--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would rather quit public life at…" description: "\"I would rather quit public life at seventy, and quit it forever, than to retain public life at a sacrifice to my own self-respect. I will not vote for ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/joseph-gurney-cannon-65936_fairs_i-would-rather-quit-public-life-at-seven_2191961.jpg" --- # I would rather quit public life at seventy, and quit it… ![“I would rather quit public life at seventy, and quit it forever, than to retain public life at a sacrifice to my own self-respect. I will not vote for any law which will make fair for me and foul for another. The blacklist is the most cruel form of oppression ever devised by man for the infliction…” quote by Joseph Gurney Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/joseph-gurney-cannon-65936_fairs_i-would-rather-quit-public-life-at-seven_2191961.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/joseph-gurney-cannon-65936_fairs_i-would-rather-quit-public-life-at-seven_2191961.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/joseph-gurney-cannon-65936_fairs_i-would-rather-quit-public-life-at-seven_2191961.jpg) > “I would rather quit public life at seventy, and quit it forever, than to retain public life at a sacrifice to my own self-respect. I will not vote for any law which will make fair for me and foul for another. The blacklist is the most cruel form of oppression ever devised by man for the infliction of suffering upon his weaker fellows.” Joseph Gurney Cannon ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He prefers retiring from public duties rather than compromising personal integrity or supporting unjust laws. **In simple terms:** Retire to keep self‑respect and reject unfair laws. Key Takeaway Choose integrity over position. Themes integrity politics ethics Mood reflective determined Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political career - voting decisions - activism - ethical dilemmas Key Concepts self‑respect oppression public service Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal integrity with public responsibility? - When is it justified to withdraw from public life? A Different Perspective May limit influence and ability to enact change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blacklist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blacklist/) [Infliction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infliction/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Oppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression/) [Public life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-life/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-respect/) [Seventies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seventies/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) ## Related quotes > [“Breathing is an addiction. But once you’ve stopped for an hour, it’s reasonably easy to quit forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-wilde/breathing-is-an-addiction-but-once-you-ve-stopped-for-an-hour-it-s/) [Deborah Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-wilde/) > [“Pain is temporary. It may last for a minute, or an hour or a day, or even a year. But eventually, it will subside.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-thomas/pain-is-temporary-it-may-last-for-a-minute-or-an-hour-or-a-day-or/) [Eric Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-thomas/) > [I wanted to quit and to do this forever, sleep in a bed and in a tent, see what was over the next hill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-wanted-to-quit-and-to-do-this-forever-sleep-in-a-bed-and-in-a-tent/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Im so happy with The Blacklist. Give me more people to shoot and throw them off buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-klattenhoff/im-so-happy-with-the-blacklist-give-me-more-people-to-shoot-and-throw/) [Diego Klattenhoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-klattenhoff/) > [“There are today many Communists in America. They are everywhere -- in factories, offices, butcher stores, on street corners, in private businesses. And each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-howard-mcgrath/there-are-today-many-communists-in-america-they-are-everywhere-in/) J. Howard McGrath > [ The blacklist against people in the entertainment industry that show up for \[Donald\] Trump is worse than that blacklist you heard of in Hollywood… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-blacklist-against-people-in-the-entertainment-industry-that-show/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I was living in a terrible time when people were being accused of being communists, and they attacked the movie industry, especially the writers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-douglas/i-was-living-in-a-terrible-time-when-people-were-being-accused-of/) [Kirk Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-douglas/) > [There is no blacklist. In the first place, in the entertainment business, money talks, bullshit walks. So Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins won't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/there-is-no-blacklist-in-the-first-place-in-the-entertainment/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [ The blacklist was a time of evil...no one on either side who survived it came through untouched by evil...\[Looking\] back on this time...it will… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/the-blacklist-was-a-time-of-evil-no-one-on-either-side-who-survived/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [Film and television were out. I was 24, and it went on until I was 36. For an actor, those are your years. