My Favorite Quotations, Excerpts, Poems & Song Lyrics

(Most in Chronological Relevance)

Questions? Comments? Drop me a line... ;^)

Cerca 2007:
 

"If God is willing to prevent evil, but is not able to
Then He is not omnipotent.
If He is able, but not willing
Then He is malevolent.
If He is both able and willing
Then whence cometh evil?
If He is neither able nor willing
Then why call Him God?"
--Epicurus
 

"Stanley Bing's new book, Crazy Bosses (excerpted in the May 28 issue), really misses the point about power: It is often illusory and depends on a highly controlled environment and subservient followers. The first crazy boss you work for, you're a victim. For all the rest, you're a volunteer."
--Jeffrey Geibel.  Fortune 2007/7/25
 

Cerca 2006:
 

"TCP implementations will follow a general principle of robustness: be conservative in what you do, be liberal in what you accept from others."
--Jon Postel.  IETF RFC 793
 

"Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance towards the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point."
--Harold B. Melchart
 

"When you let pleasure control your life and not your life control pleasure, you'll find great passion.  Eat, see, live... and to hell with everything else."
--Anthony Bourdain.  No Reservations -- Sicily
 

Cerca 2005:
 

"But love has no pride when I call out your name
And love has no pride when there's no one to blame
But I'd give anything to see you again

If I could buy your love
Then I'd surely try my friend
And if I could pray
My prayers would never end
But if you want me to beg
I'll fall down on my knees
And ask you to come back
I'd be pleading for you to come back
I'd beg for you to come back to me

Love has no pride when I call out your name
And love has no pride when there's no one but myself to blame
But I'd give anything to see you again
Yes I'd give anything to see you again"
--Eric Kaz & Libby Titus. Love Has No Pride
 

"The more esteemable the offender the greater the torment"
--Voltaire
 

"We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate for having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein do we err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with the extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings: they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth."
--Henry Beston. The Outermost House: A Year of Life on The Great Beach of Cape Cod
 

"You already have zero privacy, get over it."
--Scott McNealy
 

"Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you."
--William Arthur Ward
 

Cerca 2004:
 

"The Church says: The body is a sin.
Science says: The body is a machine.
Advertising says: The body is a business.
The body says: I am a fiesta."
--Eduardo Galeano
 

"The world in which you were born is just one model of reality.  OTHER CULTURES ARE NOT FAILED ATTEMPTS AT BEING YOU: they are unique manifestations of the human spirit."
--Wade Davis
 

"We got around to the subject of war again and I said that, contrary to his attitude, I did not think that the common people are very thankful for leaders who bring them war and destruction.

"Why, of course, the people don't want war," Goering shrugged. "Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship."

"There is one difference," I pointed out. "In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars."

"Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.""
--Gustave Gilbert. Nuremberg Diary
 

"First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the communists
and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for me -
and by then there was no one left to speak out for me."
--Martin Niemöller
 

"How did the party go in Portman Square?
I cannot tell you: Juliet was not there.

And how did Lady Gaster's party go?
Juliet was next to me and I do not know."
--Hilaire Belloc. "Juliet"
 

"Acquaintance is a degree of friendship called slight when its object is poor and obscure, and intimate when he is rich and famous."
--Ambrose Bierce
 

"These remarks I deem sufficient as regards resisting fortune in general; but confining myself now more to particular cases, I say that we see a prince fortunate one day, and ruined the next, without his nature or any of his qualities being changed. I believe this results mainly from the causes which have been discussed at length above; namely, that the prince who relies entirely upon fortune will be ruined according as fortune varies. I believe, further, that the prince who conforms his conduct to the spirit of the times will be fortunate; and in the same way will he be unfortunate if in his actions he disregards the spirit of the times. For we see men proceed in various ways to attain the end they aim at, such as glory and riches: the one with circumspection, the other with rashness; one with violence, another with cunning; one with patience, and another with impetuosity; and all may succeed in their different ways. We also see that, of two men equally prudent, the one will accomplish his designs, whilst the other fails; and in the same way we see two men succeed equally well by two entirely different methods, the one being prudent and the other rash; which is due to nothing else than the character of the times, to which they either conform in their proceedings or not. Whence it comes, as I have said, that two men by entirely different modes of action will achieve the same results; whilst of two others, proceeding precisely in the same way, the one will accomplish his end, and the other not. This also causes the difference of success; for if one man, acting with caution and patience, is also favoured by time and circumstances, he will be successful; but if these change, then will he be ruined, unless, indeed, he changes his conduct accordingly. Nor is there any man so sagacious that he will always know how to conform to such change of times and circumstances; for men do not readily deviate from the course to which their nature inclines them; and moreover, if they have generally been prosperous by following one course, they cannot persuade themselves that it would be well to depart from it. Thus the cautious man, when the moment comes for him to strike a bold blow, will not know how to do it, and thence will he fail; whilst, if he could have changed his nature with the times and circumstances, his usual good fortune would not have abandoned him."
--Niccolò Machiavelli. The Prince
 

