Quotes of the day
from previous years:
- 2004
- 'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
~
Joseph Brackett
~
- 2005
- Many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way . . . out of that a new holiday was born . . . a Festivus for the rest of us! ~
Jerry Stiller
as "Frank Costanza" in
Seinfeld
(
Festivus
holiday)
- 2006
- The final frontier is perhaps the most difficult, but it's also the most important ? and that's the frontier of the human spirit. For too long, people have allowed differences on the surface ? differences of color, ethnicity, and gender ? to tear apart the common bonds they share. And the human spirit suffers as a result.
Imagine a world in which we saw beyond the lines that divide us, and celebrated our differences, instead of hiding from them. Imagine a world in which we finally recognized that, fundamentally, we are all the same. And imagine if we allowed that new understanding to build relations between people and between nations. ~
Wesley Clark
- 2007
- I think we should be very clear on this... this country was founded on the principles of the Enlightenment... It was the idea that people could talk, reason, have dialogue, discuss the issues. It wasn't founded on the idea that someone would get struck by a divine inspiration and know everything right from wrong. I mean, people who founded this country had religion, they had strong beliefs, but they believed in reason, in dialogue, in civil discourse. We can’t lose that in this country. We've got to get it back. ~
Wesley Clark
(born 23 December 1944)
- 2008
- Working together, we can build a world in which the rule of law ? not the rule of force ? governs relations between states. A world in which leaders respect the rights of their people, and nations seek peace, not destruction or domination. And neither we nor anyone else should live in fear ever again. ~
Wesley Clark
- 2009
- "Heaven helps those who help themselves" is a well-tried maxim, embodying in a small compass the results of vast human experience. The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine growth in the individual; and, exhibited in the lives of many, it constitutes the true source of national vigour and strength. Help from without is often enfeebling in its effects, but help from within invariably invigorates. Whatever is done for men or classes, to a certain extent takes away the stimulus and necessity of doing for themselves; and where men are subjected to over-guidance and over-government, the inevitable tendency is to render them comparatively helpless. ~
Samuel Smiles
- 2010
- We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what
will
do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery. ~
Samuel Smiles
- 2011
- Mere
political
reform will not cure the manifold
evils
which now afflict
society
. There requires a social reform, a domestic reform, an individual reform. ~
Samuel Smiles
- 2012
- 2013
Eventually,
all
things merge into
one
, and a
river
runs through it. The river was cut by the
world
's
great
flood and runs over rocks from the basement of
time
. On some of the rocks are timeless
raindrops
. Under the rocks are the
words
, and some of the words are theirs.
I am haunted by
waters
.
|
~
Norman Maclean
~
|
- 2014
All
I'm saying is, if you
celebrate
Festivus
, you may
live
a little longer.
You are getting back to the essentials, to the days of
gods
on
mountaintops
and howling
wolves
. Because you are saying the
holidays
are in the
heart
, a celebration of being alive with our fellow
humans
. For that purpose, an aluminum pole will do just as well as anything else ? as long as it's not stuck in the
wrong
place.
|
~
Jerry Stiller
~
|
- 2015
- 2016
Unless we are willing to escape into sentimentality or
fantasy
, often the best we can do with
catastrophes
, even our own, is to find out exactly what happened and restore some of the missing parts.
|
~
Norman Maclean
~
|
- 2017
- 2018
- 2019
Laws
,
wisely
administered, will secure men in the
enjoyment
of the fruits of their
labour
, whether of
mind
or
body
, at a comparatively small
personal
sacrifice
; but no laws, however stringent, can make the
idle
industrious, the thriftless provident, or the
drunken
sober
. Such
reforms
can only be effected by means of
individual
action
,
economy
, and
self-denial
; by better
habits
, rather than by greater
rights
.
