The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life. Since man is mortal, the only immortality possible for him is to leave something behind him that is immortal since it will always move. This is the artist's way of scribbling "Kilroy was here" on the wall of the final and irrevocable oblivion through which he must someday pass.
William Faulkner (September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was a Nobel Prize-winning American author. One of the most influential writers of the 20th century, his reputation is based on his novels, novellas and short stories. He was also a published poet and an occasional screenwriter.
Most of Faulkner's works are set in his native state of Mississippi. He is considered one of the most important Southern writers along with Mark Twain, Robert Penn Warren, Flannery O'Connor, Truman Capote, Eudora Welty, and Tennessee Williams.
While his work was published regularly starting in the mid 1920s, Faulkner was relatively unknown before receiving the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature. Since then, he has often been cited as one of the most important writers in the history of American literature.
Man knows so little about his fellows. In his eyes all men or women act upon what he believes would motivate him if he were mad enough to do what the other man or women is doing.
Even a liar can be scared into telling the truth, same as an honest man can be tortured into telling a lie.
Between grief and nothing I will take grief.
Be scared. You can’t help that. But don’t be afraid.
Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. There are no longer problems of the spirit. There is only the question: When will I be blown up? Because of this, the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat. He must learn them again.
I decline to accept the end of man.
I refuse to accept this.
I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail.
He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice,
but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.
The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things.
It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past.
The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.
Time is a fluid condition which has no existence except in the momentary avatars of individual people. There is no such thing as was — only is. If was existed, there would be no grief or sorrow. I like to think of the world I created as being a kind of keystone in the universe; that, small as that keystone is, if it were ever taken away the universe itself would collapse.
Life is motion, and motion is concerned with what makes man move — which is ambition, power, pleasure. What time a man can devote to morality, he must take by force from the motion of which he is a part. He is compelled to make choices between good and evil sooner or later, because moral conscience demands that from him in order that he can live with himself tomorrow. His moral conscience is the curse he had to accept from the gods in order to gain from them the right to dream.
One of the saddest things is that the only thing that a man can do for eight hours a day, day after day, is work. You can’t eat eight hours a day nor drink for eight hours a day nor make love for eight hours — all you can do for eight hours is work. Which is the reason why man makes himself and everybody else so miserable and unhappy.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
The Power of Words
A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead.
The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.
The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out.
When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?"
The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.
This story gives us thoughts to think about:
1. An encouraging word to someone who is down can encourage them to achieve their goal.
2. A destructive word to someone who is down can have negative effects.
Be careful of what you say.
The quote below was sent to me by a Master and a Friend.
His quote describes "words" very accurately:
"Words: The Snow may look smooth and soft, but the rocks underneath are sharp!"
One last point, Are your words encouraging?
The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.
The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out.
When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?"
The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.
This story gives us thoughts to think about:
1. An encouraging word to someone who is down can encourage them to achieve their goal.
2. A destructive word to someone who is down can have negative effects.
Be careful of what you say.
The quote below was sent to me by a Master and a Friend.
His quote describes "words" very accurately:
"Words: The Snow may look smooth and soft, but the rocks underneath are sharp!"
One last point, Are your words encouraging?
The Fence
There once was a little boy who had a bad temper.
His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.
The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down.
He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.
The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.
He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one."
"It is wise to direct your anger towards problems - not people;
to focus your energies on answers - not excuses."
His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.
The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down.
He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.
The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.
He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one."
"It is wise to direct your anger towards problems - not people;
to focus your energies on answers - not excuses."
Your Weakness
This is a story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.
The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move. "Sensei," the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?"
"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the Sensei replied. Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.
Several months later, the Sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.
This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the Sensei intervened. "No," the Sensei insisted, "Let him continue."
Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.
On the way home, the boy and Sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.
"Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"
"You won for two reasons," the Sensei answered.
"First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo.
And second, the only known defence for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."
The boy's greatest weakness had become his greatest strength.
The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move. "Sensei," the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?"
"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the Sensei replied. Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.
Several months later, the Sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.
This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the Sensei intervened. "No," the Sensei insisted, "Let him continue."
Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.
On the way home, the boy and Sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.
"Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"
"You won for two reasons," the Sensei answered.
"First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo.
And second, the only known defence for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."
The boy's greatest weakness had become his greatest strength.
I Wanted To Change The World
When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world.
I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.
When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.
Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world."
Food For Thought:"After you've done a thing the same way for two years, look it over carefully. After five years, look at it with suspicion. And after ten years, throw it away and start all over. " Alfred Edward Perlman
"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another." Anatole France
"Growth is the only evidence of life." John Henry Newman
"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies." Author Unknown
"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." Victor Frankl
I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.
When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.
Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world."
Food For Thought:"After you've done a thing the same way for two years, look it over carefully. After five years, look at it with suspicion. And after ten years, throw it away and start all over. " Alfred Edward Perlman
"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another." Anatole France
"Growth is the only evidence of life." John Henry Newman
"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies." Author Unknown
"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." Victor Frankl
The Man Who Achieved Everything He Could
They say that once upon a time, there lived a man who wanted to achieve everything he was capable of achieving. He was obsessed with this desire. He ate, slept, and walked with one and only dream: to die, having accomplished every single thing he was able to accomplish. There were so many things he could do. He felt like the whole world could be his, if he only set his mind to it. At times, he was even horrified by the powers hiding in his mind and heart.
He was certain-in fact-he knew that his potential had no limits. He knew that he could accumulate power that would dwarf the power of ancient kings; he knew that he could write books that would shake the minds of generations to come; he knew that he could invent things that would forever change the lives of millions of people. He lived, constantly feeling the power within-and that power knew no bounds.
There was only one obstacle: having such a potential, but only one life, he had to make a choice. He had to decide where to apply all of his enormous abilities. Making that decision was extremely hard, for any choice meant cutting off some future achievements. And so in the meantime, he went to school, graduated, found a respectable well-paid job, married, and bred children. And he spent every minute of his spare time trying to decide where he should apply all his might.
Even though he was not interested in applying it to his work, his power was impossible to hide. He was successful in everything he touched, and he earned great respect of the people who worked with him. And all the while, he thought to himself: Imagine what I would achieve once I concentrate entirely on the area of my choice.
Time went by, and he grew older. Some roads he used to dream about became closed to him. But there was still so much he could accomplish. And he kept thinking hard while working, raising children, dealing with everyday problems, and knowing that his potential had no limits. And most people who knew him were of the same opinion, for it was impossible not to realize this, being around him for a while.
One day, a sudden chest pain made him come home early. He dragged his feet to the bathroom. There, feeling weak and empty, he looked in the mirror. A worn-out, gray-haired man stared back at him. But his eyes, though red and tired, were still full of unrealized potential. He peered into these eyes and, all of a sudden, realized one simple truth. The next moment, the pain pierced his heart again, and it stopped beating forever.
Everybody cried, even those who knew him only slightly. The pain of this loss was staggering. Not only had he been a good man but they also knew what great potential had died with him. True, he had spent his life trying to make the choice, but imagine what would've happened had he made it. After all, he was so close to making it, and he hadn't been that old. He could not have had this feeling of unlimited potential for nothing. His potential was truly unlimited.
The choice was about to be made, and very soon he could have achieved anything. His life could have become a shining monument, which would have forever inspired future generations. What a loss! What a tragedy! They cried and cried and cried. And they didn't know what he had realized the moment before he died.
