--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Because this law could mean so much or so…" description: "\"“Because this law could mean so much or so little, it held potential for causing great mischief in the world of art and politics. We needed to reduce i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/594/john-frohnmayer-69032_art_because-this-law-could-mean-so-much-or-s_1613156.jpg" --- # Because this law could mean so much or so little, it held… ![“Because this law could mean so much or so little, it held potential for causing great mischief in the world of art and politics. We needed to reduce its uncertainty, and the best way to do that, I believed, was to force a court to interpret it, which would either void or narrow the law. To make it…” quote by John Frohnmayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/594/john-frohnmayer-69032_art_because-this-law-could-mean-so-much-or-s_1613156.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/594/john-frohnmayer-69032_art_because-this-law-could-mean-so-much-or-s_1613156.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/594/john-frohnmayer-69032_art_because-this-law-could-mean-so-much-or-s_1613156.jpg) > ““Because this law could mean so much or so little, it held potential for causing great mischief in the world of art and politics. We needed to reduce its uncertainty, and the best way to do that, I believed, was to force a court to interpret it, which would either void or narrow the law. To make it as broad a target as possible and to assure that someone would sue us, I reproduced the Helms amendment verbatim in the terms and conditions for grant recipients. It could not be ignored there, and if it was to be declared unconstitutional, it had to appear where the courts could not ignore it either.”” [John Frohnmayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-frohnmayer/) ## 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 argued that a vague law could be misused, so he deliberately embedded the exact text in contracts to force judicial review and limit its scope. **In simple terms:** He used a contract loophole to get courts to interpret a risky law. Key Takeaway Use precise language to trigger legal clarity. Themes law politics art strategy judicial review Mood cautious strategic Type political legal strategic When to use this quote - grant administration - legal drafting - policy advocacy - risk management Key Concepts contract law constitutional law political strategy Questions to Reflect On - What are the ethical limits of exploiting legal loopholes? - How can organizations balance risk and transparency? A Different Perspective If the law is later upheld, the strategy could backfire and entangle the organization. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amendment Verbatim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amendment-verbatim-6152700/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Court Interpret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/court-interpret-6139996/) [Helms Amendment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helms-amendment-6152699/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Narrow Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrow-law-6152701/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Unconstitutional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unconstitutional/) ## Related quotes > [The Supreme Court should interpret the law, not make the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-parson/the-supreme-court-should-interpret-the-law-not-make-the-law/) [Mike Parson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-parson/) > [Elect me to office. I will protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. Because there's no constitutional authority for Congress spending on the objects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/elect-me-to-office-i-will-protect-and-defend-the-u-s-constitution/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [How to check these unconstitutional invasions of rights by the Federal judiciary? Not by impeachment in the first instance, but by a strong protestation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/how-to-check-these-unconstitutional-invasions-of-rights-by-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Progressives and Islamists are indeed on the same side. Their common disdain for Christianity explains why left-wing judges in America find any inkling of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/progressives-and-islamists-are-indeed-on-the-same-side-their-common/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) > [I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty. All the stock in trade I possess is a $10,000 debt, incurred by publishing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/i-shall-never-pay-a-dollar-of-your-unjust-penalty-all-the-stock-in/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [The 'anchor baby' thing needs to be fixed... Anchor babies are an unconstitutional declaration of citizenship to those born of non-Americans. It's wrong, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-pearce/the-anchor-baby-thing-needs-to-be-fixed-anchor-babies-are-an/) [Russell Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-pearce/) > [The conditions in the prisons operated by the Mississippi Department of Corrections are absolutely inhumane and unconstitutional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-gotti/the-conditions-in-the-prisons-operated-by-the-mississippi-department/) [Yo Gotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-gotti/) > [“Since the turn of the century, American fundamentalists had reveled in their sense of persecution by an infidel elite, but in the 1960s the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/since-the-turn-of-the-century-american-fundamentalists-had-reveled-in/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [To allow same-sex couples to adopt children and then to label their families as second-class because the adoptive parents are of the same sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-reinhardt/to-allow-same-sex-couples-to-adopt-children-and-then-to-label-their/) [Stephen Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-reinhardt/) > [Yesterday, the Supreme Court spent over an hour listening to arguments on whether Obamacare is unconstitutional. Yeah, listening to arguments about Obamacare for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/yesterday-the-supreme-court-spent-over-an-hour-listening-to-arguments/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [We don't agree with the notion of the government to remove governors. It is unconstitutional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayawati/we-don-t-agree-with-the-notion-of-the-government-to-remove-governors/) [Mayawati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayawati/) > [If you condemn someone who has committed a crime to be tortured, that would be unconstitutional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/if-you-condemn-someone-who-has-committed-a-crime-to-be-tortured-that/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [I am calling on all citizens with access to unreleased records pertaining to illegal, unconstitutional, or immoral government activities to return those records to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-shapiro/i-am-calling-on-all-citizens-with-access-to-unreleased-records/) [Ryan Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-shapiro/) > [ Before the Freedom of Information Act, I used to say at meetings "The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer." \[...\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/before-the-freedom-of-information-act-i-used-to-say-at-meetings-the/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## More by John Frohnmayer > [“An apocryphal story recounts the dilhemma of a man during the Civil War who could not decide whether to join the Confederate or Union…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-frohnmayer/an-apocryphal-story-recounts-the-dilhemma-of-a-man-during-the-civil/) [John Frohnmayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-frohnmayer/) > [“The White House usually followed the seagull theory of management: fly in, squawk and flap and shit, and fly away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-frohnmayer/the-white-house-usually-followed-the-seagull-theory-of-management-fly/) [John Frohnmayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-frohnmayer/) > [During my tenure at the Endowment, I often found that those who did us the most damage did so under the justification of helping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-frohnmayer/during-my-tenure-at-the-endowment-i-often-found-that-those-who-did-us/) [John Frohnmayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-frohnmayer/) [Explore all 4 John Frohnmayer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-frohnmayer/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Because this law could mean so much or so little, it held potential for causing great mischief in the world of art and politics. 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