Colin Powell in My American Journey
On Foreign Policy:
Mao’s China had thorough thought control but not paranoia
What struck me about China [during a 1973 visit as a White House Intern], particularly after visiting the Soviet Union, was the absence of paranoia. Our Chinese guides seemed less frightened than their Soviet counterparts. They were not constantly
searching our baggage, restraining our movements, or stopping us from taking pictures. Two distinctive threads, however, ran through the Chinese experience. You could ask an ordinary person in Beijing, Canton, or any village, “How are you doing?” and the
answer was invariably a smile and “Fine. Under Chairman Mao we have a sewing machine, a radio, a bicycle.” The thoroughness of thought control in so vast a country was frightening. The second iron rule was that Chinese officials would admit shortcomings,
but never error.One day on the Soviet border we turned to see two Chinese MiG-19s streak into the sky. “What was that?” I asked our guide, who continued to gaze ahead placidly and silently. “What was what?” he answered. End of discussion.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 169
Jan 1, 1995
On War & Peace:
Lebanon: providing “presence” not sufficient basis
Our Marines had been stationed in Lebanon for the fuzzy idea of providing a “presence.” The year before, in 1982, the Israelis had invaded Lebanon to drive out the PLO terrorists. The US was attempting to referee the withdrawal of all foreign troops from
Lebanon. I was developing a strong distaste for the antiseptic phrases coined by State Department officials for foreign interventions which usually had bloody consequences for the military, words like “presence,” “symbol,” “signal.” Their use is fine
if beneath them lay a solid mission. But too often these words were used to give the appearance of clarity to mud.
I saw America sticking its hand into a thousand-year-old hornet’s nest with the expectation that our mere presence might pacify the
hornets. There are times when American lives must be risked and lost. But lives must not be risked until we can face a parent or spouse with a clear answer to the question of why. To provide a “symbol” or a “presence” is not good enough.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 280-1
Jan 1, 1995
On Homeland Security:
SDI is major conceptual breakthrough in nuclear stalemate
In 1983, President Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative, to create a defensive shield in space, capable of destroying incoming Soviet missiles. The President immediately grasped that such a shield could change the nuclear equation.
The present situation was a balance of terror, Mutually Assured Destruction, MAD. You destroy us, and we will destroy you. But if, because of this shield, they could not destroy us, then huge nuclear arsenals made no further sense.
Following the SDI speech, Senator Ted Kennedy branded the idea a “reckless Star Wars scheme,” a term which, because of the wildly popular movie, stuck. I am not ideologically liberal or conservative, but I believe the liberal community made a serious
mistake by ridiculing this concept out of hand as unwise even if it could be done. The real problem, I think, was that Ronald Reagan’s critics could not bear the thought that he had proposed a major conceptual breakthrough in the nuclear stalemate.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 284
Jan 1, 1995
On War & Peace:
Predicted Saddam’s mischief in 1994
Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait occurred about nine months after I projected, in my “Strategic Overview-1994,” that Korea and the Persian Gulf were the two world hot spots likeliest to involve US forces. The Iraqi army had made me uncomfortable
ever since Iraq and Iran ended their eight-year war in 1988, while I was National Security Advisor. Once Saddam, with an army of over one million men strong, no longer had Iran to worry about, I feared he would look for mischief somewhere else.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 446-7
Jan 1, 1995
On War & Peace:
Unapologetic about not taking Baghdad; result spread peace
I am relieved that I don’t have to say to many more parents, “I’m sorry your son or daughter died in the siege of Baghdad.” I stand by my role in the President’s decision to end the war when and how he did. It is an accountability I carry with pride and
without apology.Not only did Desert Storm [the expulsion of Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991] accomplish its political objective, it started to reverse the climate of chronic hostility in the Middle East. King Hussein of Jordan and Yasser Arafat,
chairman of the PLO, were the only two major Arab leaders who showed any support for the Iraqi position during the Gulf War, and both were weakened by their stance. As a result, three years later, they were trying to reach accommodations with Israel and
their other neighbors. The Madrid Middle East Peace Conference, following Desert Storm, started the process that resulted in the historic agreement between Arafat and Israel in 1993, and the peace treaty between King Hussein and Israel in 1994.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 513
Jan 1, 1995
On Civil Rights:
Skin color is not behavioral; sexual orientation is
[In testimony before Congress on gays in the military], I said, “I think it would be prejudicial to good order and discipline to try to integrate gays and lesbians in the current military structure.” Congresswoman Pat Schroeder quoted a 1942 government
report and claimed that the same arguments used then against racial integration in the military were being used against gays today. She had her logic wrong. I responded, “Skin color is a benign, nonbehavioral characteristic. Sexual orientation is
perhaps the most profound of human behavioral characteristics. Comparison of the two is a convenient but invalid argument.
