--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The US no longer does decisions. It can…" description: "\"The US no longer does decisions. It can neither stop the drug traffic nor legalize it. It can neither win wars nor abandon them, neither make money nor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73b/fred-reed-33260_abandon_the-us-no-longer-does-decisions-it-can-n_744080.jpg" --- # The US no longer does decisions. It can neither stop the… ![“The US no longer does decisions. It can neither stop the drug traffic nor legalize it. It can neither win wars nor abandon them, neither make money nor stop spending it, neither stop immigration nor assimilate the immigrants. Washington can beat its thumb with a hammer, yes, and notice that it…” quote by Fred Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73b/fred-reed-33260_abandon_the-us-no-longer-does-decisions-it-can-n_744080.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73b/fred-reed-33260_abandon_the-us-no-longer-does-decisions-it-can-n_744080.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73b/fred-reed-33260_abandon_the-us-no-longer-does-decisions-it-can-n_744080.jpg) > “The US no longer does decisions. It can neither stop the drug traffic nor legalize it. It can neither win wars nor abandon them, neither make money nor stop spending it, neither stop immigration nor assimilate the immigrants. Washington can beat its thumb with a hammer, yes, and notice that it hurts, but it can't stop beating its thumb. That would take a decision, and Washington doesn't do decisions.” [Fred Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reed/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The U.S. government avoids decisive action, leading to ineffective policies on drugs, wars, spending, and immigration. **In simple terms:** Washington fails to make firm choices, causing ongoing problems. Key Takeaway Advocate for decisive, accountable governance. Themes politics policy leadership decision‑making inefficiency Mood critical reflective Type political commentary When to use this quote - legislative reform - budget allocation - immigration reform - foreign policy Key Concepts governance theory policy inertia strategic paralysis public administration Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms could enforce accountability? - How can citizens influence decisive action? A Different Perspective Decisions may be constrained by political compromises and institutional inertia. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Drug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug/) [Immigrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigrants/) [Immigration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigration/) [Making money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-money/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [While we face economic obstacles that challenge every decision made in Washington, decisions made merely for political gain must stop. It's time to restore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lampson/while-we-face-economic-obstacles-that-challenge-every-decision-made/) [Nick Lampson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lampson/) > [There is so much uncertainty out there, and the government in Washington doesn't seem to get it. What's needed is a new business environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-portman/there-is-so-much-uncertainty-out-there-and-the-government-in/) [Rob Portman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-portman/) > [Raising taxes doesn't create jobs, and this is a common sense thing. Washington doesn't get it. They believe if they take more money and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-yoder/raising-taxes-doesn-t-create-jobs-and-this-is-a-common-sense-thing/) [Kevin Yoder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-yoder/) > [Washington doesn't have just a spending problem, or just an entitlement problem, or just a taxing problem. We have a leadership problem. Fix that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/washington-doesn-t-have-just-a-spending-problem-or-just-an/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [I'm not saying we need to stop immigration at all; people can come from wherever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bradley/i-m-not-saying-we-need-to-stop-immigration-at-all-people-can-come/) Jeb Bradley > [ \[We should\] stop the immigration to our societies - because we have had more than enough Islam in our societies. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geert-wilders/we-should-stop-the-immigration-to-our-societies-because-we-have-had/) [Geert Wilders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geert-wilders/) > [I think the world is more perilous and America is basically undefended. For me the two touchstones after 9/11 for domestic security were our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/i-think-the-world-is-more-perilous-and-america-is-basically/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [ \[Donald Trump\] is trying to stop immigration into the country from countries where there are major terrorist issues until we can figure out what… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megyn-kelly/donald-trump-is-trying-to-stop-immigration-into-the-country-from/) [Megyn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megyn-kelly/) > [I believe that we should stop the immigration, the mass immigration from Islamic countries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geert-wilders/i-believe-that-we-should-stop-the-immigration-the-mass-immigration/) [Geert Wilders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geert-wilders/) > [If we don't stop immigration - this torrent of immigrants coming in - we're not going to be America anymore because most of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-schlafly/if-we-don-t-stop-immigration-this-torrent-of-immigrants-coming-in-we/) [Phyllis Schlafly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-schlafly/) > [I always wondered why babies spend so much time sucking their thumbs. Then I tasted baby food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-orben/i-always-wondered-why-babies-spend-so-much-time-sucking-their-thumbs/) [Robert Orben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-orben/) > [Tell them you came, and saw, and looked into my eyes and saw the shadow of the guard receding. Thoughts in time and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/tell-them-you-came-and-saw-and-looked-into-my-eyes-and-saw-the-shadow/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [Hang on, did you just call me Angel?” I asked. “If I did?” “I don’t like it.” He grinned. “It stays. Angel.” He leaned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/hang-on-did-you-just-call-me-angel-i-asked-if-i-did-i-don-t-like-it/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [Too much under the thumb of the Iranians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-schiff/too-much-under-the-thumb-of-the-iranians/) [Adam Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-schiff/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) ## More by Fred Reed > [Voting in particular is an embarrassment, being a public display of weak character and low intelligence. Let us face the truth: Democracy, like spitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/voting-in-particular-is-an-embarrassment-being-a-public-display-of/) [Fred Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reed/) > [“A burro is an ass. A burrow is a hole in the ground. A reporter should know the