I have collected an entire book of quotes, ever-growing! Here are a few...
“The world as we see it is only the world as we see it. Others may see it differently.”
It's not that I'm a relativist, but it is good to remember in the heat of an argument that everybody has a reason for being where and
who they are.
“Quod erat demonstrandum.”
Which was the thing to be proven...
“We shall never cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”
This is why materialism is rejected by so many people: They cannot bother themselves to take the time and trouble to invest in their corporeal existence. It doesn't matter if you eat one orange, or twenty, if you do not bother to taste what you eat, or appreciate what you have, or enjoy what you are. Religion offers easy lies; the physical world offers difficult truths. To stand back and observe the world from afar, to immerse oneself in the cusp of a single moment, to focus on the smallest leaf, and to travel the world and see all the leaves...is the only way to know this place in the slightest.
“White signifies Purity and Innocence; Red, Hardiness and Valor; and Blue, Vigilance, Perseverance and Justice.”
Looks like these colors ran after all. Tsk tsk. Depravity, America. Indolence. Blood on your hands; sloth in your hearts; villainy in your minds. The only color left for this country is shit brown, for the great big pile we've tossed ourselves into.
“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”
Another Einstein quote, and one that I have to live out unfortunately all too often.
“My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.”
And that, my friends, is why Adlai Stevenson is dead.
“From the cowardice
That shrinks from new truths,
From the laziness
That is content with half-truths,
And from the arrogance
That thinks it knows all truth.
O God of truth,
deliver us.”
This is an old Hebrew prayer. It perfectly depicts the cowardice of the Religious Right, the ignorance of the teeming masses, and the self-serving arrogance of types like Daniel Krispin. All three are in abundance in this world; this is one reason why the truth is so important, and why I sometimes get people mad at me by calling bullshit on them instead of letting bygones be bygones.
“A hero lives but a few moments, but a master holds on to his life.”
From a kung fu movie, yes, but important! We romanticize heroes unduly in this world; we call a thing "hero" who has no business wearing the title. We debase the word, and dilute it. And in our eagerness to devalue the label, those who wear the label also become devalued. Hence, the intrigue of this particular quote.
“In the beginning there was nothing. And God said let there be light and there was...nothing. (But at least you could see it.)”
Amen.
“To the degree that you impose your values upon others, they cease to be values and instead become judgments.”
Another lesson for the Religious Right to keep in mind when they proclaim to be living out Jesus' teachings. So, are any straight people in Massachusetts still married anymore?
“If you’re right you’ll never need to blow your stack, and if you’re wrong you never should.
This is one of those truisms that is easier said than done. Nevertheless, in this time when our tempers are under control, it may do us well to contemplate the wisdom of restraining one's anger wherever possible.
“‘After the meal green tea will be available to lift the astronaut’s spirits,’ the scientist said, perhaps overlooking the possibility that being the first Chinese astronaut might not be a big enough ego boost.”
CNN wrote this on the subject of the menu for China’s first space flight.
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
I often hear people say they are too busy, or too overworked, or too overwhelmed, to undertake fruitful enterprises. Many bad decisions are indefensible once the logic of Heinlein is taken into account. We must simply fess up, and, more than that, resolve not to let our mistakes recur.
“Whatever happens
We have got
The Maxim gun
And they have not.”
Pithily written on the subject of British technological superiority circa 1900.
“Survival of the fittest.
Adios,
Unfit”
A 70-year-old man’s valedictory note; he jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge.
“They didn’t want it good, they wanted it Wednesday.”
Another Heinlein quip.
“You can’t make a point by being extreme in a compulsively extreme culture. From now on, I’m going to rebel by being quietly moderate.”
The first sentence is is one of the most underappreciated truths of our time. The second is open to interpretation...but what else is one to do?
“See the world as yourself, and then you can care for all things.”
I am forever astounded by how cruel people can be, to other people, to their environment, to their pets and belongings...it simply asounds me. We should do so well to remember ourselves when we deal with life.