The linking of gay rights and the civil rights movement got a mixed reaction in the African-American community.
The Congressional Black Caucus favored removing the ban on homosexuals in the armed services. But other leaders were telling me that they resented having the civil rights crusade hijacked by the gay community for its ends.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 533
Jan 1, 1995
On Principles & Values:
Made newly aware of heritage on trip to Nigeria
[On a tour of restored slave facilities in Nigeria], I felt something stirring in me that I had not thought much about before. The previous year, my wife and I had made the trip to Jamaica. Until now, roots, to me, had always meant the West Indies,
the homeland of my parents. But I now began to feel an earlier emotional pull, my link to Africa. Gazing down into those cattle pens for human beings, I could imagine the smells of packed bodies. A great-great grandfather of mine must have stood in
a place as horrible as this.In my departure speech, I said, “I am the son of Jamaicans who emigrated to the US. But today, I am something more. I am an African too. I feel my roots, here in this continent.”
After the visit to Nigeria, my wife
and I headed home with a new awareness of our heritage. What we had witnessed was tragic, but also uplifting. It demonstrated, no matter how far down people are driven, how high they can rise when they are allowed to slip their chains and know freedom.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 534
Jan 1, 1995
On Homeland Security:
Supports base closures; too many are Congressional pork
Even before the end of the Cold War, we already had too many military posts. Some had been built to fight Native Americans (Indians in those days) during the last century. Some bases were left over from World Wars I and II. Some were Cold War creations.
Shutting down overseas installations was a breeze compared to closing stateside bases. People in Germany did not vote in American elections and did not have Congressmen fighting for the folks back home. [The proposed solution was] to create an
independent commission to review, every two years, closings proposed by the Pentagon. The idea was to insulate these closings from political pressures. The commission submitted a “take it or leave it” list for the Congress to vote up or down. This system
worked. Nevertheless, our having to go through this song and dance to shut down expensive but unneeded facilities is an example of Congress’s shameful unwillingness to abandon the pork barrel and make the hard decisions the people elect it to make.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 535
Jan 1, 1995
On Budget & Economy:
Cut strategic oil stockpile; end Cold War spending
[The army] had planned to stockpile 110 million barrels of oil so that when World War III broke out, we could still operate. But with only regional wars now likely, we could always find alternative foreign oil supplies. Consequently, we reduced the
stockpile by 50% and saved the taxpayer $400 million. Another cost cutter: the Army wanted a new radio jammer to thwart Soviet commando attacks in NATO’s rear. What attacks? What rear? What Soviets? We cut the request, and $200 million more was saved.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 536
Jan 1, 1995
On Drugs:
Assigned AWACS planes to fight drugs, despite opposition
On one occasion, I suggested that we remove our AWACS warning planes from Iceland and send them to look for drug-running aircraft in the Caribbean. The admiral in charge fought me tooth and nail.
I pointed out that [there were no] Soviet bombers now approaching the US via Iceland. He was unpersuaded, so I just took the planes away without further argument and reassigned them to the drug beat.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 536
Jan 1, 1995
On Homeland Security:
Make military leaner & more efficient
Despite bureaucratic resistance, our [post-Cold War] reductions went forward and began to bite. Bases closed, troops and civilians left the service. Program cuts affected the economy and would become an election issue in 1992.
The reductions, however, were carefully calibrated so that we were not whacking the forces with a meat ax as had happened before. There are still unneeded programs in the Pentagon. There are still pockets of waste and fraud that have given us
a black eye in the past. I hope those scandals stay in the past. Under Cheney, the service chiefs and I tried to be responsible stewards of the funds entrusted to us by the American taxpayer.
