Quotes of the day from previous years:
| Freedom is amysticaltruth — Its expressed best inThe Brothers Karamazov, the chapter when the Grand Inquisitor confronted the returnedChrist. The freedom that Christ gave theworld was the freedom of being anindividual, in acollectivity, of basing oneslife onlove, as distinct frompower, of seeking thegood of others rather than nourishing ones ownego. That wasliberation. And the Chief Inquisitor, who speaks for every dictator, every millionaire, everyideologue that's ever been, says we can't have it. Go away. Stay away. |
| ~Malcolm Muggeridge ~ |
| Thefact thatpoliticalideologies are tangiblerealities is not aproof of theirvitallynecessarycharacter. Thebubonic plague was an extraordinarilypowerfulsocial reality, but no one would have regarded it as vitally necessary. |
| ~Wilhelm Reich ~ |
| If "freedom"means, first of all,theresponsibility of everyindividual for therational determination of his ownpersonal,professional andsocialexistence, then there is no greaterfear than that of the establishment ofgeneral freedom. Without a thoroughgoingsolution of thisproblem there never will be apeace lasting longer than one or two generations. To solve this problem on a social scale, it will take morethinking, morehonesty anddecency, moreconscientiousness, moreeconomic, social andeducationalchanges in social mass living than all theefforts made in previous and futurewars and post-war reconstruction programs taken together. |
| ~Wilhelm Reich ~ |
| When weestrangeourselves fromhistory we do not enlarge, we diminish ourselves, even asindividuals. We subtract from ourlives onemeaning which they do infact possess, whether werecognize it or not. We cannothelp living in history. We can onlyfail to beaware of it. If we are to meet,endure, andtranscend thetrials anddefeats of thefuture — for trials and defeats there arecertain to be — it can only be from a point of view which, seeing the future as part of the sweep of history, enables us to establish ourplace in that immense procession in which is incorporated whateverhopehumankind may have. |
| ~Robert Heilbroner ~ |
| Fascistrebelliousness always occurs wherefear of thetruth turns arevolutionaryemotion intoillusions. In itspure form, fascism is the sum total of allirrational reactions of the averagehumancharacter. To the narrow-mindedsociologist who lacks thecourage to recognize the enormous role played by the irrational in humanhistory, the fascistracetheory appears asnothing but animperialistic interest or even a mere "prejudice." Theviolence and the ubiquity of these "race prejudices" show their origin from the irrational part of the human character. The race theory is not acreation of fascism. No: fascism is a creation of racehatred and itspoliticallyorganizedexpression. |
| ~Wilhelm Reich ~ |
| Ourschools are unsafe. Ourchildren andteachers aredying. Wemust make it our top priority tosave theselives. March For Our Lives iscreated by,inspired by, andled bystudents across the country who will no longer risk their liveswaiting for someone else to takeaction to stopthe epidemic of mass school shootings that has become all too familiar. In the tragic wake of theseventeen lives brutally cut short inFlorida,politicians are telling us that now is not the time to talk aboutguns. March For Our Lives believes thetime isnow. |
| ~March For Our Lives ~ |
| Six minutes, and about 20 seconds. In a little over six minutes, 17 of ourfriends were taken from us, 15 more wereinjured, and everyone, absolutely everyone in the Douglascommunity wasforeveraltered. Everyone who was thereunderstands. Everyone who has been touched by the cold grip ofgunviolence understands. … Six minutes and 20 seconds with anAR-15, and my friend Carmen would nevercomplain to me aboutpianopractice. Aaron Feis would never call Kyra "miss sunshine," Alex Schachter would never walk intoschool with his brother Ryan, Scott Beigel would neverjoke around with Cameron at camp, Helena Ramsay would never hang around after school with Max, Gina Montalto would never wave to her friend Liam at lunch, Joaquin Oliver would never playbasketball with Sam or Dylan. Alaina Petty would never, Cara Loughren would never, Chris Hixon would never, Luke Hoyer would never, Martin Duque Anguiano would never, Peter Wang would never, Alyssa Alhadeff would never, Jamie Guttenberg would never, Jamie Pollack would never …[long silence] … Since the time that I came out here, it has been six minutes and 20 seconds. The shooter has ceased shooting, and will soon abandon hisrifle, blend in with thestudents as they escape, and walk free for an hour before arrest.Fight for yourlives before it's someone else'sjob. |
