"Every single empire in its official discourse has said that it is not like all the others, that its circumstances are special, that it has a mission to enlighten, civilize, bring order and democracy, and that it uses force only as a last resort. And, sadder still, there always is a chorus of willing intellectuals to say calming words about benign or altruistic empires."

--

Source : Edward W. Said (2014). “Orientalism”, p.21, Vintage

Edward Said

#Order Quotes #Tyrants Quotes #Democracy Quotes

“The sustainable alternative is one in which smaller and smaller regions produce more and more of the goods they need closer to where they are consumed. These economies will contribute little to the greenhouse effect and will survive the exhaustion of oil.”

Source : John B. Cobb (1994). “Sustaining the Common Good: A Christian Perspective on the Global Economy”
“Drinking beer with friends is perhaps the most underestimated of all Reformation insights and essential to ongoing reform; and wasting time with a choice friend or two on a regular basis might be the best investment of time you ever make.”
“Your nervous system cannot tell the difference between an imagined experience and a 'real' experience. In either case, it reacts automatically to information which you give to it from your forebrain. Your nervous system reacts appropriately to what you THINK or IMAGINE to be 'true.”
“I remember in my very first fitting, costume designer Patricia Norris gave me a garment with these intricate stitches - stitches over stitches, because it had been repaired so many times. Once I put it on, she told me that it belonged to an actual slave woman. My heart just stopped. Each one of the stitches had a story, you know. Just recognizing this period I was going to be dancing with was a "come to Jesus" moment.”
“It sounded like a very loud vacuum cleaner behind us.”
“Nigeria is one of the best-kept secrets,”
“Getting typecast is a dangerous thing to do.”
“...the wise man knows that every experience is to be viewed as a blessing.”

Source : Henry Miller (1957). “Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch”, p.27, New Directions Publishing

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