The truth that came upon him was rather simple. People only flatter themselves by thinking that they could have achieved this or that if not for such-and-such circumstances. Yet this is nothing but delusion. At any given moment, as long as you've been healthy and haven't been thrown into the midst of war, crime or forces of nature, you always achieve everything you can.
You simply lack something that is necessary for achieving that goal you've never reached-a talent, a skill, willpower, a set of priorities, or something else. Like it or not, realize it or not, believe it or not, but you simply lack it. You just think you've got what it takes, and only these insurmountable difficulties have prevented you from reaching the ultimate heights. But in reality, what you don't achieve is something you're not capable of achieving.
He was certain-in fact-he knew that his potential had no limits. He knew that he could accumulate power that would dwarf the power of ancient kings; he knew that he could write books that would shake the minds of generations to come; he knew that he could invent things that would forever change the lives of millions of people. He lived, constantly feeling the power within-and that power knew no bounds.
There was only one obstacle: having such a potential, but only one life, he had to make a choice. He had to decide where to apply all of his enormous abilities. Making that decision was extremely hard, for any choice meant cutting off some future achievements. And so in the meantime, he went to school, graduated, found a respectable well-paid job, married, and bred children. And he spent every minute of his spare time trying to decide where he should apply all his might.
Even though he was not interested in applying it to his work, his power was impossible to hide. He was successful in everything he touched, and he earned great respect of the people who worked with him. And all the while, he thought to himself: Imagine what I would achieve once I concentrate entirely on the area of my choice.
Time went by, and he grew older. Some roads he used to dream about became closed to him. But there was still so much he could accomplish. And he kept thinking hard while working, raising children, dealing with everyday problems, and knowing that his potential had no limits. And most people who knew him were of the same opinion, for it was impossible not to realize this, being around him for a while.
One day, a sudden chest pain made him come home early. He dragged his feet to the bathroom. There, feeling weak and empty, he looked in the mirror. A worn-out, gray-haired man stared back at him. But his eyes, though red and tired, were still full of unrealized potential. He peered into these eyes and, all of a sudden, realized one simple truth. The next moment, the pain pierced his heart again, and it stopped beating forever.
Everybody cried, even those who knew him only slightly. The pain of this loss was staggering. Not only had he been a good man but they also knew what great potential had died with him. True, he had spent his life trying to make the choice, but imagine what would've happened had he made it. After all, he was so close to making it, and he hadn't been that old. He could not have had this feeling of unlimited potential for nothing. His potential was truly unlimited.
The choice was about to be made, and very soon he could have achieved anything. His life could have become a shining monument, which would have forever inspired future generations. What a loss! What a tragedy! They cried and cried and cried. And they didn't know what he had realized the moment before he died.
The truth that came upon him was rather simple. People only flatter themselves by thinking that they could have achieved this or that if not for such-and-such circumstances. Yet this is nothing but delusion. At any given moment, as long as you've been healthy and haven't been thrown into the midst of war, crime or forces of nature, you always achieve everything you can.
You simply lack something that is necessary for achieving that goal you've never reached-a talent, a skill, willpower, a set of priorities, or something else. Like it or not, realize it or not, believe it or not, but you simply lack it. You just think you've got what it takes, and only these insurmountable difficulties have prevented you from reaching the ultimate heights. But in reality, what you don't achieve is something you're not capable of achieving.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Your thought and Mine
My thought is a tender leaf that sways in every direction and finds pleasure in its swaying.
Your thought is an ancient dogma that cannot change you nor can you change it.
My thought is new, and it tests me and I test it morn and eve.
You have your thought and I have mine.
Your thought advocates fame and show.
Mine counsels me and implores me to cast aside notoriety and treat it like a grain of sand cast upon the shore of eternity.
Your thought instills in your heart arrogance and superiority.
Mine plants within me love for peace and the desire for independence.
Your thought begets dreams of palaces with furniture of sandalwood studded with jewels, and beds made of twisted silk threads.
My thought speaks softly in my ears, "Be clean in body and spirit even if you have nowhere to lay your head."
Your thought makes you aspire to titles and offices.
Mine exhorts me to humble service.
Your thought describes laws, courts, judges, punishments.
Mine explains that when man makes a law, he either violates it or obeys it.
If there is a basic law, we are all one before it.
He who disdains the mean is himself mean.
He who vaunts his scorn of the sinful vaunts his disdain of all humanity.
Your thought advocates Judaism, Brahmanism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam.
In my thought there is only one universal religion,
whose varied paths are but the fingers of the loving hand of the Supreme Being.
In your thought there are the rich, the poor, and the beggared.
My thought holds that there are no riches but life;
that we are all beggars, and no benefactor exists save life herself.
Your thought sees power in armies, cannons, battleships, submarines, aeroplanes, and poison gas.
But mine asserts that power lies in reason, resolution, and truth.
No matter how long the tyrant endures,
he will be the loser at the end.
Your thought differentiates between pragmatist and idealist,
between the part and the whole,
between the mystic and materialist.
Mine realizes that life is one
and its weights, measures and tables
do not coincide with your weights, measures and tables.
He whom you suppose an idealist may be a practical man.
Your thought is an ancient dogma that cannot change you nor can you change it.
My thought is new, and it tests me and I test it morn and eve.
You have your thought and I have mine.
Your thought advocates fame and show.
Mine counsels me and implores me to cast aside notoriety and treat it like a grain of sand cast upon the shore of eternity.
Your thought instills in your heart arrogance and superiority.
Mine plants within me love for peace and the desire for independence.
Your thought begets dreams of palaces with furniture of sandalwood studded with jewels, and beds made of twisted silk threads.
My thought speaks softly in my ears, "Be clean in body and spirit even if you have nowhere to lay your head."
Your thought makes you aspire to titles and offices.
Mine exhorts me to humble service.
Your thought describes laws, courts, judges, punishments.
Mine explains that when man makes a law, he either violates it or obeys it.
If there is a basic law, we are all one before it.
He who disdains the mean is himself mean.
He who vaunts his scorn of the sinful vaunts his disdain of all humanity.
Your thought advocates Judaism, Brahmanism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam.
In my thought there is only one universal religion,
whose varied paths are but the fingers of the loving hand of the Supreme Being.
In your thought there are the rich, the poor, and the beggared.
My thought holds that there are no riches but life;
that we are all beggars, and no benefactor exists save life herself.
Your thought sees power in armies, cannons, battleships, submarines, aeroplanes, and poison gas.
But mine asserts that power lies in reason, resolution, and truth.
No matter how long the tyrant endures,
he will be the loser at the end.
Your thought differentiates between pragmatist and idealist,
between the part and the whole,
between the mystic and materialist.
Mine realizes that life is one
and its weights, measures and tables
do not coincide with your weights, measures and tables.
He whom you suppose an idealist may be a practical man.
My soul gave me counsel
My Soul gave me good counsel,
Teaching me to love what the people abhor
And to show good will toward the one they hate.
It showed me that Love is a property
Not of the lover but of the beloved.
Before my Soul taught me,
Love was for me
A delicate thread stretched between two adjacent pegs,
But now it has been transformed into a halo;
Its first is its last, and its last is its first.
It encompasses every being,
Slowly expanding to embrace all that ever will be.
