“I begin to feel like most Americans don’t understand the First Amendment, don’t understand the idea of freedom of speech, and don’t understand that it’s the responsibility of the citizen to speak out.”
— Roger Ebert
Photo credit: “Roger Ebert crop (retouched)” by The original uploader was Rebert at English Wikipedia – File:Roger Ebert (extract) by Roger Ebert.jpg, File:Russ Meyer and Roger Ebert by Roger Ebert.jpg. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
“Inferior intellects generally succeeded best. For, aware of their own deficiencies, and fearing the capacity of their opponents . . . they struck boldly and at once.”
— Thucydides, in “History of the Peloponnesian War”
To be fair, though … this quote could address American public discourse in general. Or, hell, people in general. How many of us know that person who acts tough (or “real”) because they have no logic or evidence to support their argument?
“When things get bad enough, then something happens to correct the course. And it’s for that reason that I speak about evolution as an error-making and an error-correcting process. And if we can be ever so much better – ever so much slightly better – at error correcting than at error making, then we’ll make it.”
— Jonas Salk, inventor of first successful polio vaccine
“So short a time to learn so much? It leaves me with no choice. I shall send him to my hardest parish.”
— the Bishop, from Margaret Craven’s “I Heard the Owl Call My Name”
Okay, so political discussions are heating up after the Republican debate. And it’s going to get progressively more intense as the presidential election approaches.
Let’s try to not make it personal, to minimize or eliminate any acrimony, and to remember that we all interact on Facebook and the blogosphere because we’re all FRIENDS, okay? No joke – if I see any “unfriending” resulting from political arguments, I’m going to be disappointed.
Let’s remember what T.J. said about this sort of thing:
“The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.”
— Winston Churchill
“I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and Constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind.
“As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.”
— Thomas Jefferson
Thanks to Long Islander Rich Eigner for teaching me this quote yesterday!! I rather think it sounds like Michael Shermer talking about drawing conclusions according to the best available evidence.
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi!! He’s the mascot for empiricism, people. (I wouldn’t be surprised if Michael Shermer had a pet mongoose.) And then the little fella just kicks the crap out of poisonous snakes.
“It is the hardest thing in the world to frighten a mongoose, because he is eaten up from nose to tail with curiosity. The motto of all the mongoose family is “Run and find out,” and Rikki-Tikki was a true mongoose.”
— Rudyard Kipling, “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”
“Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”
At the hole where he went in
Red-Eye called to Wrinkle-Skin.
Hear what little Red-Eye saith:
“Nag, come up and dance with death!”
Eye to eye and head to head,
(Keep the measure, Nag.)
This shall end when one is dead;
(At thy pleasure, Nag.)
Turn for turn and twist for twist–
(Run and hide thee, Nag.)
Hah! The hooded Death has missed!
(Woe betide thee, Nag!)”
— from Rudyard Kipling’s “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”
“Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around.”
— Sofia, “Vanilla Sky”
BLADE RUNNER.
It’s only fun until someone loses their eyes.
Eric Robert Nolan, Author 