We were determined to build a leaner, more efficient, high-quality force capable of any mission. That, I know, remains the objective of the nation’s military leaders.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 537
Jan 1, 1995
On Civil Rights:
Urged reconciliation in L.A. Rodney King riots
[In May 1992], I watched the news on the riot in LA triggered by the acquittal of four policemen charged with beating Rodney King. No fair-minded person seeing the now-famous videotape could deny that he had been the victim of excessive police force. The
not-guilty verdict ignited rage in the black community.I was asked to look over Pres. Bush’s speech scheduled for that evening. I read it with dismay. I thought the tone was all wrong. Yes, the rioting was criminal, and law & order had to be restored.
But the violence had not incubated in isolation; it had deep social roots. The speech, as it stood, recognized only the former and ignored the latter. I saw the fingerprints of the far right all over the draft.
[I urged Bush’s staff] to “do the
law-and-order bit. But there’s language here that’s only going to fan the flames.” Even Rodney King, I pointed out, was preaching racial reconciliation: “Can we all get along?” Bush’s speech reflected that; I felt I had earned my pay that afternoon.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 537-8
Jan 1, 1995
On Principles & Values:
Buffalo Soldiers: acknowledge black service in army history
In 1992, ten years after the idea had first struck me, the monument to the Buffalo Soldiers had become a reality. The Buffalo Soldiers, as they became known, were four “colored” regiments authorized after the Civil War. At the unveiling ceremony,
I reminded the audience that African-Americans had answered the country’s every call from its infancy. “Yet, the fame and fortune that were their just due never came. For their blood spent, lives lost, and battles won, they received nothing.
They went back to slavery, real or economic, consigned there by hate, prejudice, bigotry, and intolerance.“ Today, I pointed out, African-Americans were scaling the barriers, gaining overdue recognition: ”I am deeply mindful of the debt
I owe to those who went before me. I climbed on their backs. I challenge every young person here today: don’t forget their service and their sacrifice; and don’t forget our service and sacrifice, and climb on our backs.“
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 540-2 & p. 60
Jan 1, 1995
On Education:
Junior ROTC is a social bargain; expand it in high schools
In 1992, I asked for a plan for increasing Junior ROTC. We wound up with approval for funding Junior ROTC in 3,500 high schools, [an expansion from the previous 1,500]. We continued to meet resistance in certain urban areas. Liberal school
administrators and teachers claimed that we were trying to “militarize” education. Yes, I’ll admit, the armed forces might get a youngster more inclined to enlist as a result of Junior ROTC. But society got a far greater payoff. Inner-city kids,
many from broken homes, found stability and role models in Junior ROTC. They got a taste of discipline, the work ethic, and they experienced pride of membership in something healthier than a gang. Until 1993, there were still no Junior ROTC
programs in any public school in New York City. Seven NYC schools presently have programs. The program can provide a fresh start for thousands of kids, particularly those from minorities living in crime-plagued ghettos. Junior ROTC is a social bargain.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 541
Jan 1, 1995
On War & Peace:
When I hear “limited” & “surgical”, I head for the bunker
In 1991, I was asked why the US could not assume a “limited” role in Bosnia. I had been engaged in limited military involvements before, in Vietnam for starters. I said, “As soon as they tell me it’s limited, it means they do not care whether you
achieve a result or not. As soon as they tell me ‘surgical,’ I head for the bunker.” I criticized the pseudo-policy of establishing a US “presence” without a defined mission in trouble spots. This approach had cost the lives of 241 Marines in Lebanon.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 543-4
Jan 1, 1995
On Homeland Security:
Originated “Don’t ask, don’t tell” as a compromise solution
[In early discussions with Pres. Clinton], I said, “we know gays and lesbians serve ably and honorably-but not openly. If they are allowed to do so, that’s going to raise tough issues of privacy.”The chiefs of staff brought up practical problems that
gay integration presented on crowded ships, in cramped barracks, and in other intimate situations. At one point I proposed, “We could stop asking about sexual orientation when people enlist.” Gays and lesbians could serve as long as they kept their
lifestyle to themselves. This change would no doubt be condemned as discriminatory by gay rights activists, and military traditionalists would probably call it a surrender. I concluded, “It might provide a practical compromise.”
