--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I teach students that what people say…" description: "\"I teach students that what people say about failure in politics is mostly wrong. People always told me, 'They'll praise you on your way up and kick you..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d0/michael-ignatieff-3146_about_i-teach-students-that-what-people-say-ab_2821192.jpg" --- # I teach students that what people say about failure in… ![“I teach students that what people say about failure in politics is mostly wrong. People always told me, 'They'll praise you on your way up and kick you on your way down.' That wasn't my experience. I can't walk down the street in Toronto without someone coming up and saying hello.” quote by Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d0/michael-ignatieff-3146_about_i-teach-students-that-what-people-say-ab_2821192.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d0/michael-ignatieff-3146_about_i-teach-students-that-what-people-say-ab_2821192.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d0/michael-ignatieff-3146_about_i-teach-students-that-what-people-say-ab_2821192.jpg) > “I teach students that what people say about failure in politics is mostly wrong. People always told me, 'They'll praise you on your way up and kick you on your way down.' That wasn't my experience. I can't walk down the street in Toronto without someone coming up and saying hello.” [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that political failure narratives are inaccurate; personal experience shows consistent kindness despite success or setbacks. **In simple terms:** Political failure is often misrepresented; kindness persists. Key Takeaway Recognize that success doesn't guarantee hostility. Themes politics human behavior kindness Mood reflective hopeful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - campaigns - public speaking - community interactions Key Concepts social perception narrative bias Questions to Reflect On - How does personal experience reshape political narratives? - What role does kindness play in political discourse? A Different Perspective Kindness may be situational, not universal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [About](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/) [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [Coming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coming/) [Down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/down/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Failure Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure-politics-3591998/) [Hello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hello/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Kick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kick/) [Kicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kicks/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Mostly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mostly/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-say/) [People Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-told/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Politics Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics-wrong-1366686/) [Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise/) [Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say/) [Say Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-failure-2318842/) [Saying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saying/) [Saying hello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saying-hello/) [Someone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/someone/) [Street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/street/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Toronto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toronto/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up/) [Walk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walk/) [Walks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walks/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Without](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/without/) [Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) [Your](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your/) ## Related quotes > [I've accepted that I was a failure in politics. I was not qualified for the job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitabh-bachchan/i-ve-accepted-that-i-was-a-failure-in-politics-i-was-not-qualified/) [Amitabh Bachchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitabh-bachchan/) > [In a democracy, dynasty politics is wrong. We need to free the state and nation from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/in-a-democracy-dynasty-politics-is-wrong-we-need-to-free-the-state/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [The thought of 'none should enter politics and only I should be in politics' is wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghava-lawrence/the-thought-of-none-should-enter-politics-and-only-i-should-be-in/) [Raghava Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghava-lawrence/) > [I haven't come to the conclusion that centrist politics is wrong or dead. On the contrary. I think it's very much alive - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-haven-t-come-to-the-conclusion-that-centrist-politics-is-wrong-or/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [“You can have the most advanced and efflorescent cultures. Get your politics wrong, however, and everything stands to be swept away. This is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/you-can-have-the-most-advanced-and-efflorescent-cultures-get-your-2/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [You can have the most advanced and efflorescent cultures. Get your politics wrong, however, and everything stands to be swept away. This is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/you-can-have-the-most-advanced-and-efflorescent-cultures-get-your/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Kasich does two fundamentals in presidential politics wrong; he talks, and he keeps talking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wilson/kasich-does-two-fundamentals-in-presidential-politics-wrong-he-talks/) [Rick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wilson/) > [That's the problem in politics. One wrong word and it's over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/that-s-the-problem-in-politics-one-wrong-word-and-it-s-over/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“There are times you just want to put the tools down and say 'I can't do this, I'm done, I'm a failure.'I just want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euginia-herlihy/there-are-times-you-just-want-to-put-the-tools-down-and-say-i-can-t/) [Euginia Herlihy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euginia-herlihy/) > [Don't say this is failure say this is A failed attempt ,, then say I'm gonna try more and more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moa-taz-el-sherbeny/don-t-say-this-is-failure-say-this-is-a-failed-attempt-then-say-i-m/) [Moa'taz El-Sherbeny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moa-taz-el-sherbeny/) > [As I have yet to meet a gentleman I wished to spend the rest of my days with, I would say the failure was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-alexander/as-i-have-yet-to-meet-a-gentleman-i-wished-to-spend-the-rest-of-my/) [Victoria Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-alexander/) > [There are moments in business and in life when you have to say, "Failure is not an option."