Yet, he thought, if I can die saying, "Life is so beautiful," then nothing else is important. If i can believe in myself that much, nothing else matters.
Mario PuzoRead
I don't trust society to protect us, I have no intention of placing my fate in the hands of men whose only qualification is that they managed to con a block of people to vote for them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses skepticism towards societal systems and the motives of those in power.
Mario Puzo's quote highlights a deep distrust of societal institutions and the people who lead them. He suggests that the only criteria for politicians often involves their ability to manipulate public opinion rather than a genuine commitment to public service, encouraging individuals to take control of their own destinies instead of relying on potentially untrustworthy leaders.
Themes
TrustSocietyPoliticsLeadershipSkepticism
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on political engagement, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of personal responsibility in societal change.
More from Mario Puzo
All quotes →He had long ago learned that society imposes insults that must be borne, comforted by the knowledge that in this world there comes a time when the most humble of men, if he keeps his eyes open, can take his revenge on the most powerful.
Mario PuzoRead
Actions defined a man; words were a fart in the wind
Mario PuzoRead
A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns.
Mario PuzoRead
I'll make him an offer he can't refuse.
Mario PuzoRead
He was a degenerate gambler. That is, a man who gambled simply to gamble and must lose. As a hero who goes to war must die. Show me a gambler and I'll show you a loser, show me a hero and I'll show you a corpse.
Mario PuzoRead
Similar quotes
Every nation has the right to demand proper treatment and no country should violate the territory of any other country.
Mustafa Kemal AtaturkRead
I live on Earth at present, and I don’t know what I am. I know that I am not a category. I am not a thing — a noun. I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process – an integral function of the universe.
R. Buckminster FullerRead
It hurts when God has to PRY things out of our hand!
Corrie Ten BoomRead
When the last red man shall have perished from the earth and his memory among the white men shall have become a myth, these shores will swarm with the invisible dead of my tribe. The white man will never be alone. Let him be just and deal kindly with my people, for the dead are not powerless.
Chief SeattleRead
For the Divine to function through you, it is important to make every breath, every pulsation in the body, and your very existence an offering.
Jaggi VasudevRead
I try to take what voice I have and I give it to those who don’t have one at all.
W. Eugene SmithRead