--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I knew that taking down the monuments was…" description: "\"“I knew that taking down the monuments was going to be tough, but you elected me to do the right thing, not the easy thing, and this is what that looks..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/664/mitch-landrieu-23404_difficult-decisions_i-knew-that-taking-down-the-monuments-wa_220482.jpg" --- # I knew that taking down the monuments was going to be… ![“I knew that taking down the monuments was going to be tough, but you elected me to do the right thing, not the easy thing, and this is what that looks like.” quote by Mitch Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/664/mitch-landrieu-23404_difficult-decisions_i-knew-that-taking-down-the-monuments-wa_220482.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/664/mitch-landrieu-23404_difficult-decisions_i-knew-that-taking-down-the-monuments-wa_220482.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/664/mitch-landrieu-23404_difficult-decisions_i-knew-that-taking-down-the-monuments-wa_220482.jpg) > ““I knew that taking down the monuments was going to be tough, but you elected me to do the right thing, not the easy thing, and this is what that looks like.”” [Mitch Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leaders must choose difficult but ethical actions over popular but superficial solutions, even when facing strong opposition. **In simple terms:** Do what is right, not what is easy. Key Takeaway Prioritize integrity over convenience. Themes leadership ethics courage Mood determined serious Type political inspirational When to use this quote - political office - community activism - heritage debates - public protests Key Concepts public policy moral decision making social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance public opinion with moral duty? - What costs are you willing to bear for ethical leadership? A Different Perspective Choosing the right path can provoke backlash and political risk. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Difficult decisions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-decisions/) [Right thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-thing/) [Taking a stand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taking-a-stand/) ## Related quotes > [Most monuments are not something you're going to keep me out of. And I go to a lot of monuments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-huebel/most-monuments-are-not-something-you-re-going-to-keep-me-out-of-and-i/) [Rob Huebel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-huebel/) > [Politicians are elected to do what is right, but too many are just doing what is right for the party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theo-paphitis/politicians-are-elected-to-do-what-is-right-but-too-many-are-just/) [Theo Paphitis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theo-paphitis/) > [Sometimes people expect that I'm going to be tough. It's not a bad situation. People treat you better. People are on time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/sometimes-people-expect-that-i-m-going-to-be-tough-it-s-not-a-bad/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [It's going to be tough because the economy is going to be getting worse for a while. And it might fall off a cliff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/it-s-going-to-be-tough-because-the-economy-is-going-to-be-getting/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [When one of your best mates finds out he has cancer and he is going through what he has to go through it's tough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-ingles/when-one-of-your-best-mates-finds-out-he-has-cancer-and-he-is-going/) [Joe Ingles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-ingles/) > [“It was going to be a tough ten years, he thought, for men with grown sons. Warren”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-wouk/it-was-going-to-be-a-tough-ten-years-he-thought-for-men-with-grown/) [Herman Wouk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-wouk/) > [When a team gets into the mindset of, Alright, I've got a good shot... he's got a better one, they're going to be tough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-nance-jr/when-a-team-gets-into-the-mindset-of-alright-i-ve-got-a-good-shot-he/) [Larry Nance, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-nance-jr/) > [Sometimes you've just got to put one foot in front of the other and keep going - even though it's tough - boring -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/sometimes-you-ve-just-got-to-put-one-foot-in-front-of-the-other-and/) Senoraroy > [“Going through a tough time doesn't make you a bad person. Those things define who we become. In the best of times, everyone grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hattie-clarance/going-through-a-tough-time-doesn-t-make-you-a-bad-person-those-things/) Hattie Clarance > [Going through tough times is a wonderful thing, and everybody should try it. Once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/going-through-tough-times-is-a-wonderful-thing-and-everybody-should/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If the going is tough and the pressure is on, If the reserves of strength have been drained and the summit is still not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-hillary/if-the-going-is-tough-and-the-pressure-is-on-if-the-reserves-of/) [Edmund Hillary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-hillary/) > [Everybody is going to have tough shooting nights. It's natural.