"Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than what people do or say. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill."

“Things forbidden have a secret charm.”

Source : "Annales" (AD 117), XIII, 1, as quoted in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations, p. 600-02, 1922.

“The State is not the nation, and the State can be modified and even abolished in its present form, without harming the nation. On the contrary, with the passing of the dominance of the State, the genuine life-enhancing forces of the nation will be liberated.”

Source : Randolph Silliman Bourne (1919). “Untimely Papers”

“I believe that if you don't want to do anything, then sit there and don't do it, but don't expect people to hand you a corn beef sandwich and wash your socks for you and unzip your fly for you.”

“I’ve always seen you, angel. From the moment you found me, I’ve seen nothing but you.”

“Candidate Obama promised to fundamentally transform America and that's one promise he has kept. Turning a shining city on a hill into a sinking ship.”

“Discrimination due to age is one of the great tragedies of modern life. The desire to work and be useful is what makes life worth living, and to be told your efforts are not needed because you are the wrong age is a crime.”

“But I think it's undeniable that the Times is a liberal paper.”

Source : "It's curtains for Okrent" by Steve Kettmann, www.theguardian.com. May 12, 2005.

“Patriotism is the admission that people who share a land, a place, and a history have a special obligation to that place and to each other.”

Source : David Ehrenfeld (2008). “Becoming Good Ancestors: How We Balance Nature, Community, and Technology”, p.245, Oxford University Press