My yearning is my cup,
My burning thirst is my drink,
And my solitude is my intoxication;
I do not and shall not quench my thirst.
But in this burning that is never extinguished
Is a joy that never wanes.
My Soul gave me good counsel,
Teaching me to touch what has never taken corporeal form or crystallized.
It made me understand
That touching something is half the task of comprehending it,
And that what we grasp therein
Is part of what we desire from it.
My Soul gave me good counsel,
Teaching me not to measure time by saying,
"It was yesterday, and will be tomorrow."
Before my Soul taught me,
I imagined the past as an era not to be met with,
And the future as an age that I would never witness.
But now I know
That in the brief moment of the present,
All time exists,
Including everything that is in time
All that is eagerly anticipated, achieved, or realized.
My Soul gave me good counsel,
Teaching me not to define a place by saying
'Here' or 'there'.
Before my Soul taught me,
I thought that when I was in any place on the earth
I was remote from every other spot.
But now I have learned that the place where I subsist is all places,
And the space I occupy is all intervals.
My Soul gave me good counsel,
Teaching me never to delight in praise
Or to be distressed by reproach.
Before my Soul taught me,
I doubted the value of my accomplishments
Until the passing days sent someone
Who would extol or disparage them.
But now I know that trees blossom in the spring
And give their fruits in the summer without any desire for accolades.
And they scatter their leaves abroad in the fall
And denude themselves in the winter without fear of reproof.
My Soul gave me good counsel,
Teaching me and demonstrating to me
That I am not exalted over the panhandler
Nor less than the mighty.
Before my Soul taught me,
I thought people consisted of two types:
The weak, whom I pitied and disregarded,
And the powerful, whom I followed or against I rebelled.
Now, I have discovered
That I was formed as one individual from the same substance
From which all human beings were created.
I am made up of the same elements as they are,
And my pattern is theirs.
My struggles are theirs, and my path is theirs.
My Soul gave me good counsel,
Teaching me that
The lamp which I carry does not belong to me,
And the song that I sing was not generated from within me.
Even if I walk with light, I am not the light;
And if I am a taut-stringed flute, I am not the flute player.
All this, my Soul taught me in a single night
Where I met and confronted my inner most fear
Teaching me to love what the people abhor
And to show good will toward the one they hate.
It showed me that Love is a property
Not of the lover but of the beloved.
Before my Soul taught me,
Love was for me
A delicate thread stretched between two adjacent pegs,
But now it has been transformed into a halo;
Its first is its last, and its last is its first.
It encompasses every being,
Slowly expanding to embrace all that ever will be.
My yearning is my cup,
My burning thirst is my drink,
And my solitude is my intoxication;
I do not and shall not quench my thirst.
But in this burning that is never extinguished
Is a joy that never wanes.
My Soul gave me good counsel,
Teaching me to touch what has never taken corporeal form or crystallized.
It made me understand
That touching something is half the task of comprehending it,
And that what we grasp therein
Is part of what we desire from it.
My Soul gave me good counsel,
Teaching me not to measure time by saying,
"It was yesterday, and will be tomorrow."
Before my Soul taught me,
I imagined the past as an era not to be met with,
And the future as an age that I would never witness.
But now I know
That in the brief moment of the present,
All time exists,
Including everything that is in time
All that is eagerly anticipated, achieved, or realized.
My Soul gave me good counsel,
Teaching me not to define a place by saying
'Here' or 'there'.
Before my Soul taught me,
I thought that when I was in any place on the earth
I was remote from every other spot.
But now I have learned that the place where I subsist is all places,
And the space I occupy is all intervals.
My Soul gave me good counsel,
Teaching me never to delight in praise
Or to be distressed by reproach.
Before my Soul taught me,
I doubted the value of my accomplishments
Until the passing days sent someone
Who would extol or disparage them.
But now I know that trees blossom in the spring
And give their fruits in the summer without any desire for accolades.
And they scatter their leaves abroad in the fall
And denude themselves in the winter without fear of reproof.
My Soul gave me good counsel,
Teaching me and demonstrating to me
That I am not exalted over the panhandler
Nor less than the mighty.
Before my Soul taught me,
I thought people consisted of two types:
The weak, whom I pitied and disregarded,
And the powerful, whom I followed or against I rebelled.
Now, I have discovered
That I was formed as one individual from the same substance
From which all human beings were created.
I am made up of the same elements as they are,
And my pattern is theirs.
My struggles are theirs, and my path is theirs.
My Soul gave me good counsel,
Teaching me that
The lamp which I carry does not belong to me,
And the song that I sing was not generated from within me.
Even if I walk with light, I am not the light;
And if I am a taut-stringed flute, I am not the flute player.
All this, my Soul taught me in a single night
Where I met and confronted my inner most fear
Sons of GOD
How amazing time is, and how amazing we are.
Time has been transformed, and we have changed;
It has advanced and set us in motion;
It has unveiled its face,
Inspiring us with bewilderment and exhilaration.
Yesterday we complained of time and feared it,
But today we love and embrace it.
Indeed, we have begun to perceive its purposes and characteristics,
And to comprehend its secrets and enigmas.
Yesterday we obeyed kings
And bent our necks before emperors.
But today we kneel only to truth,
Follow only beauty,
And obey only love.
All that you see was and is for your sake.
The numerous books, uncanny markings,
And beautiful thoughts are the ghosts of souls who preceded you.
The speech they weave is a link between you and your human siblings.
The consequences that cause sorrow and rapture
Are the seeds that the past has sown
In the field of the soul, and by which the future shall profit.
Time has been transformed, and we have changed;
It has advanced and set us in motion;
It has unveiled its face,
Inspiring us with bewilderment and exhilaration.
Yesterday we complained of time and feared it,
But today we love and embrace it.
Indeed, we have begun to perceive its purposes and characteristics,
And to comprehend its secrets and enigmas.
Yesterday we obeyed kings
And bent our necks before emperors.
But today we kneel only to truth,
Follow only beauty,
And obey only love.
All that you see was and is for your sake.
The numerous books, uncanny markings,
And beautiful thoughts are the ghosts of souls who preceded you.
The speech they weave is a link between you and your human siblings.
The consequences that cause sorrow and rapture
Are the seeds that the past has sown
In the field of the soul, and by which the future shall profit.
Poems By Khalil Gilbran
Love
O love, whose lordly hand
And raised my hunger and my thirst
To dignity and pride,
Let not the strong in me and the constant
Eat the bread or drink the wine
That tempts my weaker self.
Let me rather starve,
And let my heart parch with thirst,
And let me die and perish,
Ere I stretch my hand
To a cup you did not fill,
Or a bowl you did not bless.
Poems by Khalil Gilbran
My friend
My friend, I am not what I seem.
A care-woven garment that protects me from thy questionings
And thee from my negligence.
The "I" in me, my friend, dwells in the house of silence,
And therein it shall remain for ever more,
Unperceived, unapproachable.
I would not have thee believe in what I say nor trust in what I do
For my words are nothing but thy own thoughts in sound
And my deeds thy own hopes in action.
I know faces,
Because I look through the fabric my own eye weaves,
And behold the reality beneath.
Poems by Kahlil Gilbran
Vain Belief
Vain are the beliefs and teachings that make man miserable, and false is the goodness that leads him into sorrow and despair, for it is man's purpose to be happy on this earth and lead the way to felicity and preach its gospel wherever he goes. He who does not see the kingdom of heaven in this life will never see it in the coming life.
Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran was born in 1883 in the city of Besharri near the biblical cedars of Lebanon. In boyhood he immigrated to Boston where he began his career as artist and author. His books, written in both arabic and english, have been translated into numerous languages and are widely quoted. Gibran's book The Prophet, is one of the most widely read books of the 20th century.
Kahlil Gibran's Legacy is the powerful simplicity of his words, which continue to inspire those who long for peace, search for love, and strive for justice. "Work is Love made visible" he wrote in The Prophet. Gibran died in New York City on April 10, 1931. Before his death, Gibran expressed the wish to be buried in his place of birth, Besharri. Almost one centry today, Gibran remains the most popular Lebanese-American writer ever.
Kahlil Gibran's Legacy is the powerful simplicity of his words, which continue to inspire those who long for peace, search for love, and strive for justice. "Work is Love made visible" he wrote in The Prophet. Gibran died in New York City on April 10, 1931. Before his death, Gibran expressed the wish to be buried in his place of birth, Besharri. Almost one centry today, Gibran remains the most popular Lebanese-American writer ever.
here are some of his quotes
Q1
I have been thinking of writing, giving forms to the one thought that occupied my days and nights and changed my inner life (...) God and the Earth and the soul of man.
Q2
I have always thought that a revelation is simply the discovery of an element in us, in our larger self, the self that knows what we do not know, and feels that which we dare not feel. And what we call growth is nothing but knowledge of that larger self.
Q3
You may tie my hands with chains, and my feet with shackles, and put me in the dark prison, but you shall not enslave my thinking, for it is free, like the breeze in the spacious sky.
Q3
I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.
Q4
My brother WHOEVER you are, whether you worship in your church, kneel in your temple or pray in your mosque you and I are children of one faith, fingers of the loving hand of one supreme being, a hand extended to all.
Q5
When I paint a picture, I try to give the picture a presence. It is the coming together of certain elements in a certain way, as if they made a sort of path along which God can come through to our consciousness.
Q6
I use hate as a weapon to defend myself; had I been strong, I would never have needed that kind of weapon.
Q7
God does not like to be worshipped by an ignorant man who imitates someone else.
Q8
Hell is not in torture; Hell is in an empty heart.
Q9
Remember, one just man causes the Devil greater affliction than a million blind believers.
Q10
The soul is a golden ring detached from the chain of divinity.
Q11
If a man be just, no persecution can torture him, and no tyranny can destroy him. Socrates drank down his hemlock with a smile on his face, and Paul rejoiced being stoned.
Q12
Are you a politician asking what your country can do for you or a zealous one asking what you can do for your country? If you are the first, then you are a parasite; if the second, then you are an oasis in a desert.
POETRY : FREEDOM
From the source of the Nile to the mouth of Ferrat
From the borders of the Arab Gezirah to the mountains of Lebanon
From the shores of the Gulf to the borders of the Sahara
All eyes will turn towards you, overwhelmed by the warmth of the heart
So,
Look at us FREEDOM
Hear us
Make us strong so we can live
Or make our enemy stronger so we can vanish and rest.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Ronald Reagan
Whatever else history may say about me when I’m gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears; to your confidence rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty’s lamp guiding your steps and opportunity’s arm steadying your way.Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911-02-06 – 2004-06-05) was an American actor and politician, who became 33rd Governor of California and 40th President of the United States; He was the husband of Jane Wyman (1940–1948) and Nancy Reagan (married in 1952).Q1
Whatever else history may say about me when I’m gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears; to your confidence rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty’s lamp guiding your steps and opportunity’s arm steadying your way.
Q2
One legislator accused me of having a nineteenth-century attitude on law and order. That is a totally false charge. I have an eighteenth-century attitude...
Q3
The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.
Q4
I'm convinced that today the majority of Americans want what those first Americans wanted: A better life for themselves and their children; a minimum of government authority.
Q5
Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.
Q6
A troubled and afflicted mankind looks to us, pleading for us to keep our rendezvous with destiny; that we will uphold the principles of self-reliance, self-discipline, morality, and, above all, responsible liberty for every individual that we will become that shining city on a hill.
Q7
I believe with all my heart that our first priority must be world peace, and that use of force is always and only a last resort, when everything else has failed, and then only with regard to our national security.
Q8
You and I are told increasingly that we have to choose between a left or right, but I would like to suggest that there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down...
Q9
They say we offer simple answers to complex problems. Well, perhaps there is a simple answer — not an easy answer — but simple.
Q10
Abraham Lincoln freed the black man. In many ways, Dr. King freed the white man...
Q11
The defense policy of the United States is based on a simple premise: The United States does not start fights. We will never be an aggressor.
Q12
The only way there could be war is if they start it; we're not going to start a war.
Q13
We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free.
Q14
It is time for us to realize that we're too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams.
Q15
We must all educate ourselves to the reality of the horrors taking place.
Q16
The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted, it belongs to the brave.
Q17
Cannot swords be turned to plowshares? Can we and all nations not live in peace? In our obsession with antagonisms of the moment, we often forget how much unites all the members of humanity.
Q18
Freedom is the right to question and change the established way of doing things.
Q19
I hope we once again have reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited.
Q20
Once you begin a great movement, there's no telling where it will end. We meant to change a nation, and instead, we changed a world.
Q21
America's best days are yet to come. Our proudest moments are yet to be. Our most glorious achievements are just ahead.
Q22
Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.
Q23
Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.
Q24
Welfare's purpose should be to eliminate, as far as possible, the need for its own existence.
Q25
Let it show on the record that when the American people cried out for economic help, Jimmy Carter took refuge behind a dictionary. Well, if it's a definition he wants, I'll give him one. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his.
Q26
Let it show on the record that when the American people cried out for economic help, Jimmy Carter took refuge behind a dictionary. Well, if it's a definition he wants, I'll give him one. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his.
Q27
History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.
Q28
Recognizing the equality of all men and women, we are willing and able to lift the weak, cradle those who hurt, and nurture the bonds that tie us together as one nation under God.
Q29
There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn't mind who gets the credit.
Q30
I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing.
Q31
We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we're in a time when there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look.
Q32
we must realize that no arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.
Q33
In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.
Q34
The ten most dangerous words in the English language are "Hi, I'm from the government, and I'm here to help."
Q35
Information is the oxygen of the modern age. It seeps through the walls topped by barbed wire, it wafts across the electrified borders. ...
Q36
I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there's purpose and worth to each and every life.
John F, Kennedy - QUOTES
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility — I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Q1
The New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises — it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them.
Q2
I can assure you that every degree of mind and spirit that I possess will be devoted to the long-range interests of the United States and to the cause of freedom around the world.
Q3
I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely.
Q4
We must face problems which do not lend themselves to easy or quick or permanent solutions ... there cannot be an American solution to every world problem...
Q5
When power leads men towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations...
Q6
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
Q7
All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.
Q8
Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.
Q9
There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again.
Q10
If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity.
Q11
A man does what he must — in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers, and pressures — and that is the basis of all human morality.
Q12
VThe Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word "crisis". One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger — but recognize the opportunity.
Q13
If by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."
Q14
If by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."
Q15
For of those to whom much is given, much is required. And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each of us, recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state, our success or failure, in whatever office we hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions: First, were we truly men of courage… Second, were we truly men of judgment… Third, were we truly men of integrity… Finally were we truly men of dedication?
