More from Peggy Noonan

The secret of successful politics: Be moved more by what you love than what you hate.

PN

Peggy Noonan

University of Notre Dame Commencement 2019, 2019

29:17

Video starts at 29:17 — the moment this quote was spoken

The Story Behind This Quote

Noonan delivered this line near the conclusion of her speech as a distillation of everything she had argued. After calling on conservatives to stop hating institutions and to approach political failures with a spirit of repair rather than denigration, she offered this principle as the foundation of constructive civic engagement. Quoting the writer Yuval Levin's warning that 'a conservatism that despises its society's institutions is self-destructive,' Noonan argued that you cannot hate the government, the press, the courts, and the other side while claiming to be constructive. The line transcends partisan politics — it is a universal call to lead with affection rather than animosity.

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