"Audentes Fortuna Juvat!"(Fortune favors the bold!)
--Virgil "The Aeneid"
 

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."
--Charles Darwin
 

"It's never too late to start something new."
--Anonymous
 

Cerca 2003:
"Free Inquiry readers may pause to read the “Affirmations of Humanism: A Statement of Principles” on the inside cover of the magazine. To a secular humanist, these principles seem so logical, so right, so crucial. Yet, there is one archetypal political philosophy that is anathema to almost all of these principles. It is fascism. And fascism’s principles are wafting in the air today, surreptitiously masquerading as something else, challenging everything we stand for. The cliché that people and nations learn from history is not only overused, but also overestimated; often we fail to learn from history, or draw the wrong conclusions. Sadly, historical amnesia is the norm.

We are two-and-a-half generations removed from the horrors of Nazi Germany, although constant reminders jog the consciousness. German and Italian fascism form the historical models that define this twisted political worldview. Although they no longer exist, this worldview and the characteristics of these models have been imitated by protofascist1 regimes at various times in the twentieth century. Both the original German and Italian models and the later protofascist regimes show remarkably similar characteristics. Although many scholars question any direct connection among these regimes, few can dispute their visual similarities.

Beyond the visual, even a cursory study of these fascist and protofascist regimes reveals the absolutely striking convergence of their modus operandi. This, of course, is not a revelation to the informed political observer, but it is sometimes useful in the interests of perspective to restate obvious facts and in so doing shed needed light on current circumstances.

For the purpose of this perspective, I will consider the following regimes: Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Franco’s Spain, Salazar’s Portugal, Papadopoulos’s Greece, Pinochet’s Chile, and Suharto’s Indonesia. To be sure, they constitute a mixed bag of national identities, cultures, developmental levels, and history. But they all followed the fascist or protofascist model in obtaining, expanding, and maintaining power. Further, all these regimes have been overthrown, so a more or less complete picture of their basic characteristics and abuses is possible.

Analysis of these seven regimes reveals fourteen common threads that link them in recognizable patterns of national behavior and abuse of power. These basic characteristics are more prevalent and intense in some regimes than in others, but they all share at least some level of similarity.

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism. From the prominent displays of flags and bunting to the ubiquitous lapel pins, the fervor to show patriotic nationalism, both on the part of the regime itself and of citizens caught up in its frenzy, was always obvious. Catchy slogans, pride in the military, and demands for unity were common themes in expressing this nationalism. It was usually coupled with a suspicion of things foreign that often bordered on xenophobia.

2. Disdain for the importance of human rights. The regimes themselves viewed human rights as of little value and a hindrance to realizing the objectives of the ruling elite. Through clever use of propaganda, the population was brought to accept these human rights abuses by marginalizing, even demonizing, those being targeted. When abuse was egregious, the tactic was to use secrecy, denial, and disinformation.

3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause. The most significant common thread among these regimes was the use of scapegoating as a means to divert the people’s attention from other problems, to shift blame for failures, and to channel frustration in controlled directions. The methods of choice—relentless propaganda and disinformation—were usually effective. Often the regimes would incite “spontaneous” acts against the target scapegoats, usually communists, socialists, liberals, Jews, ethnic and racial minorities, traditional national enemies, members of other religions, secularists, homosexuals, and “terrorists.” Active opponents of these regimes were inevitably labeled as terrorists and dealt with accordingly.

4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism. Ruling elites always identified closely with the military and the industrial infrastructure that supported it. A disproportionate share of national resources was allocated to the military, even when domestic needs were acute. The military was seen as an expression of nationalism, and was used whenever possible to assert national goals, intimidate other nations, and increase the power and prestige of the ruling elite.

5. Rampant sexism. Beyond the simple fact that the political elite and the national culture were male-dominated, these regimes inevitably viewed women as second-class citizens. They were adamantly anti-abortion and also homophobic. These attitudes were usually codified in Draconian laws that enjoyed strong support by the orthodox religion of the country, thus lending the regime cover for its abuses.

6. A controlled mass media. Under some of the regimes, the mass media were under strict direct control and could be relied upon never to stray from the party line. Other regimes exercised more subtle power to ensure media orthodoxy. Methods included the control of licensing and access to resources, economic pressure, appeals to patriotism, and implied threats. The leaders of the mass media were often politically compatible with the power elite. The result was usually success in keeping the general public unaware of the regimes’ excesses.

7. Obsession with national security. Inevitably, a national security apparatus was under direct control of the ruling elite. It was usually an instrument of oppression, operating in secret and beyond any constraints. Its actions were justified under the rubric of protecting “national security,” and questioning its activities was portrayed as unpatriotic or even treasonous.

