When it comes down to it, I don't have much in the way of advice to offer you, but here it is: Read to children. Vote. And never buy anything from a man who's selling fear.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of nurturing the next generation through reading, participating in democracy, and being mindful of whom you trust.
Mary Doria Russell's quote suggests that the most valuable advice consists of simple yet profound actions: reading to children fosters a love of learning, voting is a civic duty that promotes societal change, and avoiding those who capitalize on fear is essential for maintaining personal integrity and mental health. This message advocates for positive engagement in both personal and societal contexts.
In practice
In a parenting forum, sharing the quote to encourage other parents to read to their kids.
I believe in God the way I believe in quarks. People whose business it is to know about quantum physics or religion tell me they have good reason to believe that quarks and God exist. And they tell me that if I wanted to devote my life to learning what they've learned, I'd find quarks and God just like they did.
Everybody has a cartoon of themselves. Mine is: I write very fast, and I'm ruthlessly efficient with my time.
It is hard to follow one great vision in this world of darkness and of many changing shadows. Among those men get lost.
Jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. [Therefore do not compare your lot with another's lest you see their advantages and lose the joy of what you already have.]
The control of the palate is a valuable aid for the control of the mind.
Patience and submission are very carefully to be distinguished from cowardice and indolence. We are not to repine, but we may lawfully struggle; for the calamities of life, like the necessities of Nature, are calls to labor and diligence.
What is there in life if you do not work? There is only sensation, and there are only a few sensations— you cannot live on them. You can only live on work, by work, through work. How can you live with self-respect if you do not do things as well as lies in you?
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