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donny-deutsch/there-are-moments-in-business-and-in-life-when-you-have-to-say/) [Donny Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donny-deutsch/) > [“What other people say about how you fail means nothing, especially if you can say why your failure has made you stronger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/life-hacks-books/what-other-people-say-about-how-you-fail-means-nothing-especially-if/) [Life Hacks Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/life-hacks-books/) > [It's true what they say about failure. You don't learn from success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-hoffman/it-s-true-what-they-say-about-failure-you-don-t-learn-from-success/) [Dustin Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-hoffman/) > [When you say 'failure,' that seems really dramatic, but a lot of failure is just really depressing and mundane. I remember the first time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/when-you-say-failure-that-seems-really-dramatic-but-a-lot-of-failure/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) ## More by Michael Ignatieff > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [What really matters is getting new people in. The constitutional changes matter, but the thing that the party mustn't do is turn in on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/what-really-matters-is-getting-new-people-in-the-constitutional/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [The medium's gaze is brief, intense, and promiscuous. The shelf life of the moral causes it makes its own is brutally short.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-medium-s-gaze-is-brief-intense-and-promiscuous-the-shelf-life-of/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Those with a gift for action, for their part, often express contempt for those whose gifts are more reflective. Men of action like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/those-with-a-gift-for-action-for-their-part-often-express-contempt/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [There are lots of nations in the world or national peoples who don't yet have states. They're inside someone else's state and they want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/there-are-lots-of-nations-in-the-world-or-national-peoples-who-don-t/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [There's a civic nationalism in Britain and dozens of other countries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/there-s-a-civic-nationalism-in-britain-and-dozens-of-other-countries/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Affirming belief that America is an exceptional nation has become a test of patriotism in American politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/affirming-belief-that-america-is-an-exceptional-nation-has-become-a/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Both Iraq and Syria are a fissile mixture of ethnicities and religions thrown together after Versailles by departing French and British imperialists and only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/both-iraq-and-syria-are-a-fissile-mixture-of-ethnicities-and/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [The legitimacy of coercive acts in a democracy arises from the process by which they are justified and by the degree to which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-legitimacy-of-coercive-acts-in-a-democracy-arises-from-the/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Some of our finest leaders were not intellectuals at all, and I admire them enormously because they weren't. Harry Truman wasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/some-of-our-finest-leaders-were-not-intellectuals-at-all-and-i-admire/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [If you get the access to see history happen, do you understand the history when it does happen? And the answer to that question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/if-you-get-the-access-to-see-history-happen-do-you-understand-the/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [I have been a journalist, off and on, since I was 17. I was a copy boy for the 'New York Times,' when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/i-have-been-a-journalist-off-and-on-since-i-was-17-i-was-a-copy-boy/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [In academic life, false ideas are merely false, and useless ones can be fun to play with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/in-academic-life-false-ideas-are-merely-false-and-useless-ones-can-be/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Liberal democracy has endured because its institutions are designed for handling morally hazardous forms of coercive power. It puts the question of how far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/liberal-democracy-has-endured-because-its-institutions-are-designed/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [An intellectual may be interested in ideas and policies for their own sake, but a politician's interest is exclusively in the question of whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/an-intellectual-may-be-interested-in-ideas-and-policies-for-their-own/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) [Explore all 138 Michael Ignatieff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) ## More About quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [I talk to my mates about our kids, being too tired and being worn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/i-talk-to-my-mates-about-our-kids-being-too-tired-and-being-worn-out/) [Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/) > [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [I write about presidents. 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As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' 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