--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There’s just one thing I draw the line…" description: "\"“There’s just one thing I draw the line at,” he said, “and that’s any kind of attack on my family. Any man can make mistakes, even if he’s trying with ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad4/j-b-west-71078_failure_there-s-just-one-thing-i-draw-the-line-a_2634259.jpg" --- # There’s just one thing I draw the line at,” he said, “and… ![“There’s just one thing I draw the line at,” he said, “and that’s any kind of attack on my family. Any man can make mistakes, even if he’s trying with all his heart and mind to do the best thing for his country. But a man’s family ought to be sacred. There was one columnist who wrote some lie about…” quote by J.B. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad4/j-b-west-71078_failure_there-s-just-one-thing-i-draw-the-line-a_2634259.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad4/j-b-west-71078_failure_there-s-just-one-thing-i-draw-the-line-a_2634259.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad4/j-b-west-71078_failure_there-s-just-one-thing-i-draw-the-line-a_2634259.jpg) > ““There’s just one thing I draw the line at,” he said, “and that’s any kind of attack on my family. Any man can make mistakes, even if he’s trying with all his heart and mind to do the best thing for his country. But a man’s family ought to be sacred. There was one columnist who wrote some lie about my family when I was in the Senate and instead of writing him a letter I called him on the phone and I said you so-and-so, if you say another word about my family, I’ll come down to your office and shoot you.”” J.B. West ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker draws a firm line against attacks on family, threatening violent retaliation if defamed. **In simple terms:** Family is sacred; threats of violence if insulted. Key Takeaway Protect family reputation, but avoid violent threats. Themes family honor politics Mood defensive aggressive controversial Type political ethical When to use this quote - political debates - media interviews - public statements Key Concepts ethical boundaries personal integrity Questions to Reflect On - Is threatening violence ever justified? - How can one defend family without aggression? A Different Perspective Violence undermines democratic discourse. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Heart and mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-and-mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [“Every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church, consecrated to Christ, and wholly influenced and governed by his rules. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/every-christian-family-ought-to-be-as-it-were-a-little-church/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [Every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/every-christian-family-ought-to-be-as-it-were-a-little-church-3/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [“When death comes into a family it ought to be improved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/when-death-comes-into-a-family-it-ought-to-be-improved/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [Every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church, consecrated to Christ, and wholly influenced and governed by his rules. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/every-christian-family-ought-to-be-as-it-were-a-little-church-2/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [A man ought to live so that everybody knows he is a Christian... and most of all, his family ought to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-l-moody/a-man-ought-to-live-so-that-everybody-knows-he-is-a-christian-and/) [Dwight L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-l-moody/) > [For those of us in the political business, generally, it's been pretty much an unwritten but understood rule that family and children are out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nutter/for-those-of-us-in-the-political-business-generally-it-s-been-pretty/) [Michael Nutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nutter/) > [Abortion is an attack on the family and the humanity that unites us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alveda-king/abortion-is-an-attack-on-the-family-and-the-humanity-that-unites-us/) [Alveda King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alveda-king/) > [If you want to attack someone you attack their family. That is easy. You don't have to say directly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-gaubert/if-you-want-to-attack-someone-you-attack-their-family-that-is-easy/) Patrick Gaubert > [I don't give two hoots about nasty comments. I can laugh over them when they are about me but it's not okay to attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandira-bedi/i-don-t-give-two-hoots-about-nasty-comments-i-can-laugh-over-them/) [Mandira Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandira-bedi/) > [For somebody to take a shot at him is totally disappointing and hurtful to my family, my mother, his wife and child. For Dianne…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-hendrick/for-somebody-to-take-a-shot-at-him-is-totally-disappointing-and/) Rick Hendrick > [Go home, kiss your wives, hug your children and put your affairs in order, because tomorrow I will burn your neighborhood to the ground.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/go-home-kiss-your-wives-hug-your-children-and-put-your-affairs-in/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [Homosexuality is Satan's diabolical attack upon the family that will not only have a corrupting influence upon our next generation, but it will also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-falwell/homosexuality-is-satan-s-diabolical-attack-upon-the-family-that-will/) [Jerry Falwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-falwell/) > [ATouching line said by aBest friend: when idie don't come near my body Because my hand may not be able to wipe your tears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tynee-williams/atouching-line-said-by-abest-friend-when-idie-don-t-come-near-my-body/) [Tynee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tynee-williams/) > [“How many times his (Port's) friends, envying him his life, had said to him: "Your life is so simple." "Your life seems always to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/how-many-times-his-port-s-friends-envying-him-his-life-had-said-to/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [A line said by a simple boy to his ex-girlfriend:-i didn't express my love as you want, in your view may I failed but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhisek-thapa/a-line-said-by-a-simple-boy-to-his-ex-girlfriend-i-didn-t-express-my/) [Abhisek Thapa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhisek-thapa/) ## More by J.B. West > [“The secret was loyalty to the White House and to the Presidency, rather than to whoever happens to be occupying the office for four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-west/the-secret-was-loyalty-to-the-white-house-and-to-the-presidency/) J.B. West > [“On Monday morning, she called me into her bedroom. Her dark hair was tousled, her light robe very feminine against the soft blue of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-west/on-monday-morning-she-called-me-into-her-bedroom-her-dark-hair-was/) J.B. West > [“ask the President and then tell the usher how many there will be. In the winter months,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-west/ask-the-president-and-then-tell-the-usher-how-many-there-will-be-in/) J.B. West Explore all 4 J.B. West quotes ## More Failure quotes > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Rhiannon's Law #28: If you're going to fuck up, be sure to fuck up good and proper. Nothing makes failure acceptable, so you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rhiannon-s-law-28-if-you-re-going-to-fuck-up-be-sure-to-fuck-up-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [First action was a mistake. What about the second? third? fourth and fifth?...Mehn you are bad...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-action-was-a-mistake-what-about-the-second-third-fourth-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 27,498 Failure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There’s just one thing I draw the line at,” he said, “and that’s any kind of attack on my family. Any man can make mistakes, even if he’s trying with all his heart and mind to do the best thing for his country. But a man’s family ought to be sacred. There was one columnist who wrote some lie about my family when I was in the Senate and instead of writing him a letter I called him on the phone and I said you so-and-so, if you say another word about my family, I’ll come down to your office and shoot you.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "J.B. West" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-west/there-s-just-one-thing-i-draw-the-line-at-he-said-and-that-s-any-kind/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Failure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-west/there-s-just-one-thing-i-draw-the-line-at-he-said-and-that-s-any-kind/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad4/j-b-west-71078_failure_there-s-just-one-thing-i-draw-the-line-a_2634259.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad4/j-b-west-71078_failure_there-s-just-one-thing-i-draw-the-line-a_2634259.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad4/j-b-west-71078_failure_there-s-just-one-thing-i-draw-the-line-a_2634259.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There’s just one thing I draw the line at,” he said, “and that’s any kind of attack on my family. Any man…” — J.B. West", "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": "J.B. West", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-west/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There’s just one thing I draw...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-west/there-s-just-one-thing-i-draw-the-line-at-he-said-and-that-s-any-kind/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-west/there-s-just-one-thing-i-draw-the-line-at-he-said-and-that-s-any-kind/#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 } } ] } ```