Nine months later,
Congress approved that policy, short-handed as “Don’t ask. Don’t tell.” The courts will ultimately decide this issue once and for all. And whichever way they rule, the US military will comply with the law of the land. I stand by what I have done.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 557-9
Jan 1, 1995
On War & Peace:
Air strikes can’t guarantee changes; only ground troops can
In response to calls to “do something” to punish the Bosnian Serbs from the air for shelling Sarajevo [in1992]. I laid out the same military options [to newly-elected President Clinton] as I had presented to Pres. Bush. Our choices ranged from limited
air strikes around Sarajevo to heavy bombing of the Serbs throughout the theater. I emphasized that none of these actions was guaranteed to change Serb behavior. Only troops on the ground could do that. Heavy bombing might persuade them to give in, but
would not compel them to quit. And, faced with limited air strikes, the Serbs would have little difficulty hiding tanks and artillery in the woods and fog of Bosnia or keeping them close to civilian populations. Furthermore, no matter what we did, it
would be easy for the Serbs to respond by seizing UN humanitarian personnel as hostages. My constant, unwelcome message at all the meetings on Bosnia was simply that we should not commit military forces until we had a clear political objective.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 561
Jan 1, 1995
On Homeland Security:
Supports strategy of readiness for 2 near-simultaneous wars
A Clinton campaign promise was to conduct a “Bottom Up Review” (BUR) of the armed forces, which meant starting with a clean slate, as if current forces did not exist, and then building a new force to match current defense missions. This approach had a
test-tube reasonableness, but Clinton had already pledged during the campaign to cut forces by 200,000 troops and tens of billions of dollars below the Base Force level. The Base Force strategy [in the late 1980s] called for armed forces capable of
fighting two major regional conflicts “near simultaneously.” The BUR ended up again with a defense based on the need to fight two regional wars, the Bush strategy, but with Clinton campaign cuts. The Base Force disappears as a term, but it was the lineal
ancestor of the BUR force. What is not clear is whether the cuts have taken us below the levels required to support the BUR strategy. That mission may change, but it is appropriate for the present post-Cold War transition period.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 564
Jan 1, 1995
On Foreign Policy:
Somalia: Feeding hungry OK; national-building not
I spent my 56th birthday in Mogadishu trying to move the Somalia operation off America’s back and onto the UN’s, where it had been in the first place. We had accomplished our mission by ending the civil disorder that had disrupted the production and
distribution of food and led to the mass starvation. It was now up to the UN force to maintain that order. But the UN approved a resolution shifting the mission from feeding the hungry to “nation building,” a phrase I had first heard in Vietnam. But the
will to build a nation originates from within its people, not from the outside. Nation building might have an inspirational ring, but it struck me as a way to get bogged down in Somalia, not get out. [In early discussions with newly-elected President
Clinton], Somalia was uppermost in my thoughts. I told him we could not substitute our version of democracy for hundreds of years of tribalism. “We can’t make a country out of that place. We’ve got to find a way to get out, and soon,” I said.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 565 & 572
Jan 1, 1995
On Foreign Policy:
Haiti: Imperfect agreements are better than war
[While negotiating with the Haitian president], Jimmy Carter laid out the terms for stopping the US invasion, as I got word back to President Clinton. “Mr. President, I think we’ve got some movement here. We just need more time.”
Clinton was uneasy. He was not going to change the invasion timetable, he said, but we could keep talking a little longer. The documents were prepared, and Carter and the Haitian ministers signed them. The storming of Haiti had been averted at
H-Hour minus six.The agreement we worked out was criticized. The “thugs” supposedly got off too easily. I was attacked for playing on the honor of dishonorable men. The criticism did not bother me. Once the US troops set foot in Haiti,
for better or worse, we ran the place. What happened to the junta was inconsequential. Because of what we accomplished, young Americans, and probably far more Haitians, who would have died were still alive. That was success enough for me.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 585-6
Jan 1, 1995
On Foreign Policy:
Economic strength more important than military strength
In this new world, economic strength will be more important than military strength. Nations seeking power through military strength, the development of nuclear weapons, terrorism, or tyrannical governments are mining “fool’s gold.”
