--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The struggle for your own character is…" description: "\"The struggle for your own character is the struggle for the nation's character.\" — William J. Clinton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/william-j-clinton-302_character_the-struggle-for-your-own-character-is-t_2014901.jpg" --- # The struggle for your own character is the struggle for… ![“The struggle for your own character is the struggle for the nation's character.” quote by William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/william-j-clinton-302_character_the-struggle-for-your-own-character-is-t_2014901.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/william-j-clinton-302_character_the-struggle-for-your-own-character-is-t_2014901.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/william-j-clinton-302_character_the-struggle-for-your-own-character-is-t_2014901.jpg) > “The struggle for your own character is the struggle for the nation's character.” [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal character shapes national character; individual integrity contributes to the moral fabric of a society. **In simple terms:** Your character affects the nation. Key Takeaway Cultivate personal integrity. Themes leadership ethics citizenship Mood inspirational serious Type political motivational When to use this quote - voting - community service - public office - education Key Concepts political science philosophy social psychology Questions to Reflect On - What personal values influence your civic duties? - How can you model integrity in your community? A Different Perspective Individual change alone cannot fix systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) ## Related quotes > [I would love nothing more to participate in a real struggle to find a character, and really delve into and develop a character. 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Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [Now, at the end of three years struggle the nation's condition is not what either party, or any man devised, or expected. God alone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/now-at-the-end-of-three-years-struggle-the-nation-s-condition-is-not/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [In the case of 'Fantastic Woman,' I wanted to make it a more complex animal than just a 'cause' film. Even though I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-lelio/in-the-case-of-fantastic-woman-i-wanted-to-make-it-a-more-complex/) [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) > [It is hard living down the tempers we are born with. We all begin well, for in our youth there is nothing we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/it-is-hard-living-down-the-tempers-we-are-born-with-we-all-begin-well/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“We must work—in the words of New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton—to really see each other. Perhaps the reason we struggle as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/historica-press/we-must-work-in-the-words-of-new-york-city-police-commissioner-bill/) [Historica Press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/historica-press/) > [“The struggle is against a nation that will always spit in its grandchildren's faces for immediate profit. As Vizenor would say, ‘Their Mother Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harrison/the-struggle-is-against-a-nation-that-will-always-spit-in-its/) [Jim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harrison/) > [Reduced to its lowest terms, the great struggle which now rocks the whole earth more and more takes on the character of a struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-reuben-clark/reduced-to-its-lowest-terms-the-great-struggle-which-now-rocks-the/) [J. Reuben Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-reuben-clark/) > [“What constitutes the character of a nation is the character of many individual human beings; every national character is in essence, simply human nature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/what-constitutes-the-character-of-a-nation-is-the-character-of-many/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [A nation's character is the sum of its splendid deeds; they constitute one common patrimony, the nation's inheritance. They awe foreign powers, they arouse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/a-nation-s-character-is-the-sum-of-its-splendid-deeds-they-constitute/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [Never forget that a man is made great and perfect as much by his faults as by his virtues. So we must not seek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/never-forget-that-a-man-is-made-great-and-perfect-as-much-by-his/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Our remnants of wilderness will yield bigger values to the nation's character and health than they will to its pocketbook, and to destroy them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/our-remnants-of-wilderness-will-yield-bigger-values-to-the-nation-s/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [A nation has character only when it is free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/a-nation-has-character-only-when-it-is-free/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) ## More by William J. Clinton > [When personal freedom's being abused, you have to move to limit it. That's what we did in the announcement I made last weekend on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/when-personal-freedom-s-being-abused-you-have-to-move-to-limit-it/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Almost makes you want to go to jail out here, doesn't it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/almost-makes-you-want-to-go-to-jail-out-here-doesn-t-it/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [I take full responsability...for what we did. It was the right thing to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/i-take-full-responsability-for-what-we-did-it-was-the-right-thing-to/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Undeniably, character does count for our citizens, out communities, and our Nation, and this week we celebrate the importance of character in our individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/undeniably-character-does-count-for-our-citizens-out-communities-and/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Even as people take pride in their national independence, we know we are becoming more and more interdependent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/even-as-people-take-pride-in-their-national-independence-we-know-we/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [To build a twenty-first-century economy, America must revive a nineteenth-century habit--investing in the common, national economic resources that enable every person and every firm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/to-build-a-twenty-first-century-economy-america-must-revive-a/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [One of the things that I think we have learned is that we should all be very careful about making predictions about the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/one-of-the-things-that-i-think-we-have-learned-is-that-we-should-all/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Only astrophysicists new about the Internet 20 years ago. Today my cat has a website.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/only-astrophysicists-new-about-the-internet-20-years-ago-today-my-cat/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Our military superiority is so great - it's far greater than it was in the Gulf War, and the Gulf War was over in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/our-military-superiority-is-so-great-it-s-far-greater-than-it-was-in/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [You know, I've always been really interested in this stuff, and I'm going to read this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/you-know-i-ve-always-been-really-interested-in-this-stuff-and-i-m/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [If you believe in making change from the bottom up, if you believe the measure of change is how many people's lives are better,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/if-you-believe-in-making-change-from-the-bottom-up-if-you-believe-the/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [ We \[Democrats\] have got to be strong. When we look weak in a time where people feel insecure, we lose. when people feel uncertain,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/we-democrats-have-got-to-be-strong-when-we-look-weak-in-a-time-where/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [It's the economy, stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/it-s-the-economy-stupid/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [The Republicans could mess up a two car parade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/the-republicans-could-mess-up-a-two-car-parade/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [We're all in this together is a far better philosophy than you're on your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/we-re-all-in-this-together-is-a-far-better-philosophy-than-you-re-on/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) [Explore all 712 William J. Clinton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. 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