This is a beautiful quote about love and sacrifice. They are the words of a husband to his wife. They are worth reading because John and Abigail Adams weren’t just dreaming about their children, but yours and mine.
This week’s disgracefulness must be a moment where Americans begin to awaken to our responsibilities and obligations of the greatest and most noble republic in world history.
Please consider sharing the quotes from the greatest American women and men that inspire you towards becoming a better citizen and patriot.
“If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon, but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. "I say to you that our goal is freedom, and I believe we are going to get there because however much she strays away from it, the goal of America is freedom,” the minister and civil rights leader said just days before he was killed in his sermon "Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution."
".. American values over autocracy. Benevolence over bigotry. The Constitution over the cult. Democracy over demagogues. Economic opportunity over extremism. Freedom over fascism, Governing over gaslighting. Hopefulness over hatred. Inclusion over isolation, Justice over judicial overreach. Knowledge over kangaroo courts, Liberty over limitation. Maturity over Mar-a-Lago. Normalcy over negativity. Opportunity over obstruction, People over politics. Quality of life issues over QAnon. Reason over racism. Substance over slander. Triumph over tyranny. Understanding over ugliness. Voting rights over voter suppression. Working families over the well connected. Xenia* over xenophobia. Yes, we can over you can’t do it, and zealous representation over zero sum confrontation."
This has been by my desk for years. Attribution is Theodore Roosevelt. This is taken from a calligraphy versions, so if the punctuation appears odd, there is a reason.
It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled: nor where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood: who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself on a worthy cause; who at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so his place shall never be with these cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.
“Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.” - Rumi
“The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.” - Hubert H Humphrey
Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
(*Easier said than done. I'm working on not feeling bitter rage toward fellow Americans who vote to replace democracy with cruel chaos... i.e. the GOP. I'm trying to get past my disgust and fury... but it's hard.)
JOHN ADAMS, Corrected. "I must study politics and war that my daughters may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My daughters ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain." - John Adams, in
"The creed of our democracy is that liberty is acquired and kept by men and women who are strong and self-reliant, and possessed of such wisdom as God gives mankind – men and women who are just, and understanding, and generous to others -- men and women who are capable of disciplining themselves. For they are the rulers and they must rule themselves.” FDR
“if the policy of the Government upon vital questions affecting the whole people is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court, then “the people will have ceased to be their own rulers.” From his first inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln.
"First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."
—Martin Niemöller
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain
Yours is a beautiful quote and it comes from a man to his wife like the beauty of the Song of Solomon. If I may, i have chosen a poem by Emily Dickinson. Every line speaks. Every line is a quote. Take in her words in flight:
“Freedom is never more than one generation from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” - President Ronald Reagan
A powerful message of thoughtful parenting. A day after six year old is under arrest for assault with a deadly weapon by shooting his teacher. There can be no truer message of love from a founding father and first lady than those words you shared. Parenting 101 is to keep your child safe by securing deadly weapons.
"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[f] you did it to me.’ - Mathew 25: 35-40
“The discovery that peace, happiness, and love are ever-present within our own Being, and completely available at every moment of experience, under all conditions, is the most important discovery anyone can make.” -- Rupert Spira
Mr. Spira is British, but his words here inspire me every day, and I feel they are important for Americans, and everyone else on earth, to deeply grasp.
“We have all seen these circus elephants complete with tusks, ivory in their head and thick skins, who move around the circus ring and grab the tail of the elephant in front of them.”, JFK
John and Abigail really knew how to communicate, she his equal - thanks Steve. All the quotes listed below are stunning and beautiful and I cannot match them - thanks all
“I just wanted to say to all of you, I am so incredibly filled with gratitude. I am an extremely lucky man. ... I have an amazing wife. ... We in the Ryan clan have one rule, one rule. No regrets, no regrets. ...”
Rep. Tim Ryan, Ohio Democratic Senatorial candidate, in his concession speech to J.D. Vance on November 8, 2022.
I know that my comment/question, below, is completely off topic to what Steve Schmidt requested. But it involves a very pressing and important issue, something that will be voted on by the House on Monday.
What can’t the united Democrats in the House plus a few “moderate” Republicans (assuming there still are any) simply vote down the pending Rules package agreed to by McCarthy and the lunatics to get their votes in the end. I presume that the House Republicans who were with McCarthy from the beginning didn’t agree with and are not bound by the concessions made by McCarthy to the “crazies”. Am I missing something here?
I don’t want the U.S. economy to crash when the debt ceiling isn’t increased in September. I am 73 years old and have been retired for about 10 years. I don’t have enough savings in my retirement accounts to have them go down the drain when the United States defaults on its debt obligations. And there are a great many of my fellow citizens who would be impacted as greatly or worse than I would if this happens.