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-kuzma/everybody-is-going-to-have-tough-shooting-nights-it-s-natural/) [Kyle Kuzma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-kuzma/) > [“because we were all going through tough times and needed each other; needed each other’s kindness, patience, and understanding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-reynolds/because-we-were-all-going-through-tough-times-and-needed-each-other/) Jamie Reynolds > [When you're 2-0 down after 30 minutes, then you know it's going to be tough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-van-dijk/when-you-re-2-0-down-after-30-minutes-then-you-know-it-s-going-to-be/) [Virgil van Dijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-van-dijk/) > [We make a lot of fun at President Clinton's expense. But this transition is going to be tough because it's been 25 years since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/we-make-a-lot-of-fun-at-president-clinton-s-expense-but-this/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) ## More by Mitch Landrieu > [I love Mardi Gras. I'm a street rat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/i-love-mardi-gras-i-m-a-street-rat/) [Mitch Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/) > [“It is an affront to our present, and it is a bad prescription for our future. History cannot be changed. It cannot be moved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/it-is-an-affront-to-our-present-and-it-is-a-bad-prescription-for-our/) [Mitch Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/) > [Political corruption is endemic all over this country, in some places worse than others, right? On crime, you have all the major American cities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/political-corruption-is-endemic-all-over-this-country-in-some-places/) [Mitch Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/) > [One of the things that's beautiful about New Orleans is how culturally rich we are and how well we have worked together. People call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/one-of-the-things-that-s-beautiful-about-new-orleans-is-how/) [Mitch Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/) > [“They were erected purposefully to send a strong message to all who walked in their shadows about who was still in charge in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/they-were-erected-purposefully-to-send-a-strong-message-to-all-who/) [Mitch Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/) > [“These statues are not just stone and metal. They are not just innocent remembrances of a benign history. These monuments purposefully celebrate a fictional,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/these-statues-are-not-just-stone-and-metal-they-are-not-just-innocent/) [Mitch Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/) > [It's a common theme around the city of New Orleans; we're resilient people because we have to be. We love this place with all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/it-s-a-common-theme-around-the-city-of-new-orleans-we-re-resilient/) [Mitch Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/) > [You can't hide behind race any more. You can't hide behind class structure any more. You can't hide behind family. You need to produce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/you-can-t-hide-behind-race-any-more-you-can-t-hide-behind-class/) [Mitch Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/) > [The federal government was responsible for building the levees, engineering the levees, and consequentially, the federal government is responsible for repairing the damage that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/the-federal-government-was-responsible-for-building-the-levees/) [Mitch Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/) > [The people of New Orleans have gotten to rock bottom. And the only way out in my mind is for them to really understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/the-people-of-new-orleans-have-gotten-to-rock-bottom-and-the-only-way/) [Mitch Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/) > [Congress does investigations better than they do anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/congress-does-investigations-better-than-they-do-anything-else/) [Mitch Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/) > [“This is, however, about showing the whole world that we as a city and as a people are able to acknowledge, understand, reconcile and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/this-is-however-about-showing-the-whole-world-that-we-as-a-city-and/) [Mitch Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/) > [Race in America is not a problem you can go over, or around or under. You've got to go through it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/race-in-america-is-not-a-problem-you-can-go-over-or-around-or-under/) [Mitch Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/) > [“Instead of revering a four-year brief historical aberration that was called the Confederacy we can celebrate all 300 years of our rich, diverse history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/instead-of-revering-a-four-year-brief-historical-aberration-that-was/) [Mitch Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/) > [Eighty-five percent of us in this country, by the way, live in coastal areas, so again, Katrina and Rita were not just about New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/eighty-five-percent-of-us-in-this-country-by-the-way-live-in-coastal/) [Mitch Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/) [Explore all 26 Mitch Landrieu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/) ## More Difficult decisions quotes > [I do think that despite my best efforts to resist it, I am now a grown-up. It's due to lots of very difficult decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-thompson/i-do-think-that-despite-my-best-efforts-to-resist-it-i-am-now-a-grown/) [Emma Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-thompson/) > [A film is a chain of very difficult decisions, and I think