--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...[T]oday's Washington is about as…" description: "\"...[T]oday's Washington is about as attentive to the Tenth Amendment as the Unitarian Church is to the Book of Revelation.\" — Joseph Sobran" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/joseph-sobran-6902_amendments_t-oday-s-washington-is-about-as-attentiv_404524.jpg" --- # ...\[T\]oday's Washington is about as attentive to the Tenth… ![“...[T]oday's Washington is about as attentive to the Tenth Amendment as the Unitarian Church is to the Book of Revelation.” quote by Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/joseph-sobran-6902_amendments_t-oday-s-washington-is-about-as-attentiv_404524.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/joseph-sobran-6902_amendments_t-oday-s-washington-is-about-as-attentiv_404524.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/joseph-sobran-6902_amendments_t-oday-s-washington-is-about-as-attentiv_404524.jpg) > “...\[T\]oday's Washington is about as attentive to the Tenth Amendment as the Unitarian Church is to the Book of Revelation.” [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern politics often ignore constitutional limits, similar to religious groups ignoring apocalyptic texts. **In simple terms:** Neglect of foundational rules. Key Takeaway Pay attention to core principles. Themes government constitution religion Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy analysis - legal studies - faith discussions - public debates Key Concepts law civic duty Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure constitutional awareness? - What parallels exist between law and belief? A Different Perspective Complex issues may resist simple analogies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amendments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amendments/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book of revelation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-of-revelation/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Revelations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelations/) [Unitarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unitarian/) ## Related quotes > [My family for several generations have been members of the Unitarian Church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leverett-saltonstall/my-family-for-several-generations-have-been-members-of-the-unitarian/) [Leverett Saltonstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leverett-saltonstall/) > [The Unitarian Church has done more than any other church to substitute character for creed, and to say that a man should be judged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/the-unitarian-church-has-done-more-than-any-other-church-to/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [ I think back to when I was growing up in Fort Worth, Texas, in the 1950s, during the \[John\] McCarthy era, with two parents… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/i-think-back-to-when-i-was-growing-up-in-fort-worth-texas-in-the/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [I can remember, I think it was 1967, sitting in the First Unitarian Church in Isla Vista, Santa Barbara, and seeing Phil Levine come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/i-can-remember-i-think-it-was-1967-sitting-in-the-first-unitarian/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [I have confidence that the Unitarian Church will steadily grow and will help to sustain many of my fellow citizens in these important days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leverett-saltonstall/i-have-confidence-that-the-unitarian-church-will-steadily-grow-and/) [Leverett Saltonstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leverett-saltonstall/) > [We were just floored by the kindness of the people here. The minister of the Unitarian Church in Honolulu invited my family over to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/we-were-just-floored-by-the-kindness-of-the-people-here-the-minister/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [“He said he was raising his kids to believe in the will not the rules and that we would go to the Unitarian Church.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barnes/he-said-he-was-raising-his-kids-to-believe-in-the-will-not-the-rules/) Susan Barnes > [ ...\[T\]he Constitution conferred only a few specific powers on the federal government, all others being denied to it (as the Tenth Amendment would make… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/t-he-constitution-conferred-only-a-few-specific-powers-on-the-federal/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [The idea of dual sovereignty rests on the premise that the power of the states to prosecute crimes existed before the creation of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asha-rangappa/the-idea-of-dual-sovereignty-rests-on-the-premise-that-the-power-of/) [Asha Rangappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asha-rangappa/) > [If the Tenth Amendment were still taken seriously, most of the federal government's present activities would not exist. That's why no one in Washington…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-woods/if-the-tenth-amendment-were-still-taken-seriously-most-of-the-federal/) [Thomas Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-woods/) > [ The \[tenth\] amendment states but a truism that all is retained which has not been surrendered. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-f-stone/the-tenth-amendment-states-but-a-truism-that-all-is-retained-which/) [Harlan F. Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-f-stone/) > [Americans who believe their government should not be a giant ATM, dispensing money and benefits to people who have not earned them, and who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-thomas/americans-who-believe-their-government-should-not-be-a-giant-atm/) [Cal Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-thomas/) > [If the American press corps were as concerned about the Tenth Amendment as it has been protecting the First and trying to get rid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-galen/if-the-american-press-corps-were-as-concerned-about-the-tenth/) [Rich Galen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-galen/) > [“The Tenth Amendment recognizes the States' jurisdiction in certain areas. States' Rights means that the States have a right to act or not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-m-goldwater/the-tenth-amendment-recognizes-the-states-jurisdiction-in-certain/) [Barry M. Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-m-goldwater/) > [I'm not up for changing the Tenth Amendment or the Fourteenth Amendment, the First Amendment or the Second Amendment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-breitbart/i-m-not-up-for-changing-the-tenth-amendment-or-the-fourteenth/) [Andrew Breitbart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-breitbart/) ## More by Joseph Sobran > [Government is the agent of those who are too refined to do their own mugging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/government-is-the-agent-of-those-who-are-too-refined-to-do-their-own/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Liberalism's fatal flaw,... is that it has no permanent norms, only a succession of enthusiasms espoused by minor prophets. Each of these seems like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/liberalism-s-fatal-flaw-is-that-it-has-no-permanent-norms-only-a/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Altering the Constitution has become the daily business of the Federal Government which the document is supposed to guide and limit. Both Congress and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/altering-the-constitution-has-become-the-daily-business-of-the/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [The prevailing notion is that the state should be neutral as to religion, and furthermore, that the best way to be neutral about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/the-prevailing-notion-is-that-the-state-should-be-neutral-as-to/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Controlling the interpretation of the Constitution is vital to the leftist agenda of expanding the federal government's power. That means keeping