“You want to live in this world the way it is? No? Then do something about it!”
Just don't get caught up in the "being extreme" boat, unless you know what you're doing. And you don't. In any case, meaningful change often begins with the simplest of choices, and the easiest of behaviors. Persistance, now that's hard.
“Writing—the art of communicating thoughts to the mind—is the great invention of the world....Great, very great, in enabling us to converse with the dead, the absent, and the unborn, at all distances of time and space, and great not only in its direct benefits, but its great help to all other inventions.”
Perhaps explaining why Lincoln lives on even today...
“In the final stages, before the user revolution occurs, word processing programs would begin to criticize our ideas. ‘Let me give a counterargument,’ the paper clip would begin.”
I fear many people would be no match for that spunky little paperclip.
“So you see, even a fifth-grade schoolchild can solve second-order linear differential equations…sometimes.”
Once upon a time my Math 307 teacher explained a special case differential equation that is surprisingly straightforward, simple, and even fun. A fifth-grader really could solve it! Now, as for all the
other differential equations out there...
“If you must break the law, do it to seize power: in all other cases observe it.”
One of history's greatest minds speaks one of history's greatest pearls of practical knowledge. When we are under the law, we do well to obey it.
“I'm having a suspicion that ‘moral values’ means ‘anti-gay, anti-women, anti-science, anti-personal-liberty and anti-free-speech.’”
Remember the Republicans' "Culture of Life"? 1984 may have been a little late, but it got here.
“These Wheel of Time people make no sense to me. I've met some before, and they seem totally absorbed in some fantasy world.”
I thought I'd post that one since our beloved Dear Leader of the Compendium earned a place in my Quote Book because of it.
“It’s raining here, and there’s a pretty strong breeze blowing across my backyard. There’s a tiny hummingbird with a shiny green breast sitting on a telephone wire that connects to the eave just above my office window...the wire’s moving all over the place, but he’s not letting go for anything. That’s cool.”
Am I the only one who reads Wil's blog?
“Contrary to popular belief, social validation won't make you complete.”
It takes a lot of courage, but we must understand that the mob is not the ultimate authority in this world. Peer pressure is usually worth resisting--or, better yet, avoiding altogether. A little aloofness, a little solitude...these would salve the wounds of many-a-poor soul.
“Yoda’s philosophy was quite simplistic. ‘If you get angry, you’re gonna lose.’ ‘Don't try, do.’ He has a basic philosophy that is very charming. Not very profound, although young people consider it profound. I wish they would read more.”
Irvin Kershner directed
The Empire Strikes Back, the best Star Wars film. I mention his quote here because I think people bow too readily, too easily, to philosophies that may look nice, but have no real depth to them. Star Wars and its Force is just such a thing.
“Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it.”
This one must not be taken literally. What it means is that the journey to a destination is seldom straightforward, and sometimes telling the truth to people does less a service for them and even for civilization itself than not telling it. It is very important to promulgate the truth, but often you have to be cunning about it. Hence, I would say that deceit is in truth's employ.
“It’s like the beaver told the rabbit as they stared at the Hoover Dam. ‘No, I didn’t build it myself. But it’s based on an idea of mine!’”
I just think this one's cute. Mr. Towne invented the laser.
“Hayao Miyazaki’s movies are for people who find their most elaborate dreams fascinating. I am one of those people, so I am a big fan.”
Me too.
“Why are women so much more interesting to men than men are to women?”
Why? Because the world is drowning in sexism. All these things relate back to each other, you know.
“There is but one good, knowledge; and but one evil, ignorance.”
Five years ago, I thought I had been to discover the universe's ultimate truth. And here Socrates came up with it over two thousand years ago. I tell ya, it's hard to be original anymore!
“Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.”
I fear it's the latter. What do you think?
“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.”
The legacy of Christianity, QED. But don't rest on your laurels yet, ye nonbelievers. Religion hasn't got a monopoly on this one. Be careful!
~~~
And of course my personal life's motto:
“There are always…possibilities.”
Don't you forget it.
