--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes overturning brutal regimes…" description: "\"Sometimes overturning brutal regimes takes time and costs lives. I wish it weren't so. I really, really do.\" — Hillary Clinton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a87/hillary-clinton-51_brutal_sometimes-overturning-brutal-regimes-tak_1183001.jpg" --- # Sometimes overturning brutal regimes takes time and costs… ![“Sometimes overturning brutal regimes takes time and costs lives. I wish it weren't so. I really, really do.” quote by Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a87/hillary-clinton-51_brutal_sometimes-overturning-brutal-regimes-tak_1183001.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a87/hillary-clinton-51_brutal_sometimes-overturning-brutal-regimes-tak_1183001.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a87/hillary-clinton-51_brutal_sometimes-overturning-brutal-regimes-tak_1183001.jpg) > “Sometimes overturning brutal regimes takes time and costs lives. I wish it weren't so. I really, really do.” [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A lament that overthrowing oppressive regimes is slow and costly, expressing a wish for quicker, less violent change. **In simple terms:** Changing tyrannies takes time and lives, which is regrettable. Key Takeaway Support peaceful, strategic reform. Themes politics human rights revolution patience Mood serious hopeful Type political activist When to use this quote - activism - policy advocacy - education - peacebuilding - historical analysis Key Concepts political theory conflict studies Questions to Reflect On - What non‑violent alternatives exist? - How can we reduce human cost in regime change? A Different Perspective Violent change can cause collateral damage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brutal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutal/) [Costs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/costs/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [Careless talk costs lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/careless-talk-costs-lives/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) > [“He who lives for nothing costs the lives of many, but he who lives for something greater than himself preserves those he loves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hopper-wayne-thomas-batson/he-who-lives-for-nothing-costs-the-lives-of-many-but-he-who-lives-for/) Christopher Hopper Wayne Thomas Batson > [I wish I were taller and thinner but the hair you can do something about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-wish-i-were-taller-and-thinner-but-the-hair-you-can-do-something/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I wish I had some stock in a scrunchie company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-wish-i-had-some-stock-in-a-scrunchie-company/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [You have to think about whether that Mercedes-Benz you have is actually worth how much it costs to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-scott-thomas/you-have-to-think-about-whether-that-mercedes-benz-you-have-is/) [Kristin Scott Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-scott-thomas/) > [Issues of energy, climate change, nuclear arms control and non-proliferation are all big deals. These are problems that we have to get right globally,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holdren/issues-of-energy-climate-change-nuclear-arms-control-and-non/) [John Holdren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holdren/) > [Companies are recognizing that paid leave reduces training and turnover costs, that it's a formula for recruiting and retaining good workers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perez/companies-are-recognizing-that-paid-leave-reduces-training-and/) [Tom Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perez/) > [Health insurance costs in the United States are on an unsustainable path. I've heard from hundreds of Montanans who are paying thousands of dollars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-rosendale/health-insurance-costs-in-the-united-states-are-on-an-unsustainable/) [Matt Rosendale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-rosendale/) > [Many of us are alarmed at the skyrocketing cost of medical care, including patients, who are the consumers. However, medical malpractice is not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-baca/many-of-us-are-alarmed-at-the-skyrocketing-cost-of-medical-care/) [Joe Baca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-baca/) > [Companies are the first to see the costs of climate change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-polman/companies-are-the-first-to-see-the-costs-of-climate-change/) [Paul Polman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-polman/) > [To protect our country's economic future and the health and well being of all Americans, we must find a way to rein in out-of-control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bennet/to-protect-our-country-s-economic-future-and-the-health-and-well/) [Michael Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bennet/) > [One little mistake at the highest level costs you a fight, which I've learned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimi-manuwa/one-little-mistake-at-the-highest-level-costs-you-a-fight-which-i-ve/) [Jimi Manuwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimi-manuwa/) > [“Education always costs less than ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/education-always-costs-less-than-ignorance/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [I avoid envy at all costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-winkleman/i-avoid-envy-at-all-costs/) [Claudia Winkleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-winkleman/) > [I believe that government is too large, costs too much, spends too much, and has too much regulatory power in our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-walberg/i-believe-that-government-is-too-large-costs-too-much-spends-too-much/) [Tim Walberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-walberg/) ## More by Hillary Clinton > [When it comes to bullying small businesses, Donald Trump is the poster boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/when-it-comes-to-bullying-small-businesses-donald-trump-is-the-poster/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I'm going to do everything I can to get myself elected, but that's not enough. I'm going to try to help move the Senate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-m-going-to-do-everything-i-can-to-get-myself-elected-but-that-s-not/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I think we have to take a look at corporate law. We have to take a look at the incentives that we can perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-think-we-have-to-take-a-look-at-corporate-law-we-have-to-take-a/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I am somewhat influenced by the years that I've spent trying to actually get things done, whether it was reforming education in Arkansas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-somewhat-influenced-by-the-years-that-i-ve-spent-trying-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We know in New York we have several million at any one time who are in New York illegally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-know-in-new-york-we-have-several-million-at-any-one-time-who-are/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I have always believed that women are not victims, we are agents of change, we are drivers of progress, we are makers of peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-have-always-believed-that-women-are-not-victims-we-are-agents-of/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I have clearly said we faced terrorist enemies who use Islam to justify slaughtering innocent people and we have to stop them and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-have-clearly-said-we-faced-terrorist-enemies-who-use-islam-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [If