"I'll work overtime to open the doors of opportunity to industry and commerce"
About this Quote
The key move is the metaphor of doors. Opportunity isn’t built, regulated, or redistributed; it’s unlocked. That implies the opportunities already exist, just stuck behind bureaucratic obstruction. The subtext flatters business leaders as job-creators waiting to be unleashed, while casting government as the doorman who’s been asleep on the job. “Industry and commerce” also functions as a velvet-rope euphemism: it sounds broad and civic-minded, but it’s really a signal to employers, developers, and chambers of commerce that they’ll have a friend at City Hall.
In context, this reads like a campaign-era line aimed at a post-industrial anxiety: growth as reassurance. It’s aspirational, but also carefully noncommittal. No mention of workers, wages, or safeguards - just a promise of access. The rhetorical trick is that “opportunity” feels moral, while “commerce” feels practical, and the sentence asks you to treat them as the same thing.
Quote Details
| Topic | Work Ethic |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Autry, Alan. (2026, January 15). I'll work overtime to open the doors of opportunity to industry and commerce. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/ill-work-overtime-to-open-the-doors-of-61630/
Chicago Style
Autry, Alan. "I'll work overtime to open the doors of opportunity to industry and commerce." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/ill-work-overtime-to-open-the-doors-of-61630/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I'll work overtime to open the doors of opportunity to industry and commerce." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/ill-work-overtime-to-open-the-doors-of-61630/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.