Q16
Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder.
Q17
The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived and dishonest — but the myth — persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.
Q18
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
Q19
When power leads men towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.
Q20
The great artist is thus a solitary figure. He has, as Frost said, a lover's quarrel with the world. In pursuing his perceptions of reality, he must often sail against the currents of his time.
Q21
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
Q22
Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.
Q23
With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.
Q24
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility — I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Q25
And so it is to the printing press--to the recorder of man's deeds, the keeper of his conscience, the courier of his news--that we look for strength and assistance, confident that with your help man will be what he was born to be: free and independent.
Q26
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.
Q27
Terror is not a new weapon. Throughout history it has been used by those who could not prevail, either by persuasion or example. But inevitably they fail, either because men are not afraid to die for a life worth living, or because the terrorists themselves came to realize that free men cannot be frightened by threats, and that aggression would meet its own response.
Q28
If we all can persevere, if we can in every land and office look beyond our own shores and ambitions, then surely the age will dawn in which the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.
Q29
The greater our knowledge increases the greater our ignorace unfolds
Q30
I have, therefore, chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived — yet it is the most important topic on earth: world peace.
Q31
If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.
Q32
The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were and ask "why not?".
Q33
Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.
Q34
Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.
Q35
Liberty without learning is always in peril; learning without liberty is always in vain.
Q36
Freedom is not merely a word or an abstract theory, but the most effective instrument for advancing the welfare of man.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Q1
The New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises — it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them.
Q2
I can assure you that every degree of mind and spirit that I possess will be devoted to the long-range interests of the United States and to the cause of freedom around the world.
Q3
I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely.
Q4
We must face problems which do not lend themselves to easy or quick or permanent solutions ... there cannot be an American solution to every world problem...
Q5
When power leads men towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations...
Q6
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
Q7
All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.
Q8
Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.
Q9
There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again.
Q10
If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity.
Q11
A man does what he must — in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers, and pressures — and that is the basis of all human morality.
Q12
VThe Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word "crisis". One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger — but recognize the opportunity.
Q13
If by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."
Q14
If by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."
Q15
For of those to whom much is given, much is required. And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each of us, recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state, our success or failure, in whatever office we hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions: First, were we truly men of courage… Second, were we truly men of judgment… Third, were we truly men of integrity… Finally were we truly men of dedication?
Q16
Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder.
Q17
The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived and dishonest — but the myth — persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.
Q18
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
Q19
When power leads men towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.
Q20
The great artist is thus a solitary figure. He has, as Frost said, a lover's quarrel with the world. In pursuing his perceptions of reality, he must often sail against the currents of his time.
Q21
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
Q22
Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.
Q23
With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.
Q24
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility — I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Q25
And so it is to the printing press--to the recorder of man's deeds, the keeper of his conscience, the courier of his news--that we look for strength and assistance, confident that with your help man will be what he was born to be: free and independent.
Q26
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.
Q27
Terror is not a new weapon. Throughout history it has been used by those who could not prevail, either by persuasion or example. But inevitably they fail, either because men are not afraid to die for a life worth living, or because the terrorists themselves came to realize that free men cannot be frightened by threats, and that aggression would meet its own response.
Q28
If we all can persevere, if we can in every land and office look beyond our own shores and ambitions, then surely the age will dawn in which the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.
Q29
The greater our knowledge increases the greater our ignorace unfolds
Q30
I have, therefore, chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived — yet it is the most important topic on earth: world peace.
Q31
If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.
Q32
The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were and ask "why not?".
Q33
Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.
Q34
Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.
Q35
Liberty without learning is always in peril; learning without liberty is always in vain.
Q36
Freedom is not merely a word or an abstract theory, but the most effective instrument for advancing the welfare of man.
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.
After Kennedy's military service as commander of the Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 during World War II in the South Pacific, his aspirations turned political. With the encouragement and grooming of his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., Kennedy represented Massachusetts's 11th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953 as a Democrat, and in the U.S. Senate from 1953 until 1960. Kennedy defeated then Vice President and Republican candidate Richard Nixon in the 1960 U.S. presidential election, one of the closest in American history. He was the second-youngest President (after Theodore Roosevelt), and the youngest elected to the office, at the age of 43.[1][2] Kennedy is the first and only Catholic president, and is the only president to have won a Pulitzer Prize.[3] Events during his administration include the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, the African American Civil Rights Movement and early events of the Vietnam War.
Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with the crime but was shot and killed two days later by Jack Ruby before he could be put on trial. The Warren Commission and the 1979 House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that Oswald was the assassin, with the HSCA allowing for the probability of conspiracy. The event proved to be an important moment in U.S. history because of its impact on the nation and the ensuing political repercussions. Today, Kennedy continues to rank highly in public opinion ratings of former U.S. presidents.
Presidency
John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th President at noon on January 20, 1961. In his inaugural address he spoke of the need for all Americans to be active citizens, famously saying, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." He also asked the nations of the world to join together to fight what he called the "common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself." In closing, he expanded on his desire for greater internationalism: "Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you."
Foreign policy
President Kennedy's foreign policy was dominated by American-Soviet relations. Much foreign policy revolved around proxy interventions in the context of the early stage Cold War.
After Kennedy's military service as commander of the Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 during World War II in the South Pacific, his aspirations turned political. With the encouragement and grooming of his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., Kennedy represented Massachusetts's 11th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953 as a Democrat, and in the U.S. Senate from 1953 until 1960. Kennedy defeated then Vice President and Republican candidate Richard Nixon in the 1960 U.S. presidential election, one of the closest in American history. He was the second-youngest President (after Theodore Roosevelt), and the youngest elected to the office, at the age of 43.[1][2] Kennedy is the first and only Catholic president, and is the only president to have won a Pulitzer Prize.[3] Events during his administration include the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, the African American Civil Rights Movement and early events of the Vietnam War.
Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with the crime but was shot and killed two days later by Jack Ruby before he could be put on trial. The Warren Commission and the 1979 House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that Oswald was the assassin, with the HSCA allowing for the probability of conspiracy. The event proved to be an important moment in U.S. history because of its impact on the nation and the ensuing political repercussions. Today, Kennedy continues to rank highly in public opinion ratings of former U.S. presidents.
Presidency
John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th President at noon on January 20, 1961. In his inaugural address he spoke of the need for all Americans to be active citizens, famously saying, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." He also asked the nations of the world to join together to fight what he called the "common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself." In closing, he expanded on his desire for greater internationalism: "Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you."
Foreign policy
President Kennedy's foreign policy was dominated by American-Soviet relations. Much foreign policy revolved around proxy interventions in the context of the early stage Cold War.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.) is a retired American boxer and three-time World Heavyweight Champion. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. As a professional, he became the first person to win the lineal heavyweight championship three times.
In 1999, Ali was crowned "Sportsman of the Century" by Sports Illustrated and "Sports Personality of the Century" by the BBC.
