [No man knows the genuineness of his convictions until he has sacrificed something for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/no-man-knows-the-genuineness-of-his-convictions-until-he-has/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [Our life is what we make it. An insignificant game or a noble trial; a dream or a reality; a play of the senses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/our-life-is-what-we-make-it-an-insignificant-game-or-a-noble-trial-a/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [Setting is preliminary to brighter rising; decay is a process of advancement; death is the condition of higher and more fruitful life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/setting-is-preliminary-to-brighter-rising-decay-is-a-process-of/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [Life itself suggests a higher good than life itself can yield.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/life-itself-suggests-a-higher-good-than-life-itself-can-yield/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [A true man never frets about his place in the world, but just slides into it by the gravitation of his nature, and swings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/a-true-man-never-frets-about-his-place-in-the-world-but-just-slides/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [There is but a slight difference between the man who may be said to know nothing and him who thinks he knows everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/there-is-but-a-slight-difference-between-the-man-who-may-be-said-to/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [The bosom can ache beneath diamond brooches; and many a blithe heart dances under coarse wool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/the-bosom-can-ache-beneath-diamond-brooches-and-many-a-blithe-heart/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [Can you conceive of anything that so represents the glory, and truth, and marvelousness of God's nature as the idea of peace?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/can-you-conceive-of-anything-that-so-represents-the-glory-and-truth/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [The gospel has but a forced alliance with war. Its doctrine of human brotherhood would ring strangely between the opposed ranks. The bellowing speech…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/the-gospel-has-but-a-forced-alliance-with-war-its-doctrine-of-human/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [No language can express the power, and beauty, and heroism, and majesty of a mother's love. It shrinks not where man cowers, and grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/no-language-can-express-the-power-and-beauty-and-heroism-and-majesty/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [It is not enjoined upon us to forget, but we are told to forgive, our enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/it-is-not-enjoined-upon-us-to-forget-but-we-are-told-to-forgive-our/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [Think for a moment of the great agents and engines of our civilization, and then think what shadowy ideas they all once were. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/think-for-a-moment-of-the-great-agents-and-engines-of-our/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [There is a sweet anguish springing up in our bosoms when a child's face brightens under the shadow of the waiting angel. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/there-is-a-sweet-anguish-springing-up-in-our-bosoms-when-a-child-s/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) [Explore all 219 Edwin Hubbel Chapin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) ## More Acorn quotes > [“Acorn struggles in pain to crack the hard shell and emerge. For it senses that out there… exists more and it knows it. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-rumi/acorn-struggles-in-pain-to-crack-the-hard-shell-and-emerge-for-it/) [Robin Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-rumi/) > [It takes time for an acorn to turn into an oak, but the oak is already implied in the acorn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/it-takes-time-for-an-acorn-to-turn-into-an-oak-but-the-oak-is-already/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The tallest oak tree once was an acorn that any pig could have swallowed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/the-tallest-oak-tree-once-was-an-acorn-that-any-pig-could-have/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“As we actually taste the flavor of what he's teaching, we begin to see that it's not proverbs for daily living, or ways of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-bourgeault/as-we-actually-taste-the-flavor-of-what-he-s-teaching-we-begin-to-see/) [Cynthia Bourgeault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-bourgeault/) > [Eventually, even a blind squirell will find an acorn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cornette/eventually-even-a-blind-squirell-will-find-an-acorn/) [Jim Cornette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cornette/) > [“Think of the self that God has given as an acorn. It is a marvelous little thing, a perfect shape, perfectly designed for its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/think-of-the-self-that-god-has-given-as-an-acorn-it-is-a-marvelous/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [“Get you gone, you dwarf, You minimus of hindering knotgrass made, You bead, you acorn!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/get-you-gone-you-dwarf-you-minimus-of-hindering-knotgrass-made-you/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“For the acorn to move forward in its life, it must first be severed from everything it has ever known. It must fall from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-edward-lee-miller/for-the-acorn-to-move-forward-in-its-life-it-must-first-be-severed/) [Cody Edward Lee Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-edward-lee-miller/) > [I think character never changes; the Acorn becomes an Oak, which is very little like an Acorn to be sure, but it never becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hester-lynch-piozzi/i-think-character-never-changes-the-acorn-becomes-an-oak-which-is/) [Hester Lynch Piozzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hester-lynch-piozzi/) > [“There is an oak tree is inside the acorn seed, but the acorn seed will never become an oak tree unless it is willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saji-ijiyemi/there-is-an-oak-tree-is-inside-the-acorn-seed-but-the-acorn-seed-will/) [Saji Ijiyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saji-ijiyemi/) > [The acorn of ambition often grows into an oak from which men hang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-acorn-of-ambition-often-grows-into-an-oak-from-which-men-hang/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Even a blind pig finds an acorn now and then.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-robinson/even-a-blind-pig-finds-an-acorn-now-and-then/) Debra Robinson > [I'm not cool with ACORN or the working families' party, or people that vote like democrats and run on Republican lines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-hoffman/i-m-not-cool-with-acorn-or-the-working-families-party-or-people-that/) [Doug Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-hoffman/) > [“Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and then.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-bende/even-a-blind-squirrel-finds-an-acorn-now-and-then/) [S.T. Bende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-bende/) > [“Even a blind hog can find an acorn once in a while”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-shumaker/even-a-blind-hog-can-find-an-acorn-once-in-a-while/) William F. Shumaker Browse all 58 Acorn quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The conservative may clamor against reform, but he might as well clamor against the centrifugal force. 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