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For
some years (started 1997 maybe?) I have maintained a "Quotes"
file; it's simply a collection of quotations I have come across over
those years which held meaning for me. At her request, I showed it to
Suzy... she commented "It says more about you than the authors of the
quotes" - I'm sure she was right :) Here it is:
--- I hate a Roman named Status Quo! Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. Ask no guarantees, ask for no security, there never was such an animal. And if there were, it would be related to the great sloth which hangs upside down in a tree all day every day, sleeping its life away. To hell with that, shake the tree and knock the great sloth down on his ass. Ray Bradbury - 1954 - Fahrenheit 451 Blessed is the man, who having nothing to say, abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact. George Eliot I cannot convince myself that there is anyone so wise, so universally comprehensive in his judgment, that he can be trusted with the power to tell others: “You shall not express yourself thus, you shall not describe your own experiences; or depict the fantasies which your mind has created; or laugh at what others set up as respectable; or question old beliefs; or contradict the dogmas of the church, of our society, our economic systems, and our political orthodoxy.” Jake Zeitlin In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up. Martin Niemoeller, German Lutheran Pastor (b.1892 d.1984) Heaven is: An English policeman A French chef A German engineer An Italian lover and everything organised by the Swiss Hell is: An English chef A French engineer A German policeman A Swiss lover and everything organised by the Italians Unknown Is there really someone who, searching for a group of wise and sensitive persons to regulate him for his own good, would choose that group of people who constitute the membership of both houses of Congress? Robert Nozick This generation will have to repent, not so much for the evil deeds of the wicked people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one. Thomas Paine, “Common Sense” (1776) If you walk down the middle of the road you’ll be hit by traffic coming from both directions. Bryce Courtenay Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security, will not have, nor do they deserve, either one. Thomas Jefferson It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from falling into error. Robert H. Jackson (1892-1954), U.S. Judge Without censorship, things can get terribly confused in the public mind. General William Westmoreland, during the war in VietNam Don’t resent getting old. A great many are denied that privilege Unknown Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former. Albert Einstein There may be a legal obligation to obey, but there will be no moral obligation to obey. When it comes to history, it will be the people who broke the law for freedom who will be remembered and honoured. Tony Benn, UK Labour MP, 1995, regarding the Criminal Justice Act. I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours. Stephen Roberts There is no point in being paranoid - unless there’s good reason! Unknown The secret to happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more but in developing the capacity to enjoy less. Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman. So, where do you draw the line? When is a bad law serious enough to warrant action? A government doesn’t pass a law that’s “utterly abominable” until they’ve removed their citizens ability to fight back. Usually by passing laws to make the citizens “safe”. In Nazi Germany most citizens didn’t object even when some of them were dragged off to concentration camps. By that time they were too afraid to object, and justifiably so, the government had made them “safe” by removing their guns and their ability to fight back against “utterly abominable” laws. It’s always the same, start off small, if no one objects then pass an even more oppressive law, no one complaining? More oppressive again. They kill you with incrementalism. By the time you wake up and realize it, you’ve lost not only your rights to change it, but the ability to as well. The time to object is when it’s still at the small stage. Chuck Bryant <3rdpig@bigfoot.com> from sci.geo.satellite-nav 9/Dec/02 If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing. Anatole France [Jacques Anatole Thibault] (1844-1924) The real wealth creation potential of an enterprise is inversely proportional to the number of MBA’s employed therein. Mark Fort <mfort@cadsoftsolutions.com.au> from aus.electronics How can you govern a nation which has 246 kinds of cheese? Charles de Gaulle The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. Bertrand Russell To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. Ralph Waldo Emerson I beseech you in the bowels of Christ think it possible you may be mistaken Oliver Cromwell – 1650 People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them. Unknown I see only with deep regret that God punishes so many of His children for their numerous stupidities, for which only He Himself can be held responsible; in my opinion, only His nonexistence could excuse Him. Albert Einstein - Letter to Edgar Meyer Jan 2 1915 The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so. Adolf Hitler - 11th April 1942 Germans who wish to use firearms should