They can never hope to match or challenge the military or economic power of the free world led by the US. Despotic regimes will come to realize it in due course, when they find themselves left behind while free nations prosper
and provide a better life for their people. One only has to look at China to see a nation slowly finding a place in the world, not through the strength of the People’s Liberation Army or Mao’s Little Red Book, but through the release of the creative
entrepreneurial power of the Chinese people. In Vietnam, American businesses are being invited in to repair the economic disaster created by two decades of “victorious” communism. We should encourage and support these impulses.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 588
Jan 1, 1995
On Homeland Security:
Oil is a vital interest; humanitarianism is not
In none of the recent crises - Bosnia, Chechnya, Somalia, Rwanda - have we had a vital interest such as we had after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the resulting threat to Saudi Arabia and the free flow of oil.
These later crises do not affect any of our treaty obligations or our survival as a nation. Our humanitarian instincts have been touched, which is something quite different. Often, our desire to help collides with the cold calculus of national interest.
Americans are willing to commit their diplomatic, political, and economic resources to help others. We proudly and readily allow our young sons and daughters in uniform to participate in humanitarian enterprises far from home.
But when the fighting starts, and American lives are at risk, our people rightly demand to know what vital interest that sacrifice serves.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 589
Jan 1, 1995
On Budget & Economy:
Government out of free marketplace & it’ll thrive
I am impressed with our nation’s present entrepreneurial vitality. Everything I observe affirms my belief in free enterprise. It creates new wealth, generates new jobs, enables people to live good lives, fuels demand, and triggers fresh enterprise,
starting the cycle all over again. Government should not interfere with the demonstrated success of the free marketplace, beyond controls to protect public safety and to prevent distortions of competition by either labor or industry.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 590
Jan 1, 1995
On Jobs:
Jobs are the best answer to most of our social ills
I believe strongly in job-producing free enterprise because jobs are the best answer to most of our social ills. My parents came to this country looking not for government support, but for job opportunities.
They labored all their lives at jobs provided by a thriving garment industry. They earned a modest wage, yet enough to have a good life, raise their children, and enjoy a few luxuries.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 590
Jan 1, 1995
On Tax Reform:
Tax dollars are better spent if left in private hands
I am concerned that the present tax burden on Americans is so high that it seriously risks dampening our entrepreneurial vitality.
Every tax dollar taken away from a consumer or business is a dollar that will be spent less efficiently than if left in private hands.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 590
Jan 1, 1995
On Government Reform:
Believes in value of many government social programs
Because I express beliefs [in free enterprise and for lower taxes], some people have rushed to hang a Republican label around my neck. I am not, however, knee-jerk anti-government. I was born a New Deal, Depression-era kid.
Franklin Roosevelt was a hero in my boyhood home. Government helped my parents by providing cheap public subway systems so they could get to work, and public schools for their children, and protection under the law to make sure their labor was not
exploited. My mother’s union, with its right to bargain collectively secured by law, also protected her. Social Security allowed my parents to live a dignified retirement. Medicare gave them access to quality care during long,
painful terminal illnesses. I received a free college education because New York taxed its citizens to make this investment in the sons and daughters of immigrants and the working class.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 590-1
Jan 1, 1995
On Civil Rights:
Wants active government in protecting civil rights
I want the government to be vigorous and active in ensuring the protections of the Constitution to all Americans. Our Constitution and our national conscience demand that every American be accorded dignity and respect, receive the same treatment
under the law, and enjoy equal opportunity. The hard-won civil rights legislation of the 1960s, which I benefited from, was fought for by presently derided liberals, over the opposition of those hiding behind transparent arguments of “states’ rights.”
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 591
Jan 1, 1995
On Social Security:
Hard reality: reduce entitlements or raise taxes
The great domestic political challenge of our time is to reconcile the necessity for fiscal responsibility with the explosive growth in entitlement programs, including Social Security and Medicare, which the needy and the middle class rely on so heavily.