one of them is to choose an accurate cast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-camara/a-film-is-a-chain-of-very-difficult-decisions-and-i-think-one-of-them/) [Javier Camara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-camara/) > [“It's easier to simply react; to choose to try to do everything, rather than make the difficult decisions and unchoose things -- it takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-crabbe/it-s-easier-to-simply-react-to-choose-to-try-to-do-everything-rather/) [Tony Crabbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-crabbe/) > [“This is how best to effect change. If you reiterate the same fears and the same sensible measures with proper augmentation enough times, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olli-jalonen/this-is-how-best-to-effect-change-if-you-reiterate-the-same-fears-and/) Olli Jalonen > [ “\[...\] the kind of healer who knows that sometimes one must inflict terrible agony - rebreak a bone, carve off a limb, kill the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/the-kind-of-healer-who-knows-that-sometimes-one-must-inflict-terrible/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [The trouble with the SNP is they want power without responsibility. They do not want to take difficult decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-grayling/the-trouble-with-the-snp-is-they-want-power-without-responsibility/) [Chris Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-grayling/) > [What's called a difficult decision is a difficult decision because either way you go there are penalties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elia-kazan/what-s-called-a-difficult-decision-is-a-difficult-decision-because/) [Elia Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elia-kazan/) > [I am facing the most difficult thing of my life, my own greatest failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/i-am-facing-the-most-difficult-thing-of-my-life-my-own-greatest/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [Many times in our lives we have to make difficult decisions that will affect not only our lives, but the lives of others around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-maynard/many-times-in-our-lives-we-have-to-make-difficult-decisions-that-will/) Gene Maynard > [The greatest decisions I've made in my life are by instinct. I remember when I hired Bill I had a lot of people telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kraft/the-greatest-decisions-i-ve-made-in-my-life-are-by-instinct-i/) [Robert Kraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kraft/) > [Yes, my mind was wandering. I wished I were there with someone who could bring peace to my heart someone with whom I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/yes-my-mind-was-wandering-i-wished-i-were-there-with-someone-who/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The past shouldn't be forgotten. It should be used as a guide for future situations and not used as a reason to avoid making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/the-past-shouldn-t-be-forgotten-it-should-be-used-as-a-guide-for/) [Maria V. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-v-snyder/) > [At a time when we're having to take such difficult decisions about how to cut back without damaging the things that matter the most,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cameron/at-a-time-when-we-re-having-to-take-such-difficult-decisions-about/) [David Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cameron/) > [Life demands sacrifice and difficult decisions from us at every moment. Living does not mean passing through a void of nothingness but rather through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-demands-sacrifice-and-difficult-decisions-from-us-at-every/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As much as I'd like to think I'm an expert in quarterbacks I'm probably not. But, I think college quarterbacks are put in positions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-thompson/as-much-as-i-d-like-to-think-i-m-an-expert-in-quarterbacks-i-m/) Ted Thompson [Browse all 112 Difficult decisions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-decisions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I knew that taking down the monuments was going to be tough, but you elected me to do the right thing, not the easy thing, and this is what that looks like.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mitch Landrieu" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/i-knew-that-taking-down-the-monuments-was-going-to-be-tough-but-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Difficult decisions" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/i-knew-that-taking-down-the-monuments-was-going-to-be-tough-but-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/664/mitch-landrieu-23404_difficult-decisions_i-knew-that-taking-down-the-monuments-wa_220482.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/664/mitch-landrieu-23404_difficult-decisions_i-knew-that-taking-down-the-monuments-wa_220482.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/664/mitch-landrieu-23404_difficult-decisions_i-knew-that-taking-down-the-monuments-wa_220482.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I knew that taking down the monuments was going to be tough, but you elected me to do the right thing, not…” — Mitch Landrieu", "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": "Mitch Landrieu", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I knew that taking down the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/i-knew-that-taking-down-the-monuments-was-going-to-be-tough-but-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/i-knew-that-taking-down-the-monuments-was-going-to-be-tough-but-you/#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 } } ] } ```