Dear Forumers,
Donald Rumsfeld, the great figure of the Republican Party, and a United States Secretary of Defense, said in 2002 that: "As we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know."
I think basically that this assessment by Mr Rumsfeld explains a lot and surely it still applies just as much, not only to America but to Britain and all other nations of course. It is perhaps the best political quotation of the 21st Century so far.
But his boss George W. Bush also gave a great insight when he said that: "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully".
Veronika Oleksychenko
I'm not sure what this post aims to achieve—are we meant to debate the significance of these quotes, or simply acknowledge them?
In response to the first quote:
There are obviously things that humanity isn't aware of, things we are aware of and understand, and things we are aware of but confused by. Nothing about this quote is thought-provoking or revolutionary—humanity has discovered and understood a lot, but, patently, we haven't discovered everything. Calling it the best political quote of the 21st century seems like an overstatement. At its core, the quote just says: We know and understand some things, we know some things but don’t understand them, and we don’t even know what we don’t know. How is that profound?
Further thoughts:
I am aware Rumsfeld’s point was originally made in the context of military intelligence, particularly about Iraq. While his phrasing is memorious (for good or bad reasons), it doesn’t add much beyond stating the obvious—uncertainty exists. If anything, it was a way to justify action despite lacking solid evidence, which could be seen as either a pragmatic or a misleading approach to decision-making. I’d be curious to hear why you consider this to be the best political quote of the century when it’s essentially a fancy way of saying, "We don’t know everything."
In response to the second quote (Bush):
We overfish, slaughter, and mistreat an estimated one trillion fish annually. If Bush was suggesting that humans and fish can coexist peacefully, the reality of marine destruction and overfishing contradicts that idea entirely. The quote comes across as naïve, considering how humans have devastated marine ecosystems.
Further thoughts:
I am also aware that Bush’s quote was likely meant to promote the idea that economic development and environmental protection can go hand in hand. However, the phrasing was so weird that it became a joke. Given the scale of marine destruction, his statement feels out of touch with reality to me—if anything, humans and fish don’t coexist peacefully.
(Also, Bush's actions don't back up his quote)
As for a better political quote from the 21st century (in my opinion):
One strong candidate is Barack Obama’s 2008 speech on race, where he said:
"I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together—unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction—toward a better future for our children and our grandchildren."
Unlike Rumsfeld’s quote, which is just an observation about uncertainty, Obama’s is aspirational and calls for unity in solving real problems. It was part of a larger speech that addressed racial tensions in America in a way that resonated with people across the political spectrum.