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-grant/film-and-television-were-out-i-was-24-and-it-went-on-until-i-was-36/) [Lee Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-grant/) > [The 'Blacklist' duology is a project I am very passionate about, and when the St. Martin's Press team approached me, I was captivated with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-day/the-blacklist-duology-is-a-project-i-am-very-passionate-about-and/) [Sylvia Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-day/) > [If you've got a blacklist, I want to be on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bragg/if-you-ve-got-a-blacklist-i-want-to-be-on-it/) [Billy Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bragg/) > [It's never been written about, but before the blacklist of Dalton Trumbo and the Hollywood Ten, there was a de facto blacklist by Communists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/it-s-never-been-written-about-but-before-the-blacklist-of-dalton/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [To my knowledge, there is no blacklist. But there is a mindset, even among liberal producers, that says 'He may be difficult so let's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/to-my-knowledge-there-is-no-blacklist-but-there-is-a-mindset-even/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [“American foreign policy was a mirror image of Russian foreign policy: whatever the Russians did, we did in reverse. American domestic policies were conducted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/american-foreign-policy-was-a-mirror-image-of-russian-foreign-policy/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) ## More by Joseph Gurney Cannon > [A majority can do anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gurney-cannon/a-majority-can-do-anything/) Joseph Gurney Cannon > [In legislation we all do a lot of swapping tobacco across the lines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gurney-cannon/in-legislation-we-all-do-a-lot-of-swapping-tobacco-across-the-lines/) Joseph Gurney Cannon > [Nearly all legislation is the result of compromise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gurney-cannon/nearly-all-legislation-is-the-result-of-compromise/) Joseph Gurney Cannon Explore all 4 Joseph Gurney Cannon quotes ## More Blacklist quotes > [“American foreign policy was a mirror image of Russian foreign policy: whatever the Russians did, we did in reverse. American domestic policies were conducted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/american-foreign-policy-was-a-mirror-image-of-russian-foreign-policy/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [To my knowledge, there is no blacklist. But there is a mindset, even among liberal producers, that says 'He may be difficult so let's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/to-my-knowledge-there-is-no-blacklist-but-there-is-a-mindset-even/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [It's never been written about, but before the blacklist of Dalton Trumbo and the Hollywood Ten, there was a de facto blacklist by Communists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/it-s-never-been-written-about-but-before-the-blacklist-of-dalton/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [If you've got a blacklist, I want to be on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bragg/if-you-ve-got-a-blacklist-i-want-to-be-on-it/) [Billy Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bragg/) > [The 'Blacklist' duology is a project I am very passionate about, and when the St. Martin's Press team approached me, I was captivated with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-day/the-blacklist-duology-is-a-project-i-am-very-passionate-about-and/) [Sylvia Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-day/) > [Film and television were out. I was 24, and it went on until I was 36. For an actor, those are your years. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-grant/film-and-television-were-out-i-was-24-and-it-went-on-until-i-was-36/) [Lee Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-grant/) > [ The blacklist was a time of evil...no one on either side who survived it came through untouched by evil...\[Looking\] back on this time...it will… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/the-blacklist-was-a-time-of-evil-no-one-on-either-side-who-survived/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [There is no blacklist. In the first place, in the entertainment business, money talks, bullshit walks. So Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins won't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/there-is-no-blacklist-in-the-first-place-in-the-entertainment/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [I was living in a terrible time when people were being accused of being communists, and they attacked the movie industry, especially the writers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-douglas/i-was-living-in-a-terrible-time-when-people-were-being-accused-of/) [Kirk Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-douglas/) > [ The blacklist against people in the entertainment industry that show up for \[Donald\] Trump is worse than that blacklist you heard of in Hollywood… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-blacklist-against-people-in-the-entertainment-industry-that-show/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“There are today many Communists in America. They are everywhere -- in factories, offices, butcher stores, on street corners, in private businesses. And each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-howard-mcgrath/there-are-today-many-communists-in-america-they-are-everywhere-in/) J. Howard McGrath > [Im so happy with The Blacklist. Give me more people to shoot and throw them off buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-klattenhoff/im-so-happy-with-the-blacklist-give-me-more-people-to-shoot-and-throw/) [Diego Klattenhoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-klattenhoff/) > [I'm so happy with 'The Blacklist.' Give me more people to shoot and throw them off buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-klattenhoff/i-m-so-happy-with-the-blacklist-give-me-more-people-to-shoot-and/) [Diego Klattenhoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-klattenhoff/) > [Not a single person I named hadn't already been named at least a half-dozen times and wasn't already on he blacklist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-dmytryk/not-a-single-person-i-named-hadn-t-already-been-named-at-least-a-half/) [Edward Dmytryk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-dmytryk/) > [I was blacklisted and overnight my TV appearances dried up. Ed Sullivan called to cancel my appearance and said he'd help me when he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/i-was-blacklisted-and-overnight-my-tv-appearances-dried-up-ed/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) [Browse all 17 Blacklist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blacklist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I would rather quit public life at seventy, and quit it forever, than to retain public life at a sacrifice to my own self-respect. I will not vote for any law which will make fair for me and foul for another. 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