The
Government
of a
nation
itself is usually found to be but the reflex of the individuals composing it. The Government that is ahead of the
people
will inevitably be dragged down to their level, as the Government that is behind them will in the long run be dragged up. In the
order
of
nature
, the collective
character
of a nation will as surely find its befitting
results
in its law and government, as
water
finds its own level. The
noble
people will be nobly ruled, and the
ignorant
and
corrupt
ignobly. Indeed
all
experience
serves to
prove
that the
worth
and
strength
of a
State
depend far less upon the
form
of its
institutions
than upon the character of its men. For the nation is only an aggregate of individual conditions, and
civilization
itself is but a question of the personal improvement of the
men
,
women
, and
children
of whom
society
is composed.
|
~
Samuel Smiles
~
|
- 2020
When you're talking about cybersecurity, you're talking about being able to
protect
your points. It's not directed against a
country
, but to secure your points of access or specific end points or
network
access. It's not as though you're arming yourself against a specific threat ? you're simply undertaking all aspects of protection.
|
~
Wesley Clark
~
|
- 2021
- 2022
The
Christmas
story
is at the
heart
of the …
Christian
faith
. But the
message
of
hope
,
love
,
peace
, and
joy
? they’re also universal.
It speaks to all of us, whether we’re Christian,
Jewish
,
Hindu
,
Muslim
,
Buddhist
, or any other faith, or no faith at all. It speaks to all of us as
human beings
who are here on this
Earth
to care for one another, to look out for one another, to
love
one another.
|
~
Joe Biden
~
|
- 2023
Sanaka and the others
were my sons through my
mental
powers
and were born before you. Without any
desires
, they
travel
through the
sky
and go to all the
worlds
and the residents there. They once went to
Vaikuntha
, where the illustrious one with the unblemished
atman
resides. All the worlds revere Vaikuntha. All the people who reside in Vaikuntha have a form like Vaikuntha. They are not driven by any material aspirations, but worship
Hari
because of
dharma
. The original and illustrious
Purusha
is there and he can be approached through the use of
words
. He accepts the pure form of
sattva
and the foremost confers
happiness
on us, his devotees.
|
~
Bhagavata Purana
~
|
- 2024
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Suggestions
[
edit
]
- Festivus
is celebrated on this date. Many
Humanism
quotes would also be appropriate for
HumanLight
It's a Festivus miracle! ~
Cosmo Kramer
on
Seinfeld
, celebrating this "holiday" on this date.
- 2 ~
UDScott
21:51, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
- 1 - --
Mister Six
11:10, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
- 1
Zarbon
20:15, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change. ~
Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
- 3
Zarbon
05:52, 8 December 2008 (UTC)
- 2
Kalki
18:26, 21 December 2008 (UTC)
Nothing could be a more serious violation of public trust than to consciously make a war based on false claims. ~
Wesley Clark
- 2
Zarbon
05:52, 8 December 2008 (UTC) with a lean toward 3.
- 2
Kalki
18:26, 21 December 2008 (UTC)
One of life's quiet excitements is to stand somewhat apart from yourself and watch yourself softly becoming the author of something beautiful even if it is only a floating ash. ~
Norman Maclean
,
A River Runs Through It and Other Stories
A mystery of the universe is how it has managed to survive with so much volunteer help. ~
Norman Maclean
,
Young Men and Fire
Ultimately, your generation will have the decisive voice. You will determine whether rage or reason guides the United States in the struggle to come. You will choose whether we are known for revenge or compassion. You will choose whether we, too, will kill in the name of God, or whether in His Name, we can find a higher civilization and a better means of settling our differences.
And this is not a new choice, not for your generation ? it is a choice that many others have faced throughout history. Only now, we can hope that with your help and engagement we can find a new answer.
|
~
Wesley Clark
~
|
I think the military-industrial complex does wield a lot of influence ? I'd like to see us create a different complex. And I'm going to be talking about foreign policy in a major speech tomorrow, but we need to create an agency that is not about waging war but about creating conditions for peace around the world. We need some people who will be advocates for peace, advocates for economic development abroad, not just advocates for better weapon systems. So we need to create countervailing power to the military-industrial complex.
|
~
Wesley Clark
~
|
I think we should have international, legal community studies of cybersecurity and necessary laws, and countries should be encouraged to adopt these laws through the United Nations just like they adopt laws to prevent the abuse of children and protect human rights.
There needs to be a multidimensional, multilayered and multi-azimuth defense. That is, defense has to look in all directions.
|
~
Wesley Clark
~
|