--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Two presidents pursued human rights…" description: "\"Two presidents pursued human rights policies that were serious and effective: Reagan and George W. Bush. They understood that American support for huma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/elliott-abrams-1577_activist_two-presidents-pursued-human-rights-poli_1358338.jpg" --- # Two presidents pursued human rights policies that were… ![“Two presidents pursued human rights policies that were serious and effective: Reagan and George W. Bush. They understood that American support for human rights activists is a moral imperative for us and also makes the world safer for us.” quote by Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/elliott-abrams-1577_activist_two-presidents-pursued-human-rights-poli_1358338.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/elliott-abrams-1577_activist_two-presidents-pursued-human-rights-poli_1358338.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/elliott-abrams-1577_activist_two-presidents-pursued-human-rights-poli_1358338.jpg) > “Two presidents pursued human rights policies that were serious and effective: Reagan and George W. Bush. They understood that American support for human rights activists is a moral imperative for us and also makes the world safer for us.” [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reagan and Bush prioritized human rights, viewing support for activists as both moral duty and strategic security benefit. **In simple terms:** Supporting human rights serves moral and security goals. Key Takeaway Align foreign policy with human rights values. Themes foreign policy human rights security morality politics Mood optimistic determined strategic Type policy human rights political When to use this quote - diplomatic negotiations - policy drafting - international aid - human rights advocacy - government briefings Key Concepts realism ethical foreign policy strategic interests Questions to Reflect On - What are the risks of linking security to human rights advocacy? - How can governments ensure consistent human rights support? A Different Perspective Balancing moral imperatives with geopolitical interests can be complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activist/) [Human rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-rights/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Ronald Reagan, when he was campaigning for President, said that he would break relations with Communist China and re-establish diplomatic relations with Taiwan. 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Determine to pursue your goals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/believe-in-yourself-determine-to-pursue-your-goals/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [There are three kinds of men: those who are preceded by their shadow, those who are pursued by it, and those who have never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerd-de-ley/there-are-three-kinds-of-men-those-who-are-preceded-by-their-shadow/) [Gerd De Ley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerd-de-ley/) > [Hollywood hasn't aggressively pursued me. Neither have I aggressively pursued Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/hollywood-hasn-t-aggressively-pursued-me-neither-have-i-aggressively/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [Salvation is not some felicitous state to which we can lift ourselves by our own bootstraps after the contemplation of sufficiently good examples. 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Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [And all of these together, as much as any campaign the Marine Corps has ever pursued, have brought an unrelenting, never-ceasing pride to all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-webb/and-all-of-these-together-as-much-as-any-campaign-the-marine-corps/) [Jim Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-webb/) > [“All my life I have been pursued by the black dogs of unaccountable gloom”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/all-my-life-i-have-been-pursued-by-the-black-dogs-of-unaccountable/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [Only by being suspended aloft, by dangling my mind in the heavens and mingling my rare thought with the ethereal air, could I ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/only-by-being-suspended-aloft-by-dangling-my-mind-in-the-heavens-and/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > ["Spirituality" wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/spirituality-wrongly-understood-or-pursued-is-a-major-source-of-human/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) ## More by Elliott Abrams > [President Obama has never summarized the Obama Doctrine with such clarity, but here is what it would look like: 'I will undertake any military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/president-obama-has-never-summarized-the-obama-doctrine-with-such/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [The story of the Jews in the Bible is replete with incidents of their ingratitude to God for His gifts to them: incidents that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/the-story-of-the-jews-in-the-bible-is-replete-with-incidents-of-their/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [History may someday record that the Arab awakening that began with the Arab revolt of 1916 against the Ottomans ended about a century later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/history-may-someday-record-that-the-arab-awakening-that-began-with/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [From its earliest days in the nineteenth century, and until the Holocaust, the Orthodox rabbinate in eastern Europe was not enthusiastic about the Zionist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/from-its-earliest-days-in-the-nineteenth-century-and-until-the/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [The Pope is not a political figure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/the-pope-is-not-a-political-figure/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Israel and the Palestinians had been at the table together for decades until the Obama/Mitchell/Rahm Emanuel decision to demand a total end to Israeli…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/israel-and-the-palestinians-had-been-at-the-table-together-for/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Pundits are used to analyzing the gap between what our ideals suggest and what our security interests require.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/pundits-are-used-to-analyzing-the-gap-between-what-our-ideals-suggest/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [The Egyptian military and the government of Israel have long had a common interest in maintaining order and fighting terrorism in Sinai.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/the-egyptian-military-and-the-government-of-israel-have-long-had-a/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [In 2007, early in the improbable presidential candidacy of Barack Obama, the young first-term senator began a series of foreign-policy speeches that seemed too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/in-2007-early-in-the-improbable-presidential-candidacy-of-barack/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Terrorists that kill Americans don't get released.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/terrorists-that-kill-americans-don-t-get-released/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Refusing to lift sanctions and adopting tougher rhetoric toward Iran would not be partisan issues. 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What the Syrians did in response, nothing. Israel has killed a number of terrorist leaders in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/israel-bombed-the-syrian-nuclear-reactor-in-2007-what-the-syrians-did/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) [Explore all 226 Elliott Abrams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) ## More Activist quotes > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [“God has a way of picking a “nobody” and turning their world upside down, in order to create a “somebody” that will remove the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-has-a-way-of-picking-a-nobody-and-turning-their-world-upside-down/) [Shannon L. 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