I had lost the popular vote but won the electoral college and in my first day as president the intelligence community came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/if-i-had-lost-the-popular-vote-but-won-the-electoral-college-and-in/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We now have power under the Dodd-Frank legislation to break up banks. And I've said I will use that power if they pose a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-now-have-power-under-the-dodd-frank-legislation-to-break-up-banks/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I am not going to make promises I can't keep. I am not going to talk about big ideas like single-payer and then not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-not-going-to-make-promises-i-can-t-keep-i-am-not-going-to-talk/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [It's important to recognize that expanding the circle of opportunity and increasing the democratic potential of our own society, as well as those across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/it-s-important-to-recognize-that-expanding-the-circle-of-opportunity/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We're living in a technological world. You cannot tell me we can't do a better job getting that information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-re-living-in-a-technological-world-you-cannot-tell-me-we-can-t-do/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I do not think homosexuality is immoral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-do-not-think-homosexuality-is-immoral/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We need to have more second chance programs. I'm glad that we're ending private prisons in the federal system; I want to see them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-need-to-have-more-second-chance-programs-i-m-glad-that-we-re/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [A nuclear-weapons armed Iran is not in anyone's human-rights interests. That is a direct threat to the lives and the livelihoods and the stability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/a-nuclear-weapons-armed-iran-is-not-in-anyone-s-human-rights/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) [Explore all 1,911 Hillary Clinton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) ## More Brutal quotes > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Hitler recruited around him homosexuals to make up his Stormtroopers, they were his enforcers, they were his thugs. And Hitler discovered that he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-fischer/hitler-recruited-around-him-homosexuals-to-make-up-his-stormtroopers/) [Bryan Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-fischer/) > [The Lord expects us to enjoy our lives. He says there will be some brutal times, but we shouldn't get all bent out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-henderson/the-lord-expects-us-to-enjoy-our-lives-he-says-there-will-be-some/) [Paul Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-henderson/) > [We face a brutal enemy who will kill the innocent for one purpose and that is to gain control of the Middle East and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rove/we-face-a-brutal-enemy-who-will-kill-the-innocent-for-one-purpose-and/) [Karl Rove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rove/) > [No matter how well-born, how intelligent, how highly educated, how virtuous, how rich, how refined, the women of to-day constitutea political class below that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-corinna-putnam-jacobi/no-matter-how-well-born-how-intelligent-how-highly-educated-how/) [Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-corinna-putnam-jacobi/) > [I find that truly heartbreaking that, like, it's such a common, constant thing in people's lives - a brutal abuse of people by other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-duritz/i-find-that-truly-heartbreaking-that-like-it-s-such-a-common-constant/) [Adam Duritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-duritz/) > [I think brutal honesty is extremely important. Don't be afraid of being up-front about your feelings and your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minka-kelly/i-think-brutal-honesty-is-extremely-important-don-t-be-afraid-of/) [Minka Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minka-kelly/) > [When my friends have been heartbroken, I give them a shoulder to cry on and some brutal advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maura-higgins/when-my-friends-have-been-heartbroken-i-give-them-a-shoulder-to-cry/) [Maura Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maura-higgins/) > [Something that comes to us, some gym shoe that comes to us as a result of child labor from a brutal dictatorship, where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/something-that-comes-to-us-some-gym-shoe-that-comes-to-us-as-a-result/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [In my experience sometimes the darker the material that you're doing, the more necessary it is to have some sort of levity around. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-stahl/in-my-experience-sometimes-the-darker-the-material-that-you-re-doing/) [Nick Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-stahl/) > [I do have one very brutal writing ritual. If I'm working in the morning, I don't allow myself a cup of tea until I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lane/i-do-have-one-very-brutal-writing-ritual-if-i-m-working-in-the/) [Anthony Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lane/) > [The circle of an empty day is brutal and at night it tightens around your neck like a noose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/the-circle-of-an-empty-day-is-brutal-and-at-night-it-tightens-around/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [“I had brutal beginnings. I will not let the darkness in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jennings/i-had-brutal-beginnings-i-will-not-let-the-darkness-in/) [Melissa Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jennings/) > [Usually I avoided college students, whom I considered brutal, wrapped up in themselves, particularly in their youth, in which they found material for drama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/usually-i-avoided-college-students-whom-i-considered-brutal-wrapped/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 790 Brutal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes overturning brutal regimes takes time and costs lives. I wish it weren't so. I really, really do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hillary Clinton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/sometimes-overturning-brutal-regimes-takes-time-and-costs-lives-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brutal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/sometimes-overturning-brutal-regimes-takes-time-and-costs-lives-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a87/hillary-clinton-51_brutal_sometimes-overturning-brutal-regimes-tak_1183001.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a87/hillary-clinton-51_brutal_sometimes-overturning-brutal-regimes-tak_1183001.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a87/hillary-clinton-51_brutal_sometimes-overturning-brutal-regimes-tak_1183001.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes overturning brutal regimes takes time and costs lives. I wish it weren't so. I really, really do.” — Hillary Clinton", "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": "Hillary Clinton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sometimes overturning brutal regimes takes time...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/sometimes-overturning-brutal-regimes-takes-time-and-costs-lives-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/sometimes-overturning-brutal-regimes-takes-time-and-costs-lives-i/#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 } } ] } ```