Ali changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali after joining the Nation of Islam in 1964, subsequently converting to Sunni Islam in 1975 and later Sufism.In 1967, Ali refused to be inducted into the U.S. military based on his religious beliefs and opposition to the war in Vietnam. He was arrested and found guilty on draft evasion charges, stripped of his boxing title, and his boxing license was suspended. He was not imprisoned but did not fight again for nearly four years while his appeal worked its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Ali was well known for his fighting style, which he described as "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee". He was involved in several historic boxing matches, including three with rival Joe Frazier and one with George Foreman, whom he beat by knockout to win the world heavyweight title for the second time. Though he seemed to be Naughty with words but i must admit he would have been a great poet.
here are some of his poetry before any fight
po 1
Clay swings with his left, Clay swings with his right,
Look at young Cassius carry the fight.
Liston keeps backing, but there's not enough room,
It's a matter of time till Clay lowers the boom.
Liston is still rising, now Clay lands with a right,
What a beautiful swing, and the punch raises the Bear clean out of the ring.
Liston is still rising and the ref wears a frown,
For he can't start counting till Sonny goes down.
Now Liston is disappearing from view,
The crowd is going frantic,
But radar stations have picked him up,
Somewhere over the Atlantic.
Who would have thought when they came to the fight?
That they'd witness the launching of a human satellite.
Yes the crowd did not dream, when they put up the money,
That they would see a total eclipse of the Sonny.
Poem composed prior to his match with Sonny Liston, in 1963
po2
While I'm talking to you I'm thinking up the greatest short poem of all time. This poem tells how it feels to be great as I am: Me — wheee!
In response to the question "Who writes your stuff?" in 1963,
po3
This is the legend of Cassius Clay,
The most beautiful fighter in the world today.
He talks a great deal, and brags indeed-y,
Of a muscular punch that's incredibly speed-y.
The fistic world was dull and weary, but with a champ like Liston, things had to be dreary.
Then someone with color and someone with dash, brought fight fans are runnin' with Cash.
This brash young boxer is something to see and the heavyweight championship is his destiny.
This kid's got a left, this kid's got a right, if he hit you once, you're asleep for the night.
I Am The Greatest (1964)
po4
I knew I had him in the first round. Almighty God was with me. I want everyone to bear witness, I am the greatest! I'm the greatest thing that ever lived. I don't have a mark on my face, and I upset Sonny Liston, and I just turned twenty-two years old. I must be the greatest. I showed the world. I talk to God everyday. I shook up the world, I'm the king of the world. You must listen to me. I am the greatest! I can't be beat!
After defeating Sonny Liston for the first time (25 February 1964)
po5
I think Terrell will catch hell at the sound of the bell.
He's going around saying that he's a championship-fighter,
but when he meets me he fall 20 pound lighter.
He thinks that he's the reall heavy weight champ
but when he meets me, he'll just be a tramp
Now I'm not sayin' just to be funny, but I'm fightin' Ernie because he needs the money.
About Ernie Terrell before their February 1967 boxing match
po6
Ain't no reason for me to kill nobody in the ring, unless they deserve it.
Comment after the match with Jimmy Ellis was stopped by the referee in the twelfth round (July 1971)
po7
I never thought of losing, but now that it's happened, the only thing is to do it right. That's my obligation to all the people who believe in me. We all have to take defeats in life.
Statement after losing his fight to Ken Norton (1973-03-31)
po8
Last night I had a dream, When I got to Africa,
I had one hell of a rumble.
I had to beat Tarzan’s behind first,
For claiming to be King of the Jungle.
For this fight, I’ve wrestled with alligators,
I’ve tustled with a whale.
I done handcuffed lightning
And put thunder in jail.
You know I’m bad.
I have murdered a rock,
I’ve injured a stone, and hospitalized a brick.
I’m so bad, I make medicine sick.
I’m so fast, man,
I can run through a hurricane and don't get wet.
When George Foreman meets me,
He’ll pay his debt.
I can drown the drink of water, and kill a dead tree.
Wait till you see Muhammad Ali.
A poem about his match with George Foreman, known as the Rumble in the Jungle (1974)
po9
Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? No I’m not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over. This is the day when such evils must come to an end. I have been warned that to take such a stand would cost me millions of dollars. But I have said it once and I will say it again. The real enemy of my people is here. I will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality. If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn’t have to draft me, I’d join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I’ll go to jail, so what? We’ve been in jail for 400 years.
As quoted in Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties
PO10
Spirituality is recognizing the divine light that is within us all. It doesn't belong to any particular religion; it belongs to everyone.
PO11
I set out on a journey of love, seeking truth, peace and understanding. l am still learning. My soul has grown over the years, and some of my views have changed. As long as I am alive, I will continue to try to understand more because the work of the heart is never done.
PO12
To make America the greatest is my goal,
So I beat the Russians, and I beat the Pole,
and for the USA won the medal of gold.
Italians said: "You're Greater than the Cassius of old´´.
We like your name, we like your game,
So make Rome your home if you will.
I said I appreciate your kind hospitality,
But the USA is my country still,
'Cause they're waiting to welcome me in Louisville.
Poem written after winning the gold medal in the 1960 Olympic Summer Games in Rome, Italy
PO13
Since I won't let the critics seal my fate, they
keep hollering I'm full of hate.
But they don't really hurt me none, 'cause
I'm doing good and having fun.
"Still the Greatest",
BUT
There live a great man named Joe
who was belittled by a loudmouth foe.
While his rival would taunt and tease
Joe silently bore the stings.
And then fought like gladiator in the ring.
For every struggle that Joe survived,
For every dispute he endured, to rise,
Joe will go down in history
as a model for champions to come.
While Frazier was a man of few words,
Ali was a world of mouth,
but he found his place in history.
Now his heart can express him well.
Joe Frazier was a silent warrior,
whom Ali silently admired.
One could not rise without the other.
"The Silent Warrior", dedicated to Late Joe Frazier and his family.
In 1999, Ali was crowned "Sportsman of the Century" by Sports Illustrated and "Sports Personality of the Century" by the BBC.
Ali changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali after joining the Nation of Islam in 1964, subsequently converting to Sunni Islam in 1975 and later Sufism.In 1967, Ali refused to be inducted into the U.S. military based on his religious beliefs and opposition to the war in Vietnam. He was arrested and found guilty on draft evasion charges, stripped of his boxing title, and his boxing license was suspended. He was not imprisoned but did not fight again for nearly four years while his appeal worked its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Ali was well known for his fighting style, which he described as "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee". He was involved in several historic boxing matches, including three with rival Joe Frazier and one with George Foreman, whom he beat by knockout to win the world heavyweight title for the second time. Though he seemed to be Naughty with words but i must admit he would have been a great poet.
here are some of his poetry before any fight
po 1
Clay swings with his left, Clay swings with his right,
Look at young Cassius carry the fight.
Liston keeps backing, but there's not enough room,
It's a matter of time till Clay lowers the boom.
Liston is still rising, now Clay lands with a right,
What a beautiful swing, and the punch raises the Bear clean out of the ring.
Liston is still rising and the ref wears a frown,
For he can't start counting till Sonny goes down.
Now Liston is disappearing from view,
The crowd is going frantic,
But radar stations have picked him up,
Somewhere over the Atlantic.
Who would have thought when they came to the fight?
That they'd witness the launching of a human satellite.
Yes the crowd did not dream, when they put up the money,
That they would see a total eclipse of the Sonny.
Poem composed prior to his match with Sonny Liston, in 1963
po2
While I'm talking to you I'm thinking up the greatest short poem of all time. This poem tells how it feels to be great as I am: Me — wheee!