the federal judiciary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/controlling-the-interpretation-of-the-constitution-is-vital-to-the/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Government has ceased to mean upholding and reinforcing the traditional rights and morals of the governed; it now means compulsion in the service of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/government-has-ceased-to-mean-upholding-and-reinforcing-the/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [The chances of your being harmed by terrorists are mathematically minute. The chance of your being robbed by your own government? That's easy: 100…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/the-chances-of-your-being-harmed-by-terrorists-are-mathematically/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Liberals have a new wish every time their latest wish is granted. Conservatives should make them spell out their principles and ideals. Instead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/liberals-have-a-new-wish-every-time-their-latest-wish-is-granted/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Politics is the conspiracy of the unproductive but organized against the productive but unorganized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/politics-is-the-conspiracy-of-the-unproductive-but-organized-against/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [ ...\[T\]he Constitution conferred only a few specific powers on the federal government, all others being denied to it (as the Tenth Amendment would make… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/t-he-constitution-conferred-only-a-few-specific-powers-on-the-federal/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [I call the present system 'Post-Constitutional America.' As I sometimes put it, the U.S. Constitution poses no serious threat to our form of government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/i-call-the-present-system-post-constitutional-america-as-i-sometimes/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Most Americans aren't the sort of citizens the Founding Fathers expected; they are contented serfs. Far from being active critics of government, they assume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/most-americans-aren-t-the-sort-of-citizens-the-founding-fathers/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Because the state can no longer protect us from crime, it wants to take away from us the means of protecting ourselves. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/because-the-state-can-no-longer-protect-us-from-crime-it-wants-to/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Some people don't mind a little constitutional sophistry in a good cause; and for liberals, centralizing all power in the federal government is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/some-people-don-t-mind-a-little-constitutional-sophistry-in-a-good/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [The most fundamental purpose of government is defense, not empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/the-most-fundamental-purpose-of-government-is-defense-not-empire/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) [Explore all 96 Joseph Sobran quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) ## More Amendments quotes > [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/) > [The First Amendment makes confidence in the common sense of our people and in the maturity of their judgement the great postulate of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/the-first-amendment-makes-confidence-in-the-common-sense-of-our/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [Anybody who pretends that how you read the 10th and 11th Amendment doesn't have a fundamental impact on the things we care about is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/anybody-who-pretends-that-how-you-read-the-10th-and-11th-amendment/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [I have a lot of guns on my ranch. I don't use them for hunting. I'm not a hunter. It's for protection. The Second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-norris/i-have-a-lot-of-guns-on-my-ranch-i-don-t-use-them-for-hunting-i-m-not/) [Chuck Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-norris/) > [All human situations have their inconveniences. We feel those of the present but neither see nor feel those of the future; and hence we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/all-human-situations-have-their-inconveniences-we-feel-those-of-the/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/if-in-the-opinion-of-the-people-the-distribution-or-modification-of/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [The First Amendment exists to protect our religious liberty--to ensure that all Americans are able to seek out worship God with all our hearts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/the-first-amendment-exists-to-protect-our-religious-liberty-to-ensure/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-disarm-only-those-who-are/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people duly before them, may attempt to tyrannize,... The people are confirmed by the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tench-coxe/as-civil-rulers-not-having-their-duty-to-the-people-duly-before-them/) [Tench Coxe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tench-coxe/) > [The lessons of the First Amendment are as urgent in the modern world as the 18th Century when it was written. One timeless lesson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kennedy/the-lessons-of-the-first-amendment-are-as-urgent-in-the-modern-world/) [Anthony Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kennedy/) > [The American people intuitively understand this, which is why the majority of Catholics practice birth control and some of those opposed to gay marriage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-american-people-intuitively-understand-this-which-is-why-the/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I think the reality is that copyright law has for a very long time been a tiny little part of American jurisprudence, far removed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/i-think-the-reality-is-that-copyright-law-has-for-a-very-long-time/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-country-can-preserve-its-liberties-if-its-rulers-are-not-warned/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The Second Amendment has no place in modern society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/the-second-amendment-has-no-place-in-modern-society/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) [Browse all 709 Amendments quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amendments/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...[T]oday's Washington is about as attentive to the Tenth Amendment as the Unitarian Church is to the Book of Revelation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Sobran" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/t-oday-s-washington-is-about-as-attentive-to-the-tenth-amendment-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Amendments" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/t-oday-s-washington-is-about-as-attentive-to-the-tenth-amendment-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/joseph-sobran-6902_amendments_t-oday-s-washington-is-about-as-attentiv_404524.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/joseph-sobran-6902_amendments_t-oday-s-washington-is-about-as-attentiv_404524.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b72/joseph-sobran-6902_amendments_t-oday-s-washington-is-about-as-attentiv_404524.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...[T]oday's Washington is about as attentive to the Tenth Amendment as the Unitarian Church is to the Book…” — Joseph Sobran", "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": "Joseph Sobran", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "...[T]oday's Washington is about as attentive...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/t-oday-s-washington-is-about-as-attentive-to-the-tenth-amendment-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/t-oday-s-washington-is-about-as-attentive-to-the-tenth-amendment-as/#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 } } ] } ```