Smart Things Said By Other People

I've always wanted to do a quote post. So, hey, why not.

Yeah, not much of an intro, but hey. The intro's not the point anyway.

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"I find it interesting that the meanest life, the poorest existence, is attributed to God's will, but as human beings become more affluent... God descends the scale of responsibility at a commensurate speed." -Maya Angelou

"After I'm dead I'd rather have people asking why I have no monument than why I have one." -Cato the Elder

"Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events." -Winston Churchill

"Information is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom, and wisdom is not foresight. But information is the first essential step to all of these." -Arthur C. Clarke

"All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind." -William Congreve

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." -Philip K. Dick

"Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them." -Frederick Douglass

"If men can develop weapons that are so terrifying as to make the thought of global war include almost a sentence for suicide, you would think that man's intelligence and his comprehension would include also his ability to find a peaceful solution." -Dwight D. Eisenhower

"The man who is too set to change is dead already. The funeral is a mere detail." -Henry Ford

"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something." -Helen Keller

"The severest justice may not always be the best policy." -Abe Lincoln

"How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling the tail a leg doesn't make it a leg." -Abe Lincoln

"If this country cannot be saved without giving up that principle [equality]... I would rather be assassinated on this spot than surrender it." -Abe Lincoln

"Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can't build on it; it is only good for wallowing in." -Katherine Mansfield

"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently." -Friedrich Nietzsche

"If more politicians in this country were thinking about the next generation instead of the next election, it might be better for the United States and the world." -Claude Pepper

"If you have a weak candidate and a weak platform, wrap yourself up in the American flag and talk about the Constitution." -Matthew S. Quay

"I'm really glad that our young people missed the Depression, and missed the great big war. But I do regret that they missed the leaders that I knew. Leaders who told us when things were tough, and that we would have to sacrifice, and these difficulties might last awhile. They didn't tell us things were hard for us because we were different, or isolated, or special interests. They brought us together and they gave us a sense of national purpose." -Ann Richards

"Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." -Will Rogers

"The more you read and observe about this Politics thing, you got to admit that each party is worse than the other. The one that's out always looks the best." -Will Rogers

"The only way to stop terrorism is to say 'I'm not scared of you.'" -Salman Rushdie

"I think we ought always to entertain our opinions with some measure of doubt. I shouldn't wish people dogmatically to believe any philosophy, not even mine." -Bertrand Russell

"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know, that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. It happens every day, but I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." -Carl Sagan

"It is easier to exclude harmful passions than to rule them, and to deny them admittance than to control them after they have been admitted." -Seneca

"If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart." -Socrates

"I have nothing but contempt for the kind of governor who is afraid, for whatever reason, to follow the course that he knows is best for the State; and as for the man who sets private friendship above the public welfare - I have no use for him either." -Sophocles

"The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off." -Gloria Steinem

"We're in a giant car heading towards a brick wall and everyone's arguing over where they're going to sit." -David Suzuki

"Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure. But unfortunately, although it is true, it is difficult for us to accept it. Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer." -Shunryu Suzuki

"If you cannot feed a hundred people, then feed just one." -Mother Teresa

"The rule is perfect: in all matters of opinion our adversaries are insane." -Mark Twain

"It is very easy to break down something. Throw a stone through that window; that is easy. Try fixing it, and that takes longer." Desmond Tutu

"If you are neutral towards injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality." -Desmond Tutu

"A witty saying proves nothing." -Volitare

"It is lamentable that to be a good patriot we must become the enemy of the rest of mankind." -Volitare

"Never be ashamed to ask for information. The ignorant man will always be ignorant if he fears that by asking he will display ignorance." -Booker T. Washington

"Bad facts make bad laws." -Frank Zappa