difference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/a-burro-is-an-ass-a-burrow-is-a-hole-in-the-ground-a-reporter-should/) [Fred Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reed/) > [Those who wash regularly should not stoop to democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/those-who-wash-regularly-should-not-stoop-to-democracy/) [Fred Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reed/) > [Without men, civilization would last until the oil needed changing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/without-men-civilization-would-last-until-the-oil-needed-changing/) [Fred Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reed/) > [In fact, the gravest obstacle to the restoration of civilization in North America is universal suffrage. Letting everybody vote makes no sense. Obviously they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/in-fact-the-gravest-obstacle-to-the-restoration-of-civilization-in/) [Fred Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reed/) > [Evolution writ large is the belief that a cloud of hydrogen will spontaneously invent extreme-ultraviolet lithography, perform Swan Lake, and write all the books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/evolution-writ-large-is-the-belief-that-a-cloud-of-hydrogen-will/) [Fred Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reed/) > [“I don’t think you lose anything by hallucinating. It’s cheaper than airfare, the destinations more interesting, and I’d rather have a mutant squid on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/i-don-t-think-you-lose-anything-by-hallucinating-it-s-cheaper-than/) [Fred Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reed/) > [Wars are the hobbies of half-informed children who have somehow come into possession of the levers of power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/wars-are-the-hobbies-of-half-informed-children-who-have-somehow-come/) [Fred Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reed/) > [I may think that hornets do not have an ideal social organization. But I know better than to poke their nest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/i-may-think-that-hornets-do-not-have-an-ideal-social-organization-but/) [Fred Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reed/) > [Though the Floundering Fathers didn't intend it, we now see that representative government quickly turns into the dictatorship of the proletariat. If you doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/though-the-floundering-fathers-didn-t-intend-it-we-now-see-that/) [Fred Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reed/) > [Kids esteem themselves when they have accomplished something worth esteeming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/kids-esteem-themselves-when-they-have-accomplished-something-worth/) [Fred Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reed/) > [When someone tells me that 'the Almighty told me to do this', I want to see the transcript.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/when-someone-tells-me-that-the-almighty-told-me-to-do-this-i-want-to/) [Fred Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reed/) > [Congress, 535 commoditized temple monkeys pawing through the ruins of America in search of bribes. The bicameral whorehouse on Capitol Hill works like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/congress-535-commoditized-temple-monkeys-pawing-through-the-ruins-of/) [Fred Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reed/) > [The proper response toward what we occasionally imagine to be democracy, methinks, is to retain one's self-respect by not participating in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/the-proper-response-toward-what-we-occasionally-imagine-to-be/) [Fred Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reed/) [Explore all 15 Fred Reed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reed/) ## More Abandon quotes > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik > [The purpose of a spirit filled life is to demonstrate the supernatural power of our living God so that the unsaved multitudes will abandon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-osborn/the-purpose-of-a-spirit-filled-life-is-to-demonstrate-the/) [T.L. Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-osborn/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [I would leave at once, but it would be cruel to abandon a lady in a foreign land with a maniac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-would-leave-at-once-but-it-would-be-cruel-to-abandon-a-lady-in-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Every great thing starts with an idea, followed by a doubt and finally a resolve to abandon or pursue. Victory is a treacherous journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/every-great-thing-starts-with-an-idea-followed-by-a-doubt-and-finally/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don't give up because things are hard, but work harder, when you think of giving up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/don-t-give-up-because-things-are-hard-but-work-harder-when-you-think/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [Sex is not the ultimate high, but the ultimate high hangs out around sex. The ultimate high is the dance with another person, played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/sex-is-not-the-ultimate-high-but-the-ultimate-high-hangs-out-around/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I care so deeply about this matter that I'm willing to take on the legal penalties, to sit in this prison cell, to sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-care-so-deeply-about-this-matter-that-i-m-willing-to-take-on-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) Browse all 1,142 Abandon quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The US no longer does decisions. It can neither stop the drug traffic nor legalize it. It can neither win wars nor abandon them, neither make money nor stop spending it, neither stop immigration nor assimilate the immigrants. Washington can beat its thumb with a hammer, yes, and notice that it hurts, but it can't stop beating its thumb. That would take a decision, and Washington doesn't do decisions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fred Reed" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/the-us-no-longer-does-decisions-it-can-neither-stop-the-drug-traffic/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abandon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/the-us-no-longer-does-decisions-it-can-neither-stop-the-drug-traffic/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73b/fred-reed-33260_abandon_the-us-no-longer-does-decisions-it-can-n_744080.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73b/fred-reed-33260_abandon_the-us-no-longer-does-decisions-it-can-n_744080.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73b/fred-reed-33260_abandon_the-us-no-longer-does-decisions-it-can-n_744080.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The US no longer does decisions. It can neither stop the drug traffic nor legalize it. It can neither win…” — Fred Reed", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Fred Reed", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reed/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The US no longer does decisions....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/the-us-no-longer-does-decisions-it-can-neither-stop-the-drug-traffic/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/the-us-no-longer-does-decisions-it-can-neither-stop-the-drug-traffic/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```