Realistically, we have only two alternatives: either we reduce the entitlement system or we raise taxes to pay for it. We cannot keep balancing the books by increasing the deficit. Yet many politicians want to exempt such programs from serious fiscal
scrutiny because to do otherwise risks political suicide. However, until our leaders are willing to talk straight to the American people and the people are willing to accept hard realities, no solution will be found to relieve our children and
grandchildren of the crushing debt that we are currently amassing as their inheritance. I say all this, of course, fully aware that it is easy for me to do so since, so far, I have never asked anyone to vote for me.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 591
Jan 1, 1995
On Civil Rights:
Equal opportunity without preferential treatment
Equal rights & equal opportunity mean just that. They do not mean preferential treatment. If affirmative action means programs that provide equal opportunity, then I am all for it. If it leads to preferential treatment or helps those that no longer need
help, I am opposed. I benefited from equal opportunity and affirmative action in the Army, but I was not shown preference. The Army made sure that performance would be the only measure of advancement. When equal performance does not result in equal
advancement, then something is wrong with the system, and our leaders have an obligation to fix it. If a history of discrimination has made it difficult for certain Americans to meet standards, it is only fair to provide temporary means to help them
catch up and compete on equal terms. Affirmative action in the best sense promotes equal consideration, not reverse discrimination. Discrimination “for” one group means, inevitably, discrimination “against” another; and all discrimination is offensive.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 591-2
Jan 1, 1995
On Principles & Values:
Fiscal conservative & social conscience; neither party fits
To sum up my political philosophy, I am a fiscal conservative with a social conscience. I have found my philosophy, if not my political affiliation. Neither of the two major parties fits me comfortably in its present state.
Granted, politics is the art of compromise, but for now I prefer not to compromise just so I can say I belong to this or that party. I am troubled by the political passion of those on the extreme right who seem to claim divine wisdom on political
as well as spiritual matters. On the other side of the spectrum, I am put off by the patronizing liberals who claim to know what is best for society but devote little thought to who will eventually pay the bills. I distrust rigid ideology
from any direction, and I am discovering that many Americans feel just as I do. The time may be at hand for a third major party to emerge to represent this sensible center of the American political spectrum.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 592
Jan 1, 1995
On Principles & Values:
Would run with a vision; but doesn’t hear call yet
To be a successful politician requires a calling that I do not yet hear. I believe that I can serve my country in other ways, through charities, educational work, or appointive posts. Nevertheless, I do not unequivocally rule out a political future.
If I ever do decide to enter politics, it will not be because of high popularity ratings in the polls. I am fully aware that in taking stands on issues, I would quickly alienate one interest group or another and burn off much popularity.
And I would certainly not run because I saw myself as the “Great Black Hope,” providing a role model for African-Americans or a symbol to whites of racism overcome. I would enter only because I had a vision for this country. I would enter because
I believed I could do a better job than the other candidates of solving the nation’s problems. I would not expect or desire to have anything handed to me; I would fight for the right to lead. And I would enter not to make a statement but to win.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 593
Jan 1, 1995
On Families & Children:
A sense of shame is not a bad moral compass
We say we are appalled by the rise of sexually transmitted disease, by the wave of teenage pregnancies, by violent crime. Yet we drench ourselves in depictions of explicit sex and crime on television, in movies, and in pop music.
A sense of shame is not a bad moral compass. I remember who easy it was for my mother to snap me back into line with a simple rebuke: “I’m ashamed of you. You embarrassed the family.” I wonder where our national sense of shame has gone.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 594
Jan 1, 1995
On Principles & Values:
Colin Powell’s 13 Rules of Life
Colin Powell’s 13 Rules of Life - It ain’t as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.
- Get mad, and then get over it.
- Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
- It can be done!
- Be careful what you choose. You may get it.
- Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
- You can’t make someone else’s choices. You shouldn’t let someone else make yours.
- Check small things.
- Share credit.
- Remain calm. Be kind.
- Have a vision. Be demanding.
- Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers.
- Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.
Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell
Jan 1, 1996
Page last updated: Dec 12, 2018