‘This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.’
From Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
It is spoken by King Claudius’ chief minister, Polonius, as part of a speech where he is giving his son, Laertes, his blessing and advice on how to behave when at university.
I read the book “Wheel of Fortune “ by Susan Howatch and wrote down a line from the book. “Better to live in the truth, however terrible, than to murder your true self by living a lie.”
JOHN ADAMS CORRECTED. "I must study politics and war that my children may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My daughters and sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain." - John Adams, in
“If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon, but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other.”
- Ulysses S. Grant
“I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ”. Mahatma Gandhi
Martin Luther King, Jr. "I say to you that our goal is freedom, and I believe we are going to get there because however much she strays away from it, the goal of America is freedom,” the minister and civil rights leader said just days before he was killed in his sermon "Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution."
"Just think about how stupid the average American is. Then realize that half of them are dumber than that."
I believe it was George Carlin
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. “. Winston Churchill
"Do all the good you can, for all the people you can, in all the ways you can, as long as you can."
- John Wesley, and often repeated by Hillary Rodham Clinton
"For the children" ~Speaker Nancy Pelosi
"For the people" ~Vice President Kamala Harris
"All battles are first won or lost in the mind." ~Joan of Arc
Hakeem Jeffries ABC's:
".. American values over autocracy. Benevolence over bigotry. The Constitution over the cult. Democracy over demagogues. Economic opportunity over extremism. Freedom over fascism, Governing over gaslighting. Hopefulness over hatred. Inclusion over isolation, Justice over judicial overreach. Knowledge over kangaroo courts, Liberty over limitation. Maturity over Mar-a-Lago. Normalcy over negativity. Opportunity over obstruction, People over politics. Quality of life issues over QAnon. Reason over racism. Substance over slander. Triumph over tyranny. Understanding over ugliness. Voting rights over voter suppression. Working families over the well connected. Xenia* over xenophobia. Yes, we can over you can’t do it, and zealous representation over zero sum confrontation."
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
This has been by my desk for years. Attribution is Theodore Roosevelt. This is taken from a calligraphy versions, so if the punctuation appears odd, there is a reason.
It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled: nor where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood: who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself on a worthy cause; who at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so his place shall never be with these cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.
“Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.” - Rumi
“The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.” - Hubert H Humphrey
“You must be the change you want to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi
All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind.
-Joseph Conrad
Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
(*Easier said than done. I'm working on not feeling bitter rage toward fellow Americans who vote to replace democracy with cruel chaos... i.e. the GOP. I'm trying to get past my disgust and fury... but it's hard.)
Quote attributed to lots of folks, including Dr. Tom Dooley:
I am but one,
But I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But I can do something.
And what I can do,
I ought to do.
And what I ought to do,
With God's help,
I will do.
JOHN ADAMS, Corrected. "I must study politics and war that my daughters may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My daughters ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain." - John Adams, in
a letter to Abigail Adams
"The creed of our democracy is that liberty is acquired and kept by men and women who are strong and self-reliant, and possessed of such wisdom as God gives mankind – men and women who are just, and understanding, and generous to others -- men and women who are capable of disciplining themselves. For they are the rulers and they must rule themselves.” FDR
“If You Tell The Truth, You Don’t Have To Remember Anything.” ~Mark Twain
ONE EVENING, AN ELDERLY
CHEROKEE BRAVE TOLD HIS
GRANDSON ABOUT A BATTLE THAT
GOES ON INSIDE PEOPLE.
HE SAID "MY SON, THE BATTLE IS
BETWEEN TWO 'WOLVES' INSIDE US ALL.
ONE IS EVIL. IT IS ANGER,
ENVY, JEALOUSY, SORROW,
REGRET, GREED, ARROGANCE,
SELF-PITY, GUILT, RESENTMENT,
INFERIORITY, LIES, FALSE PRIDE,
SUPERIORITY, AND EGO.
THE OTHER IS GOOD.
IT IS JOY, PEACE LOVE, HOPE SERENITY,
HUMILITY, KINDNESS, BENEVOLENCE,
EMPATHY, GENEROSITY,
TRUTH, COMPASSION AND FAITH."
THE GRANDSON THOUGH ABOUT
IT FOR A MINUTE AND THEN ASKED
HIS GRANDFATHER:
"WHICH WOLF WINS?..."
THE OLD CHEROKEE SIMPLY REPLIED,
"THE ONE THAT YOU FEED"
“if the policy of the Government upon vital questions affecting the whole people is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court, then “the people will have ceased to be their own rulers.” From his first inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln.
"First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."
