In a free society, government has the responsibility of protecting us from others, but not from ourselves.
Walter E. WilliamsRead
Kindness is not an illusion and violence is not a rule. The true resting state of human affairs is not represented by a man hacking his neighbor into pieces with a machete. That is a sick aberration. No, the true state of human affairs is life as it ought to be lived.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes that kindness is inherent to humanity, while violence is a distortion of our true nature.
Paul Rusesabagina reflects on the nature of human existence, asserting that kindness is an intrinsic quality rather than an illusion, contrasting it with the violent acts that occasionally arise in society. He believes that such violence is an aberration, and the essence of life should be characterized by compassion and understanding rather than conflict and aggression.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about community building to emphasize the importance of kindness.
In a free society, government has the responsibility of protecting us from others, but not from ourselves.
There's an anecdote that's really been sticking with me: To be a Black man in America, you are born into the horror genre. You are not safe. Period. Full stop.
There sighs, lamentations and loud wailings resounded through the starless air, so that at first it made me weep; strange tongues, horrible language, words of pain, tones of anger, voices loud and hoarse, and with these the sound of hands, made a tumult which is whirling through that air forever dark, and sand eddies in a whirlwind.
If we steal a man's purse we are thieves. If we steal twelve hundred islands we are patriots. If you steal a man's money you will be sent to the penitentiary. If you steal his liberty you will be sent to the White House.
The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.
You can't hear a word and just hear it as raw sound; it always evokes an associated meaning and emotion in the brain.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.