--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The choice facing the American people is…" description: "\"The choice facing the American people is not between growth and stagnation, but between short-term growth and long-term disaster.\" — Stewart Udall" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/stewart-udall-12055_american_the-choice-facing-the-american-people-is_1464414.png" --- # The choice facing the American people is not between… ![“The choice facing the American people is not between growth and stagnation, but between short-term growth and long-term disaster.” quote by Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/stewart-udall-12055_american_the-choice-facing-the-american-people-is_1464414.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/stewart-udall-12055_american_the-choice-facing-the-american-people-is_1464414.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/stewart-udall-12055_american_the-choice-facing-the-american-people-is_1464414.png) > “The choice facing the American people is not between growth and stagnation, but between short-term growth and long-term disaster.” [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The real dilemma is choosing short‑term growth that risks long‑term catastrophe versus sustainable development. **In simple terms:** Choosing quick growth can cause future disaster. Key Takeaway Prioritize sustainable, long‑term planning. Themes environment policy future planning Mood cautious thoughtful Type political philosophical When to use this quote - government policy - business strategy - urban planning Key Concepts sustainability risk management Questions to Reflect On - What policies balance growth and sustainability? - How can individuals influence long‑term outcomes? A Different Perspective Short‑term gains often ignore hidden costs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) [American people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-people/) [Between](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/between/) [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) [Facing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facing/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Growth Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth-long-1159565/) [Growth Stagnation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth-stagnation-4295611/) [Long term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-term/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Short term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-term/) [Stagnation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stagnation/) ## Related quotes > [Unless you invest in people, you are not going to see growth in the long term, the medium term, and maybe even the short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-yong-kim/unless-you-invest-in-people-you-are-not-going-to-see-growth-in-the/) [Jim Yong Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-yong-kim/) > [“Growth or stagnation? There is no in-between. Life always seeks more of itself and death picks up the slack.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-babson/growth-or-stagnation-there-is-no-in-between-life-always-seeks-more-of/) [Christopher Babson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-babson/) > [I think what is true is that there's been an underlying division in the United States. Some of it has to do with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-think-what-is-true-is-that-there-s-been-an-underlying-division-in/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [There are many countries in the world that when they reached the middle-income stage, they witnessed serious structural problems such as growth stagnation, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-keqiang/there-are-many-countries-in-the-world-that-when-they-reached-the/) [Li Keqiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-keqiang/) > [Investment in infrastructure is a long term requirement for growth and a long term factor that will make growth sustainable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanda-kochhar/investment-in-infrastructure-is-a-long-term-requirement-for-growth/) [Chanda Kochhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanda-kochhar/) > [“Stated another way, most of the economic world, at any given time, is a brownfield of traditional activities performed in traditional ways. New technologies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-womack/stated-another-way-most-of-the-economic-world-at-any-given-time-is-a/) [James P. Womack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-womack/) > [If there is something I learned throughout my life, that is to be patient with myself. Self-growth is a long and tremendous journey, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-valadez/if-there-is-something-i-learned-throughout-my-life-that-is-to-be/) [Benjamin Valadez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-valadez/) > [Growth is a long term game, and the crappy days are more important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-st-pierre/growth-is-a-long-term-game-and-the-crappy-days-are-more-important/) [Georges St-Pierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-st-pierre/) > [If you see a market that has slow and steady growth long enough, you'll start to front-run it, and that slow and steady growth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-voorhees/if-you-see-a-market-that-has-slow-and-steady-growth-long-enough-you/) [Erik Voorhees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-voorhees/) > [I'm in favor of personal growth as long as it doesn't include malignant tumors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-m-in-favor-of-personal-growth-as-long-as-it-doesn-t-include/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“Every measure selected should be part of a link of cause-and-effect relationships, and ultimately affect the growth and long-term perspectives of the organization.