| ~Emma González ~ |
| First-rate pursuits involving, as theymust, trying to understand whatlife is about and trying to convey thatunderstanding — inevitably result in a sense offailure. ANapoleon, aChurchill, aRoosevelt canfeel themselves to besuccessful, but never aSocrates, aPascal, aBlake. Understanding is for ever unattainable. Therein lies the inevitability of failure in embarking upon its quest, which is none the less the only one worthy of seriousattention. |
| ~Malcolm Muggeridge ~ |
| OfHeaven orHell I have nopower tosing, I cannot ease the burden of yourfears, Or make quick-comingdeath a little thing, Or bring again thepleasure of past years, Nor for mywords shall ye forget yourtears, Orhope again for aught that I can say, The idlesinger of an empty day. |
| ~William Morris ~ |
| In early 2000, I became the first seniorU.S. official to meet withVladimir Putin in his new capacity as acting president ofRussia. ... I have been reminded in recent months of that nearly three-hour session with Mr. Putin as he has massed troops on the border with neighboringUkraine. After calling Ukrainian statehood a fiction in a bizarre televised address, he issued a decree recognizing the independence of two separatist-held regions in Ukraine and sending troops there. Mr. Putin’s revisionist andabsurd assertion that Ukraine was “entirely created by Russia” and effectively robbed from the Russian empire is fully in keeping with his warped worldview. Most disturbing to me: It was his attempt to establish thepretext fora full-scale invasion. Should he invade, it will be a historicerror. ... Instead of paving Russia’s path togreatness, invading Ukraine would ensure Mr. Putin’s infamy by leaving his country diplomatically isolated,economically crippled and strategically vulnerable in the face of astronger, moreunited Western alliance. ... Ukraine is entitled to itssovereignty, no matter who its neighbors happen to be. In the modern era, great countries accept that, and so must Mr. Putin. |
| ~Madeleine Albright ~ |
| The first thing I remember about theworld — and Ipray that it may be the last — is that I was astranger in it. Thisfeeling, which everyone has in some degree, and which is, at once, theglory and desolation ofhomo sapiens, provides the only thread ofconsistency that I can detect in mylife. |
| ~Malcolm Muggeridge ~ |
| I will tell thee this one thing, that there be manyhypocrites, and, nevertheless, they think themselves to be none, and that there be many that dread andfear themselves to be hypocrites, and soothly are none; who is the one, and who is the other,Godknows, and none but He. Whoso willhumbly dread, shall not be beguiled, and whoso thinketh himself secure, he may lightly fall. |
| ~Walter Hilton ~ |
| There are many who arehypocrites although they think they are not, and there are many who areafraid of being hypocrites although they certainly are not. Which is the one and which is the otherGodknows, and none but He. |
| ~Walter Hilton ~ |
Quotes by people born this day, already used as QOTD:
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I desire the love of God not because I am worthy, but because I am unworthy. ~Walter Hilton
We therefore need to know the gifts given us by God, so that we may use them, for by these we shall be saved. ~Walter Hilton
“Give,” said the little stream,
“Give, oh give, give, oh give,”
As it hurried down the hill.
“I am small, I know, but wherever I go
The fields grow greener still.”
~Fanny Crosby
He open'd calm the universal cause,
To give each realm its limit and its laws,
Bid the last breath of tired contention cease,
And bind all regions in the leagues of peace;
Till one confederate, condependent sway
Spread with the sun and bound the walks of day,
One centred system, one all-ruling soul
Live thro the parts and regulate the whole.
~Joel Barlow