August 10 Quotations

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2004

Nobody can be said to have attained the pinnacle of Truth until a thousand sincere people have denounced him for blasphemy. ~ Anthony de Mello

selected by Kalki

2005

There's a whole industry of conservatives saying, "Ah, it's those damn liberals," and a whole group of liberals saying, "It's all those damn conservatives." ~ Peter Jennings (recent death)

proposed by Kalki

2006

Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die. ~ Herbert Hoover (date of birth)

proposed by Kalki

2007

It has occasionally been remarked upon that it is as easy to overlook something large and obvious as it is to overlook something small and niggling, and that the large things one overlooks can often cause problems. ~ Neil Gaiman in Stardust (movie adaptation released 10 August 2007)

proposed by Kalki

2008

We are living in a time of trouble and bewilderment, in a time when none of us can foresee or foretell the future. But surely it is in times like these, when so much that we cherish is threatened or in jeopardy, that we are impelled all the more to strengthen our inner resources, to turn to the things that have no news value because they will be the same to-morrow that they were to-day and yesterday — the things that last, the things that the wisest, the most farseeing of our race and kind have been inspired to utter in forms that can inspire ourselves in turn. ~ Laurence Binyon (born 10 August 1869)

proposed by InvisibleSun

2009

Monsters remain human beings. In fact, to reduce them to a subhuman level is to exonerate them of their acts of terrorism and mass murder — just as animals are not deemed morally responsible for killing. Insisting on the humanity of terrorists is, in fact, critical to maintaining their profound responsibility for the evil they commit.
And, if they are human, then they must necessarily not be treated in an inhuman fashion. You cannot lower the moral baseline of a terrorist to the subhuman without betraying a fundamental value. ~ Andrew Sullivan

proposed by InvisibleSun

2010

Suggestions

To program is to understand. ~ Kristen Nygaard, computer scientist, died that day.

3 ~ MosheZadka (Talk) 05:56, 20 July 2005 (UTC)
3 ~ Jeff Q (talk) 03:14, 7 August 2007 (UTC)
1 Zarbon 15:20, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
3 InvisibleSun 19:28, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

----

Being a politician is a poor profession. Being a public servant is a noble one. ~ Herbert Hoover (date of birth)

3 Kalki 05:26, 8 August 2005 (UTC)
3 ~ Jeff Q (talk) 03:14, 7 August 2007 (UTC)
1 Zarbon 15:20, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
3 InvisibleSun 19:28, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

----

Words without actions are the assassins of idealism. ~ Herbert Hoover (date of birth)

3 Kalki 05:26, 8 August 2005 (UTC)
2 ~ Jeff Q (talk) 03:14, 7 August 2007 (UTC)
2 Zarbon 15:20, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
3 InvisibleSun 19:28, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

----

Oh father high in heaven -- smile down upon your son
Who's busy with his money games -- his women and his gun. ~ Ian Anderson

3 Zarbon 05:21, 26 May 2008 (UTC)
2 InvisibleSun 19:28, 9 August 2008 (UTC)
1 Kalki 23:45, 9 August 2008 (UTC) Many of the Jethro Tull lyrics are interesting, and I might eventually suggest a few myself, but I don't count these as among the best.

----

First silence. Then denial. Then support of the insupportable. Then vilification of the dissenters. The pattern is as old as time. ~ Andrew Sullivan

3 InvisibleSun 19:28, 9 August 2008 (UTC)
1 Kalki 23:45, 9 August 2008 (UTC) The context of the quote isn't sufficiently clear as it stands.
2 Zarbon 00:57, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

----

A constitutional republic dedicated before everything to the protection of liberty cannot legalize torture and remain a constitutional republic. It imports into itself a tumor of pure tyranny. ~ Andrew Sullivan

3 InvisibleSun 19:28, 9 August 2008 (UTC)
3 Kalki 23:45, 9 August 2008 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
2 Zarbon 00:57, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

----

The one thing we know about torture is that it was never designed in the first place to get at the actual truth of anything; it was designed in the darkest days of human history to produce false confessions in order to annihilate political and religious dissidents. And that is how it always works: it gets confessions regardless of their accuracy. ~ Andrew Sullivan

3 InvisibleSun 19:28, 9 August 2008 (UTC)
3 Kalki 23:45, 9 August 2008 (UTC)
3 Zarbon 00:57, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

----
What modernity requires is not that you cease living according to your faith, but that you accept that others may differ and that therefore politics requires a form of discourse that is reasonable and accessible to believer and non-believer alike. This religious restraint in politics is critical to the maintenance of liberal democracy. ~ Andrew Sullivan

3 Kalki 22:21, 9 August 2009 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
3 InvisibleSun 22:25, 9 August 2009 (UTC)

----

Quoternity