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-zhu/every-measure-selected-should-be-part-of-a-link-of-cause-and-effect/) [Pearl Zhu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-zhu/) > [“You should have a fifty-year plan—a vision for growth over a long period of time as you embrace your weakness.” Learning to walk the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamin-goggin/you-should-have-a-fifty-year-plan-a-vision-for-growth-over-a-long/) [Jamin Goggin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamin-goggin/) > [In Indian companies, people aren't too worried about the pace of growth as long as you're setting up a business which will survive for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-subramanian/in-indian-companies-people-aren-t-too-worried-about-the-pace-of/) [Ravi Subramanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-subramanian/) > [Wal-Mart impoverished its own customer base. Google is facing exactly the same issue long-term, although not yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/wal-mart-impoverished-its-own-customer-base-google-is-facing-exactly/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Nature will eventually do what nature has always done. It will respond in a self-stabilizing manner over the long term with moderate variability over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-h-sununu/nature-will-eventually-do-what-nature-has-always-done-it-will-respond/) [John H. Sununu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-h-sununu/) ## More by Stewart Udall > [I like the story about Henry David Thoreau, who, when he was on his death bed, his family sent for a minister. The minister…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/i-like-the-story-about-henry-david-thoreau-who-when-he-was-on-his/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) > [The most common trait of all primitive peoples is a reverence for the life-giving earth, and the Native American shared this elemental ethic: The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/the-most-common-trait-of-all-primitive-peoples-is-a-reverence-for-the/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) > [The atomic weapons race and the secrecy surrounding it crushed American democracy. It induced us to conduct government according to lies. It distorted justice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/the-atomic-weapons-race-and-the-secrecy-surrounding-it-crushed/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) > [Nature will take precedence over the needs of the modern man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/nature-will-take-precedence-over-the-needs-of-the-modern-man/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) > [In a region with a growing population, if you're doing nothing, you're losing ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/in-a-region-with-a-growing-population-if-you-re-doing-nothing-you-re/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) > [A limit on the automobile population of the United States would be the best of news for our cities. The end of automania would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/a-limit-on-the-automobile-population-of-the-united-states-would-be/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) > [We have, I fear, confused power with greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/we-have-i-fear-confused-power-with-greatness/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) > [Lady Bird Johnson did more than plant flowers in public places. She served the country superbly by planting environmental values in the minds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/lady-bird-johnson-did-more-than-plant-flowers-in-public-places-she/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) > [I don't remember a big fight between the Republicans and Democrats in the Nixon administration or President Gerald Ford and so on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/i-don-t-remember-a-big-fight-between-the-republicans-and-democrats-in/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) > [The most common trait of all primitive peoples is a reverence for the life-giving earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/the-most-common-trait-of-all-primitive-peoples-is-a-reverence-for-the-2/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) > [Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/plans-to-protect-air-and-water-wilderness-and-wildlife-are-in-fact/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) > [Cherish sunsets, wild creatures, and wild places. Have a love affair with the wonder and beauty of the earth!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/cherish-sunsets-wild-creatures-and-wild-places-have-a-love-affair/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) > [It induced us to conduct government according to lies. It distorted justice. It undermined American morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/it-induced-us-to-conduct-government-according-to-lies-it-distorted/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) > [America today stands poised on a pinnacle of wealth and power, yet we live in a land of vanishing beauty, of increasing ugliness, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/america-today-stands-poised-on-a-pinnacle-of-wealth-and-power-yet-we/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) > [Over the long haul of life on this planet, it is the ecologists, and not the bookkeepers of business, who are the ultimate accountants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/over-the-long-haul-of-life-on-this-planet-it-is-the-ecologists-and/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) [Explore all 56 Stewart Udall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/small-businesses-are-the-backbone-of-the-american-economy-and-employ/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) [Browse all 7,717 American quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The choice facing the American people is not between growth and stagnation, but between short-term growth and long-term disaster.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stewart Udall" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/the-choice-facing-the-american-people-is-not-between-growth-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/the-choice-facing-the-american-people-is-not-between-growth-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/stewart-udall-12055_american_the-choice-facing-the-american-people-is_1464414.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/stewart-udall-12055_american_the-choice-facing-the-american-people-is_1464414.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/stewart-udall-12055_american_the-choice-facing-the-american-people-is_1464414.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The choice facing the American people is not between growth and stagnation, but between short-term growth…” — Stewart Udall", "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": "Stewart Udall", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The choice facing the American people...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/the-choice-facing-the-american-people-is-not-between-growth-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/the-choice-facing-the-american-people-is-not-between-growth-and/#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 } } ] } ```