join the SS or the SA – ordinary citizens don’t need guns, as their having guns doesn’t serve the State. Heinrich Himmler - 1935 Another death that changes nothing in this conflict, but changes everything in one family. Matthew Price, BBC News, Tulkarm - Mourning a West Bank wife - 2nd May 2006 Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one Journalist; A.J. Liebling The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking. John Kenneth Galbraith Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not. In either case, the idea is quite staggering. Arthur C Clarke Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. James Bovard - from his book Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty (1994) There are two kinds of light - the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures. James Thurber (1894 - 1961) The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis. Dante Alighieri Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned; nor hell a fury like a woman scorned. William Congreve (1670 – 1729). From his play - The Mourning Bride Live your own life, for you will die your own death. Translated from Latin – author unknown That’s why God created marriage, so people wouldn’t have to fight with strangers. Garrison Keillor Sir, a woman’s preaching is like a dog’s walking on his hinder legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all. Dr Samuel Johnson – 1763 If I'd proposed solving the pension problem by compulsory euthanasia for every fifth pensioner I'd have got less trouble for it. Tony Blair – 2010 - Regarding his government’s fox hunting ban. They must find it hard to take truth for authority who have so long mistaken authority for truth. Gerald Massey 1828 – 1907 It is quite an achievement. People of liberal sympathies, stupefied by relativism, have become the apologists for a creedal wave that is racist, misogynist, homophobic, imperialist, and genocidal. To put it another way, they are up the arse of those that want them dead. Martin Amis – on the sympathy of the Western Left with Islamic terrorists - The Independent – 15th January 2007 It may be that my soul purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others. Unknown No pleasure is worth giving up for the sake of two more years in a geriatric home at Weston-super-Mare. Kingsley Amis Men offer affection to get sex; women offer sex to get affection. My friend, Dave T – 2010 It is foolishness and endless trouble to cast a stone at every dog that barks at you. George Silver, Gentleman, 1599 - "Brief Instructions Upon my Paradoxes of Defence" When I joined the Labor Party, it contained the cream of the working class. But as I look about me now all I see are the dregs of the middle class. And what I want to know is when you middle class perverts are going to stop using the Labor Party as a spiritual spitoon. Kim Beazley Snr at a Labor party conference in 1970 Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like. Will Rogers (probably) What about security guards, they have firearms. Why is it legal to protect a bag of money, or a VIP, with a firearm, but I am not allowed to protect my family? Avatar – The Age (comments) – 1/8/2012 Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don't need to escape from. Seth Godin – around 2013 Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872 No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris Orville Wright Tim Minchin – around 2011 Every couple is a country unto itself Clara – BBC News website comments – 10/5/14 I know that most men — not only those considered clever, but even those who are very clever and capable of understanding most difficult scientific, mathematical, or philosophic, problems — can seldom discern even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as obliges them to admit the falsity of conclusions they have formed, perhaps with much difficulty — conclusions of which they are proud, which they have taught to others, and on which they have built their lives. Leo Tolstoy - What Is Art and Essays on Art – 1897 If you want to be good and do good, empathy is a poor guide Paul Bloom (psychologist at Yale - 2016) My friends, as I have discovered myself, there are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters. Boris Johnson – The Telegraph - 2nd December 2004 Never attribute to engineers that into which politicians, lawyers, accountants or marketing people have poked their fingers. Unknown Friends help you move - real friends help you move bodies. Unknown Sadly you can say what you like around the kitchen table at home. Gillian Triggs (Human Rights Commission president) – Hobart, April 2017 [Triggs received a standing ovation for her speech] Being against privacy because you've nothing to hide is like being against free speech because you have nothing to say. CM – BBC News website comments, 18th June 2017 Tolerance is the attitude of those who do not believe in anything. G K Chesterton I'd like to thank the ABC for putting my three children through exactly the sort of schools they pretend to disapprove of. Red Symons on 3AW radio, 23rd May 2018 When you can't remember why you're hurt, that's when you're healed. Jane Fonda But parliamentary democracy is only really a means to represent and express the will of the people – not an end-in-itself to serve the interests of a political elite. Mike Hume, Spiked, 6th December 2018 Page last updated December 2018 |