Quotes of... Politicalness...

Wesstarrunner · **Posted:** Sat Aug 11, 2007 5:01 am

There have been many great leaders, tales, and bumper sticker throughout time. Many of them are political. Let's share some of our favorite, at least somewhat political, quotes.

"And them that take the sword shall perish by the sword."
- The Bible, Matthew

"The wisest men follow their own direction."
- Euripides

"I am the state."
- Louis XIV
(I do not know why, but I always found this quote humorous. For no reason in particular.)

"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both."
- Benjamin Franklin

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."
- Galileo Galilei

"There is no wealth like knowledge, no poverty like ignorance."
- Ali ibn Abi-Talib

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."
- Lao Tzu

There's more, I might post them later.

bwave · **Posted:** Sat Aug 11, 2007 3:31 pm

Wesstarrunner wrote:

"Give a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Light that man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
- Lol Tzu

Fixed.

I always liked this one quote by ben franklin about wanting to be born centuries later so he could see what advancements had been made, but I dont remember the exact words.

Beyond the Grave · **Posted:** Sat Aug 11, 2007 4:04 pm

Ghandi wrote:

I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.

Ghandi on western Civilization wrote:

I think it would be a good idea!

Ghandi wrote:

‘An eye for an eye’ would make the whole world go blind

Thomas Jefferson wrote:

He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual; he tells lies without attending to it, and truths without the world's believing him. This falsehood of tongue leads to that of the heart, and in time depraves all its good dispositions.

Thomas Jefferson wrote:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights; that among these, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

Jesus wrote:

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

bwave · **Posted:** Sat Aug 11, 2007 4:19 pm

Wesstarrunner wrote:

"And them that take the sword shall perish by the sword."
- The Bible, Matthew

Also, Jesus said that.

ed 'lim' smilde · **Posted:** Sat Aug 11, 2007 4:25 pm

bwave wrote:

Wesstarrunner wrote:

"And them that take the sword shall perish by the sword."
- The Bible, Matthew

Also, Jesus said that.

Yes, that's the one found in Matthew he's talking about.

bwave · **Posted:** Sat Aug 11, 2007 4:32 pm

ed 'lim' smilde wrote:

bwave wrote:

Wesstarrunner wrote:

"And them that take the sword shall perish by the sword."
- The Bible, Matthew

Also, Jesus said that.

Yes, that's the one found in Matthew he's talking about.

Yeah, but you still gotta say who said it.

StrongRad · **Posted:** Sat Aug 11, 2007 4:51 pm

Oscar Wilde wrote:

The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.

I find this quote floating through my mind at least 50 times a day when trying to respond to complaints from the tree-huggers and evil conservative industries about our regulations.

It certainly applies to anything political, too.

Also

My Technical Writing Professor wrote:

Eschew obfuscation

Granted, the second one isn't political, but it certainly applies in government. Read Section 112 of the Clean Air Act if you don't believe me.

Wesstarrunner · **Posted:** Sat Aug 11, 2007 5:24 pm

Beyond the Grave wrote:

Thomas Jefferson wrote:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights; that among these, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

Didn't Benjamin Franklin help write that?

Mike D · **Posted:** Sat Aug 11, 2007 6:14 pm

A few of my faves:

"You are never dedicated to do something you have complete confidence in. No one is fanatically shouting that the sun is going to rise tomorrow. They know it's going to rise tomorrow. When people are fanatically dedicated to political or religious faiths or any other kind of dogmas or goals, it's always because these dogmas or goals are in doubt." – Robert M. Pirsig

"You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you." -- Leon Trotsky

"You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do." -- Anne Lamott

"Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us." – Voltaire

“Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.” – John F. Kennedy

“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.” -- Bertrand Russell

"We've heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true." -- Robert Wilensky

Mike

Choc-o-Lardiac Arrest · **Posted:** Sat Aug 11, 2007 6:25 pm

Aliester Crowley wrote:

Do what thou wilt.

Engles and Marx wrote:

The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.
WORKING MEN OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!

bwave · **Posted:** Sat Aug 11, 2007 6:31 pm

Wesstarrunner wrote:

Beyond the Grave wrote:

Thomas Jefferson wrote:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights; that among these, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

Didn't Benjamin Franklin help write that?

Ben franklin was a delegate to the constitutional convention, but did not write the constitution.

Wesstarrunner · **Posted:** Sat Aug 11, 2007 6:37 pm

No, no, no. I meant he changed one part of it from "We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable" to "We hold these truths to be self-evident". He was assigned to help Thomas Jefferson, just a little, with it. Technically that is mostly Mr. Jefferson's work, but Ben Franklin did change a little.

furrykef · **Posted:** Sat Aug 11, 2007 6:59 pm

bwave wrote:

Ben franklin was a delegate to the constitutional convention, but did not write the constitution.

