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What we believed in was responsible majority rule as opposed to irresponsible majority rule, and I stand by that. I think it's important that before you give a person a [right to] vote you ensure that his roots go down [and] that he's part of the whole structure of the country. So I stand by what I've said, and I think we can substantiate the fact that the things we did were to the benefit of the black people of our country more so than anybody else. And I challenge anybody to disagree with that.
— Ian Smith
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "What we believed in was responsible majority rule as opposed to irresponsible majority rule, and I stand by that. I think it's important that before you give a person a [right to] vote you ensure that his roots go down [and] that he's part of the whole structure of the country. So I stand by what I've said, and I think we can substantiate the fact that the things we did were to the benefit of the black people of our country more so than anybody else. And I challenge anybody to disagree with that." in the context of "" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source:
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Ian Smith
Ian Douglas Smith (April 8, 1919 – November 20, 2007) was a farmer and politician who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979. Smith took the decision to issue a 'Unilateral Declaration of Independence' from the United Kingdom in 1965 and led the rebel unrecognised government for the next fourteen years. He strongly believed that Rhodesia should continue to be ruled by its European-descended minority while the African descended majority became more experienced in politics, but was forced to concede a power-sharing government when support from South Africa and Portugal ended.
About Ian Smith
Ian Douglas Smith (April 8, 1919 – November 20, 2007) was a farmer and politician who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979. Smith took the decision to issue a 'Unilateral Declaration of Independence' from the United Kingdom in 1965 and led the rebel unrecognised government for the next fourteen years. He strongly believed that Rhodesia should continue to be ruled by its European-descended minority while the African descended majority became more experienced in politics, but was forced to concede a power-sharing government when support from South Africa and Portugal ended.
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