8. Religion and ruling elite tied together. Unlike communist regimes, the fascist and protofascist regimes were never proclaimed as godless by their opponents. In fact, most of the regimes attached themselves to the predominant religion of the country and chose to portray themselves as militant defenders of that religion. The fact that the ruling elite’s behavior was incompatible with the precepts of the religion was generally swept under the rug. Propaganda kept up the illusion that the ruling elites were defenders of the faith and opponents of the “godless.” A perception was manufactured that opposing the power elite was tantamount to an attack on religion.

9. Power of corporations protected. Although the personal life of ordinary citizens was under strict control, the ability of large corporations to operate in relative freedom was not compromised. The ruling elite saw the corporate structure as a way to not only ensure military production (in developed states), but also as an additional means of social control. Members of the economic elite were often pampered by the political elite to ensure a continued mutuality of interests, especially in the repression of “have-not” citizens.

10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. Since organized labor was seen as the one power center that could challenge the political hegemony of the ruling elite and its corporate allies, it was inevitably crushed or made powerless. The poor formed an underclass, viewed with suspicion or outright contempt. Under some regimes, being poor was considered akin to a vice.

11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts. Intellectuals and the inherent freedom of ideas and expression associated with them were anathema to these regimes. Intellectual and academic freedom were considered subversive to national security and the patriotic ideal. Universities were tightly controlled; politically unreliable faculty harassed or eliminated. Unorthodox ideas or expressions of dissent were strongly attacked, silenced, or crushed. To these regimes, art and literature should serve the national interest or they had no right to exist.

12. Obsession with crime and punishment. Most of these regimes maintained Draconian systems of criminal justice with huge prison populations. The police were often glorified and had almost unchecked power, leading to rampant abuse. “Normal” and political crime were often merged into trumped-up criminal charges and sometimes used against political opponents of the regime. Fear, and hatred, of criminals or “traitors” was often promoted among the population as an excuse for more police power.

13. Rampant cronyism and corruption. Those in business circles and close to the power elite often used their position to enrich themselves. This corruption worked both ways; the power elite would receive financial gifts and property from the economic elite, who in turn would gain the benefit of government favoritism. Members of the power elite were in a position to obtain vast wealth from other sources as well: for example, by stealing national resources. With the national security apparatus under control and the media muzzled, this corruption was largely unconstrained and not well understood by the general population.

14. Fraudulent elections. Elections in the form of plebiscites or public opinion polls were usually bogus. When actual elections with candidates were held, they would usually be perverted by the power elite to get the desired result. Common methods included maintaining control of the election machinery, intimidating and disenfranchising opposition voters, destroying or disallowing legal votes, and, as a last resort, turning to a judiciary beholden to the power elite.

Does any of this ring alarm bells? Of course not. After all, this is America, officially a democracy with the rule of law, a constitution, a free press, honest elections, and a well-informed public constantly being put on guard against evils. Historical comparisons like these are just exercises in verbal gymnastics. Maybe, maybe not."
--Laurence W. Britt.  "Fascism Anyone?" 
 

"If I do everything dumb once, then eventually I'll be intelligent"
--Mark Minasi
 

"It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us to
be careful
be realistic
remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments."
--Oriah Mountain Dreamer. "The Invitation"
 

"There's one other thing you need to become a body language expert: along with knowledge and experience, you need a very thick skin! Tell people that's what you do and you'll see real terror shine in their eyes. They literally freeze, scared to move a muscle or bat an eyelash in case you're analysing them. (Add the titles 'psychologist' and 'sexpert' to the resume, as in my case, and it's not surprising most people leg it if I come within 60 paces)."
--Tracey Cox
 

"Behind every successful person, there is one elementary truth. Somewhere, someway, someone cared about their growth and development."
--Donald Miller
 

"We don't see things as they are. We see things as we are."
--Anais Nin
 

"Don’t be so humble-- you’re not that great!"
--Golda Meir
 

"Caught in a landscape
and as paths unwind,
so many horizons - may they be kind
I gather dreams in a basket of tides
As I look up, I see the sky
I follow my gaze - keep on asking... why?
Looking out from the tree tops I'm waiting to fly
Shall I tip-toe on sunbeams, or wrestle with time?
I gather dreams in a basket of tides
As I look up, I see the sky
I follow my gaze - keep on asking... why?
I gather dreams in a basket of tides
As I look up, I see the sky
I follow my gaze - keep on asking... why?"
--Della Manley. The Garden
 