In response to the question "Who writes your stuff?" in 1963,
po3
This is the legend of Cassius Clay,
The most beautiful fighter in the world today.
He talks a great deal, and brags indeed-y,
Of a muscular punch that's incredibly speed-y.
The fistic world was dull and weary, but with a champ like Liston, things had to be dreary.
Then someone with color and someone with dash, brought fight fans are runnin' with Cash.
This brash young boxer is something to see and the heavyweight championship is his destiny.
This kid's got a left, this kid's got a right, if he hit you once, you're asleep for the night.
I Am The Greatest (1964)
po4
I knew I had him in the first round. Almighty God was with me. I want everyone to bear witness, I am the greatest! I'm the greatest thing that ever lived. I don't have a mark on my face, and I upset Sonny Liston, and I just turned twenty-two years old. I must be the greatest. I showed the world. I talk to God everyday. I shook up the world, I'm the king of the world. You must listen to me. I am the greatest! I can't be beat!
After defeating Sonny Liston for the first time (25 February 1964)
po5
I think Terrell will catch hell at the sound of the bell.
He's going around saying that he's a championship-fighter,
but when he meets me he fall 20 pound lighter.
He thinks that he's the reall heavy weight champ
but when he meets me, he'll just be a tramp
Now I'm not sayin' just to be funny, but I'm fightin' Ernie because he needs the money.
About Ernie Terrell before their February 1967 boxing match
po6
Ain't no reason for me to kill nobody in the ring, unless they deserve it.
Comment after the match with Jimmy Ellis was stopped by the referee in the twelfth round (July 1971)
po7
I never thought of losing, but now that it's happened, the only thing is to do it right. That's my obligation to all the people who believe in me. We all have to take defeats in life.
Statement after losing his fight to Ken Norton (1973-03-31)
po8
Last night I had a dream, When I got to Africa,
I had one hell of a rumble.
I had to beat Tarzan’s behind first,
For claiming to be King of the Jungle.
For this fight, I’ve wrestled with alligators,
I’ve tustled with a whale.
I done handcuffed lightning
And put thunder in jail.
You know I’m bad.
I have murdered a rock,
I’ve injured a stone, and hospitalized a brick.
I’m so bad, I make medicine sick.
I’m so fast, man,
I can run through a hurricane and don't get wet.
When George Foreman meets me,
He’ll pay his debt.
I can drown the drink of water, and kill a dead tree.
Wait till you see Muhammad Ali.
A poem about his match with George Foreman, known as the Rumble in the Jungle (1974)
po9
Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? No I’m not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over. This is the day when such evils must come to an end. I have been warned that to take such a stand would cost me millions of dollars. But I have said it once and I will say it again. The real enemy of my people is here. I will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality. If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn’t have to draft me, I’d join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I’ll go to jail, so what? We’ve been in jail for 400 years.
As quoted in Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties
PO10
Spirituality is recognizing the divine light that is within us all. It doesn't belong to any particular religion; it belongs to everyone.
PO11
I set out on a journey of love, seeking truth, peace and understanding. l am still learning. My soul has grown over the years, and some of my views have changed. As long as I am alive, I will continue to try to understand more because the work of the heart is never done.
PO12
To make America the greatest is my goal,
So I beat the Russians, and I beat the Pole,
and for the USA won the medal of gold.
Italians said: "You're Greater than the Cassius of old´´.
We like your name, we like your game,
So make Rome your home if you will.
I said I appreciate your kind hospitality,
But the USA is my country still,
'Cause they're waiting to welcome me in Louisville.
Poem written after winning the gold medal in the 1960 Olympic Summer Games in Rome, Italy
PO13
Since I won't let the critics seal my fate, they
keep hollering I'm full of hate.
But they don't really hurt me none, 'cause
I'm doing good and having fun.
"Still the Greatest",
BUT
There live a great man named Joe
who was belittled by a loudmouth foe.
While his rival would taunt and tease
Joe silently bore the stings.
And then fought like gladiator in the ring.
For every struggle that Joe survived,
For every dispute he endured, to rise,
Joe will go down in history
as a model for champions to come.
While Frazier was a man of few words,
Ali was a world of mouth,
but he found his place in history.
Now his heart can express him well.
Joe Frazier was a silent warrior,
whom Ali silently admired.
One could not rise without the other.
"The Silent Warrior", dedicated to Late Joe Frazier and his family.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (13 April 1743 – 4 July 1826) was the third president of the United States (1801–1809), author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), a political philosopher, and one of the most influential founders of the United States.
these are his quotes
Q1
We are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.
Q2
If I am to succeed, the sooner I know it, the less uneasiness I shall have to go through. If I am to meet with a disappointment, the sooner I know it, the more of life I shall have to wear it off.
Q3
The most fortunate of us, in our journey through life, frequently meet with calamities and misfortunes which may greatly afflict us; and, to fortify our minds against the attacks of these calamities and misfortunes, should be one of the principal studies and endeavours of our lives.
Q4
A lively and lasting sense of filial duty is more effectually impressed on the mind of a son or daughter by reading King Lear, than by all the dry volumes of ethics, and divinity, that ever were written.
Q5
The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time; the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them.
Q6
Truth will do well enough if left to shift for herself...
Q6
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...
Q7
For the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.
Q8
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.
Q9
I had rather be shut up in a very modest cottage with my books, my family and a few old friends, dining on simple bacon, and letting the world roll on as it liked, than to occupy the most splendid post, which any human power can give.
Q10
I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in anything else where I was capable of thinking for myself.
Q11
The moral sense, or conscience, is as much a part of man as his leg or arm. It is given to all human beings in a stronger or weaker degree, as force of members is given them in a greater or less degree. It may be strengthened by exercise, as may any particular limb of the body.
Q12
I repeat, you must lay aside all prejudice on both sides, and neither believe nor reject anything, because any other persons, or description of persons, have rejected or believed it. Your own reason is the only oracle given you by heaven, and you are answerable, not for the rightness, but uprightness of the decision.
Q13
I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty, than those attending too small a degree of it.
Q14
I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.
Q15
To the corruptions of Christianity I am indeed opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself.
Q16
He who steadily observes the moral precepts in which all religions concur, will never be questioned at the gates of heaven as to the dogmas in which they all differ.
Q17
I consider the genuine (not the imputed) doctrines of Epicurus as containing everything rational in moral philosophy which Greece and Rome have left us.
Q18
I have ever deemed it more honorable and profitable, too, to set a good example than to follow a bad one.
Q19
Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia.
Q20
The idea of creating a national bank I do not concur in, because it seems now decided that Congress has not that power...
Q21
I am an enemy to all banks discounting bills or notes for anything but coin.
Q22
Necessity, as well as patriotism and confidence, will make us all eager to receive treasury notes, if founded on specific taxes.
Q23
There can be no safer deposit on earth than the Treasury of the United States.
Q24
A society that will trade a little liberty for a little order will lose both, and deserve neither THEREFORE The price of freedom is eternal vigilance and the Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God.
these are his quotes
Q1
We are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.
Q2
If I am to succeed, the sooner I know it, the less uneasiness I shall have to go through. If I am to meet with a disappointment, the sooner I know it, the more of life I shall have to wear it off.
Q3
The most fortunate of us, in our journey through life, frequently meet with calamities and misfortunes which may greatly afflict us; and, to fortify our minds against the attacks of these calamities and misfortunes, should be one of the principal studies and endeavours of our lives.
