We Believe

You cannot bring about prosperity
by discouraging thrift.
You cannot strengthen the weak
by weakening the strong.
You cannot help small men
by tearing down big men.
You cannot help the poor
by destroying the rich.
You cannot lift the wage earner
by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot keep out of trouble
by spending more than your income.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man
by inciting class hatreds.
You cannot establish security
on borrowed money.
You cannot establish character and courage
by taking away a man’s initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently
by doing for them what they could and should do for
themselves.

—From the pen of Reverend William John Henry Boetcker (1873-1962)
and often attributed to Abraham Lincoln