“One must have faith in the best in men and distrust the worst. One must allow the best to be shown so that it reveals and prevails over the worst. Nations should have a pillory for whoever stirs up useless hate, and another for whoever fails to tell them the truth in time.”

“Whoever tells the best story shapes the culture.”

“The best men are not consistent in good—why should the worst men be consistent in evil?”

“American traditions and the American ethic require us to be truthful, but the most important reason is that truth is the best propaganda and lies are the worst. To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful. It is as simple as that.”

“Every race and every nation should be judged by the best it has been able to produce, not by the worst.”

“The worst men often give the best advice.”

“I must be fit for a child's glad greeting,
His are eyes that there is no cheating;
He must behold me in every test,
Not at my worst, but my very best;
He must be proud when my life is done
To have men know that he is my son.”

“I hate being on my best behavior. It brings out the absolute worst in me.”

“If someone sticks by your side through your worst times, they’re the ones who deserve to be with you through your best times.”

“Some of life's best lessons are learned at the worst times.”