The quoted piece was the Declaration of Independence, which was written mostly but not solely by Thomas Jefferson, and he did indeed have help from Ben Franklin and John Adams. The Constitution, on the other hand, was written by a large group and cannot be attributed to a primary author.

- Kef

PianoManGidley · **Posted:** Sat Aug 11, 2007 7:43 pm

Choc-o-Lardiac Arrest wrote:

Aliester Crowley wrote:

Do what thou wilt.

Actually, that comes from the original Pagan concept of secular law: "An' harm ye none, do as ye will."

I'm also just gonna throw this out there, before this quote thread gets too long: Most quotes are improperly attributed to famous people who never said nor wrote them. Most of the time, the undue credit goes to Mark Twain, Abraham Lincoln, and Albert Einstein. Though, to a lesser extent, you can often find undue credit going to Benjamin Franklin and Mahatma Ghandi. Just be sure that when you post a quote, the person to whom you're attributing it IS actually the person who originated it.

Duecex2 · **Posted:** Sat Aug 11, 2007 8:01 pm

Scatman John wrote:

Why should we be pleasin' all the politician heathens
Who would try to change the seasons if they could?
The state of the condition insults my intuitions
And it only makes me crazy and my heart like wood.
Everybody stutters one way or the other
So check out my message to you.
As a matter of fact don't let nothin' hold you back.

Beyond the Grave · **Posted:** Sun Aug 12, 2007 12:39 am

George Carlin wrote:

In America, anyone can become president. That's the problem.

George Carlin wrote:

I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death.

George Carlin wrote:

I have as much authority as the Pope. I just don't have as many people who believe it.

Carlin wrote:

Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself.

Didymus · **Posted:** Sun Aug 12, 2007 1:09 am

In response to Carlin:

Quote:

We must obey God rather than men. - St. Peter, Acts 5:29.

Quote:

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20.

(Although he does have a point with that statement about the pope.)

Beyond the Grave · **Posted:** Sun Aug 12, 2007 1:12 am

My response:

Carlin wrote:

Religion easily has the best BS story of all time. Think about it. Religion has convinced people that there's an invisible man...living in the sky. Who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a list of ten specific things he doesn't want you to do. And if you do any of these things, he will send you to a special place, of burning and fire and smoke and torture and anguish for you to live forever, and suffer, and burn, and scream, until the end of time. But he loves you. He loves you. He loves you and he needs money.

Didymus · **Posted:** Sun Aug 12, 2007 1:14 am

And my response:

Quote:

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. - St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 1:18.

StrongRad · **Posted:** Sun Aug 12, 2007 1:18 am

In the same vein of what PMG said, are you sure those are Carlin things?

I mean, there's PLENTY of stuff attributed to him that he never said.

Also, why, when they're trying to prove a point, do people quote famous people?
My response is usually: "Oh, well, Ghandi said it, so it must be true!"

I think my favorite political thing ever is along the lines of "Politicians are like window air conditioners. They make a lot of noise but aren't really good for much."
It was something like that.

Beyond the Grave · **Posted:** Sun Aug 12, 2007 1:20 am

StrongRad wrote:

In the same vein of what PMG said, are you sure those are Carlin things?

I am sure they are for two reasons

1.)I have all of his HBO specials
2.)I have all of his books

IantheGecko · **Posted:** Sun Aug 12, 2007 1:21 am

Unknown wrote:

There are two things you should never see being made:

1. Sausage
2. Laws

PianoManGidley · **Posted:** Sun Aug 12, 2007 1:23 am

StrongRad wrote:

I think my favorite political thing ever is along the lines of "Politicians are like window air conditioners. They make a lot of noise but aren't really good for much."
It was something like that.

I came up with this little gem: "Politicians are like Microsoft: They're evil and stupid, but they're pretty much all we've got to work with."

Didymus · **Posted:** Sun Aug 12, 2007 1:25 am

There's always Linux.

Jello B., get to work installing Linux in our nation's capital!

PianoManGidley · **Posted:** Sun Aug 12, 2007 1:40 am

And there's always third-party political candidates, too, but you don't see many people voting for them.

...But still, that'd be a great president/vice president campaign: Linux/Mac 08!

Didymus · **Posted:** Sun Aug 12, 2007 1:44 am

I voted for Google in 2004.

Acekirby · **Posted:** Sun Aug 12, 2007 2:20 am

I love John Adams...he's easily my favorite founding father.

Quote:

But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.

Quote:

In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress.

Quote:

Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives.

Quote:

Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.

Quote:

Thomas Jefferson still survives.

^ His final words.

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