Department Quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Dealing with the State Department is like watching an elephant become pregnant.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Remarks to the State Department, 1935
Dealing with bureaucracy feels absurdly slow and cumbersome, like an impossible biological event.
In simple terms: Bureaucracy feels absurdly slow.
Key Takeaway
Accept the absurdity and seek practical shortcuts.
Themes
bureaucracy
patience
politics
Mood
frustrated
skeptical
Type
cynical
observational
When to use this quote
- government negotiations
- policy drafting
- international diplomacy
- legal approvals
Key Concepts
administrative inertia
institutional inertia
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you cut through red tape efficiently?
- What small steps can reduce frustration?
A Different Perspective
Even if the process is absurd, outcomes still depend on perseverance.
![“[States and the Federal government are] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch of the same government.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/401/thomas-jefferson-43_branches_states-and-the-federal-government-are-co_2619.jpg)