Q4
A lively and lasting sense of filial duty is more effectually impressed on the mind of a son or daughter by reading King Lear, than by all the dry volumes of ethics, and divinity, that ever were written.
Q5
The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time; the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them.
Q6
Truth will do well enough if left to shift for herself...
Q6
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...
Q7
For the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.
Q8
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.
Q9
I had rather be shut up in a very modest cottage with my books, my family and a few old friends, dining on simple bacon, and letting the world roll on as it liked, than to occupy the most splendid post, which any human power can give.
Q10
I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in anything else where I was capable of thinking for myself.
Q11
The moral sense, or conscience, is as much a part of man as his leg or arm. It is given to all human beings in a stronger or weaker degree, as force of members is given them in a greater or less degree. It may be strengthened by exercise, as may any particular limb of the body.
Q12
I repeat, you must lay aside all prejudice on both sides, and neither believe nor reject anything, because any other persons, or description of persons, have rejected or believed it. Your own reason is the only oracle given you by heaven, and you are answerable, not for the rightness, but uprightness of the decision.
Q13
I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty, than those attending too small a degree of it.
Q14
I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.
Q15
To the corruptions of Christianity I am indeed opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself.
Q16
He who steadily observes the moral precepts in which all religions concur, will never be questioned at the gates of heaven as to the dogmas in which they all differ.
Q17
I consider the genuine (not the imputed) doctrines of Epicurus as containing everything rational in moral philosophy which Greece and Rome have left us.
Q18
I have ever deemed it more honorable and profitable, too, to set a good example than to follow a bad one.
Q19
Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia.
Q20
The idea of creating a national bank I do not concur in, because it seems now decided that Congress has not that power...
Q21
I am an enemy to all banks discounting bills or notes for anything but coin.
Q22
Necessity, as well as patriotism and confidence, will make us all eager to receive treasury notes, if founded on specific taxes.
Q23
There can be no safer deposit on earth than the Treasury of the United States.
Q24
A society that will trade a little liberty for a little order will lose both, and deserve neither THEREFORE The price of freedom is eternal vigilance and the Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God.
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela.Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (born 18 July 1918) is a South African political activist, co-winner of Nobel Peace Prize with F.W. de Klerk in 1993, and in 1994 he became the first President of South Africa to be elected in fully-representative democratic elections. Mandela's inauguration brought together the largest number of Heads of State since the funeral of US President John F. Kennedy in 1963. After he retired the presidency in 1999, he went on to become an advocate for a variety of social and human rights organizations and greater international cooperation. He is one of the world's most visible figures regarding race relations and is a symbol to many people of the struggle for racial equality
here are some of his Quotes
Q1
Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated.
Q2
In its proper meaning equality before the law means the right to participate in the making of the laws by which one is governed, a constitution which guarantees democratic rights to all sections of the population, the right to approach the court for protection or relief in the case of the violation of rights guaranteed in the constitution, and the right to take part in the administration of justice as judges, magistrates, attorneys-general, law advisers and similar positions.In the absence of these safeguards the phrase 'equality before the law', in so far as it is intended to apply to us, is meaningless and misleading.
Q3
During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for. But, my lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
Q4
Our march to freedom is irreversible. We must not allow fear to stand in our way.
Q5
The value of our shared reward will and must be measured by the joyful peace which will triumph, because the common humanity that bonds both black and white into one human race, will have said to each one of us that we shall all live like the children of paradise.
Q6
We do not believe that this Nobel Peace Prize is intended as a commendation for matters that have happened and passed.We hear the voices which say that it is an appeal from all those, throughout the universe, who sought an end to the system of apartheid.We understand their call, that we devote what remains of our lives to the use of our country's unique and painful experience to demonstrate, in practice, that the normal condition for human existence is democracy, justice, peace, non-racism, non-sexism, prosperity for everybody, a healthy environment and equality and solidarity among the peoples.
Q7
Let it never be said by future generations that indifference, cynicism or selfishness made us fail to live up to the ideals of humanism which the Nobel Peace Prize encapsulates.Let the strivings of us all, prove Martin Luther King Jr. to have been correct, when he said that humanity can no longer be tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war.Let the efforts of us all, prove that he was not a mere dreamer when he spoke of the beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace being more precious than diamonds or silver or gold.Let a new age dawn!
Q8
Democracy is based on the majority principle. This is especially true in a country such as ours where the vast majority have been systematically denied their rights. At the same time, democracy also requires that the rights of political and other minorities be safeguarded.
Q9
Out of the experience of an extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud.
Q10
The time for the healing of the wounds has come.The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come.The time to build is upon us.
Q11
We succeeded to take our last steps to freedom in conditions of relative peace. We commit ourselves to the construction of a complete, just and lasting peace.We have triumphed in the effort to implant hope in the breasts of the millions of our people. We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity — a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.
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Q12
We dedicate this day to all the heroes and heroines in this country and the rest of the world who sacrificed in many ways and surrendered their lives so that we could be free.Their dreams have become reality. Freedom is their reward.
Q13
We understand it still that there is no easy road to freedomWe know it well that none of us acting alone can achieve success.We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world.Let there be justice for all.Let there be peace for all.
Q14
Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world.Let freedom reign!The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement!God bless Africa!
Q15
Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farmworkers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.
Q16
No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.
Q17
A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.
Q18
I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
Q19
The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
Q20
In my country we go to prison first and then become President. No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens but its lowest ones.
Q21
There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.
Q22
A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.
Q23
I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.
Q24
If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.
Q25
Where choice is set between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence... I prefer to use arms in defense of honor rather than remain the vile witness of dishonor
Q26
Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure.
Q27
That was one of the things that worried me — to be raised to the position of a semi-god — because then you are no longer a human being. I wanted to be known as Mandela, a man with weaknesses, some of which are fundamental, and a man who is committed, but, nevertheless, sometimes fails to live up to expectations.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
I HAVE A DREAM - MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr.
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.
We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
CLICK TO HEAR AUDIO FEED
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.
We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
CLICK TO HEAR AUDIO FEED
Prominent quotes from MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr.
INTRODUCTION
Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968), was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States and he is frequently referenced as a human rights icon today. King is recognized as a martyr by two Christian churches.
A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he raised public consciousness of the civil rights movement and established himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. history.In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and opposing the Vietnam War, both from a religious perspective. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. national holiday in 1986.
QUOTES
Q1
There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right.
Q2
There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right.
Q3
We must combine the toughness of the serpent with the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart.
Q4
The chain reaction of evil — hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars — must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.
Q5
Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
Q6
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.
Q7
We will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
Q8
Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
Q9
I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.
Q10
In every age and every generation, men have envisioned a promised land.
Q11
I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values.
Q12
There is nothing wrong with power if power is used correctly.
Q13
Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.
Q14
I know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankind's problems. And I'm going to talk about it everywhere I go.
Q15
Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.
Q16
Only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.
Q17
It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence.
Q18
Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness.
Q19
I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land.
Q20
Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make THIS WORLD what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make THIS WORLD a better Place.
Q21
Q21
Be concerned about your brother. You may not support his actions against human rights. But it's either we go up together, or we go down together.
Q22
Let us refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. Let us refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.
Q23
We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.
Q24
A nation or civilization that continues to produce softminded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.
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