—Martin Niemöller
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain
Two great quotes by Maya Angelou that would help us if practiced today.
“I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”
And
“When someone shows you who they are believe them the first time.”
Yours is a beautiful quote and it comes from a man to his wife like the beauty of the Song of Solomon. If I may, i have chosen a poem by Emily Dickinson. Every line speaks. Every line is a quote. Take in her words in flight:
I dwell in Possibility –
A fairer House than Prose –
More numerous of Windows –
Superior – for Doors –
Of Chambers as the Cedars –
Impregnable of eye –
And for an everlasting Roof
The Gambrels of the Sky –
Of Visitors – the fairest –
For Occupation – This –
The spreading wide my narrow Hands
To gather Paradise –
I made a poster of this quote and used it constantly when coaching and in the Emergency Dept/ ICUs where I’ve worked.
“The strength of the pack is the wolf and the strength of the wolf is the pack.~Rudyard Kipling
“Freedom is never more than one generation from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” - President Ronald Reagan
A powerful message of thoughtful parenting. A day after six year old is under arrest for assault with a deadly weapon by shooting his teacher. There can be no truer message of love from a founding father and first lady than those words you shared. Parenting 101 is to keep your child safe by securing deadly weapons.
“I swear upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” Thomas Jefferson
"Never give up. Never." His Holiness, the Dalai Lama
"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[f] you did it to me.’ - Mathew 25: 35-40
“Do one thing every day that scares you.” - Eleanor Roosevelt
“The discovery that peace, happiness, and love are ever-present within our own Being, and completely available at every moment of experience, under all conditions, is the most important discovery anyone can make.” -- Rupert Spira
Mr. Spira is British, but his words here inspire me every day, and I feel they are important for Americans, and everyone else on earth, to deeply grasp.
“It’s better to fight for something in life than to die for nothing “ Gen. George S.Patton
“We have all seen these circus elephants complete with tusks, ivory in their head and thick skins, who move around the circus ring and grab the tail of the elephant in front of them.”, JFK
John and Abigail really knew how to communicate, she his equal - thanks Steve. All the quotes listed below are stunning and beautiful and I cannot match them - thanks all
"O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath—
America will be!"
Langston Hughes "Let America Be America Again"
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Use the tears we’ve shed in 2022 to water the seeds we plant in 2023.
“I just wanted to say to all of you, I am so incredibly filled with gratitude. I am an extremely lucky man. ... I have an amazing wife. ... We in the Ryan clan have one rule, one rule. No regrets, no regrets. ...”
Rep. Tim Ryan, Ohio Democratic Senatorial candidate, in his concession speech to J.D. Vance on November 8, 2022.
The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.- Franklin Delano Roosevelt
I know that my comment/question, below, is completely off topic to what Steve Schmidt requested. But it involves a very pressing and important issue, something that will be voted on by the House on Monday.
What can’t the united Democrats in the House plus a few “moderate” Republicans (assuming there still are any) simply vote down the pending Rules package agreed to by McCarthy and the lunatics to get their votes in the end. I presume that the House Republicans who were with McCarthy from the beginning didn’t agree with and are not bound by the concessions made by McCarthy to the “crazies”. Am I missing something here?
I don’t want the U.S. economy to crash when the debt ceiling isn’t increased in September. I am 73 years old and have been retired for about 10 years. I don’t have enough savings in my retirement accounts to have them go down the drain when the United States defaults on its debt obligations. And there are a great many of my fellow citizens who would be impacted as greatly or worse than I would if this happens.
"Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages." - General George Washington
These roses beneath my window
do not compare themselves to former roses or to better ones. They are for what they are. They exist with God today.
- Emerson
‘This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.’
From Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
It is spoken by King Claudius’ chief minister, Polonius, as part of a speech where he is giving his son, Laertes, his blessing and advice on how to behave when at university.
It is also my motto for life.
I read the book “Wheel of Fortune “ by Susan Howatch and wrote down a line from the book. “Better to live in the truth, however terrible, than to murder your true self by living a lie.”
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”
Some Dr. Hunter S. Thompson too:
“In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.”
“If you have half a story and you don't know the rest, you use what you have to pry the rest out of someone.”
“Truth is weirder than any fiction I've seen.”
JOHN ADAMS CORRECTED. "I must study politics and war that my children may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My daughters and sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain." - John Adams, in
a letter to Abigail Adams
“Look for the helpers.” Mr. Fred Rogers
When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
"...hold fast to that faith written into our founding documents; that idea
whispered by slaves and abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders and
those who marched for justice; that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign
battlefields to the surface of the moon; a creed at the core of every American whose story is not
yet written: Yes, we can."
President Barack Obama
Farewell Speech
January 10, 2017