Jeff: Wouldn't that be great, being a lesbian? You'd have all the advantages of being a man, but with less embarrassing genitals. Plus every time you have sex, there's four breasts: two guest breasts and two you can take home afterwards.
.
.
.
Jane: Five years I went out with that man... It's not that I want him back or anything... it's just... He never once told me he loved me. He's out with this new woman and he's in love with her straight away. How does that look to people? I'm sure there's been staring.
Jill: Two points. One-- we agreed two months ago to end your therapies; it was going nowhere. Remember?
Jane: I thought that was an exercise to help me cope with rejection.
Jill: No, that was rejection.
Jane: Don't say that.
Jill: You can't just barge in here any time you feel like it and talk about yourself for 20 solid minutes. I'm supposed to be talking to Mr. and Mrs. Tyler about their marital difficulties.
Jane: Who?
Jill: (nods head over to couple)
.
.
.
Jill: I really think it would be best if you look for treatment elsewhere.
Jane: I've got this dinner party to go to, and they'll both be there. I'm not sure I can cope with that. Help?!?
Jill: Someone else's help.
Jane: (glancing at the "If you Like Animals Don't Eat Them" poster on Jill's office wall) Well, that's good, isn't it? Cos if you like animals...
Jill: This is evasion, Jane. I know about that. It's in all the manuals.
Jane: Evasion, you say? That's interesting.
Jill: Jane!
Jane: Is this personal?
Jill: Of course it isn't personal.
Jane: Because if it isn't personal then we can be friends. I just need some friendly help about this dinner party.
Jill: This is, as usual, about your fear of rejection. And, as usual, you're attempting to manipulate me by emphasizing your vulnerability. It's what we call passive-aggressive and it doesn't work on me because I'm a professional.
Jane: (pouts)
.
.
.
Steve: (opens door)
Jane: Hi Steve, this is my friend, Jill. (Jill looking hapless)
Jill: Hi.
.
.
.
Steve: Jane's brought someone.
Susan: I didn't say to bring people, did you?
Steve: Well, you know Jane.
Susan: Why did she have to bring a date?
Steve: It's a woman.
Susan: You mean it's not a date.
Steve: Jane swings both ways, I mean, it could be a date.  Probably is.
Steve: (with Susan to Jeff) PLAYSTATION!
Jeff: (playing on Playstation) So, a Lesbo couple, eh? (lascivious facial expression)
Susan: And it might be best if you kill Jeff, less embarrassing all around.
Steve: Yep. This is real life, Jeff.  Not your sordid little lesbian fantasy.
Susan: (to Steve) Oh, and you better hide your videos. (both in shock at her comment)
Steve: I'll just get the drinks.
.
.
.
Steve: Hi.
Jill: Hi. Jane's in the loo.
Steve: Right. Good. So, you're Jane's friend.
Jill: Well, if friend is the right word.
Steve: Yes.
Jill: You realize I'm her...
Steve: Oh yes, yes, yes.
Jill: So she's mentioned me, then. Interesting.
Steve: Well, not you specifically. We assumed she was seeing someone.
Jill: Aaah, well you would assume that with Jane, wouldn't you?
Steve: She's very attractive.
Jill: Must be a bit embarrassing for you, being her ex. Obviously, we've talked about you.
Steve: Obviously.
Jill: Nothing bad. Don't worry.
Steve: So, how long have you two been...
Jill: Having sessions?
Steve: (stunned)
Jill: Are you alright?
Steve: Fine. fine. Umm... that was blunt, but that's good. Blunt is good.
Jill: I tried to break it off with her a while back, but you know how it is with Jane.
Steve: Oh yes.
Jill: She comes once a week, whether I want her to or not.
Steve: Really?
Jill: She's unstoppable.
Steve: How does that work, exactly?
Jill: Once a week, doesn't matter what I do.
Steve: That's quite unusual, isn't it?
Jill: Did she do the same sort of thing with you when you were going out?
Steve: Not on a strictly weekly basis, no.
Jill: I'm sorry, am I making you nervous?
Steve: No, no no. No.
Jill: Because what I do sometimes makes people nervous in a social context. Particularly, men.
Steve: Well, speaking as a man, I think you guys have got the right idea. You've got the best of both worlds.
Jill: What do you mean?
Steve: Well, you know.
Jill: No, I don't.
Steve: Well, umm... you've got four breasts!
Jill: I'm sorry? This blouse isn't particularly flattering.
Steve: No, no no no. I'm not saying you've got four at the moment. Just when you're...
Jill: What?
Steve: Well, you know.
Jill: What?
Steve: You're excited.
Jill: You think I develop extra breasts when I'm excited?
Steve: No, not so much develop. Acquire...
Jill: What in the name of God are you talking about?
Steve: Sorry, sorry. I've been totally sidetracked by the complete irrelevance of your breasts.
Jill: (folds arms over)
Steve: No, no, not that you have irrelevant breasts. Uh, you've only got two, that's for sure. Unless you were some sort of cow.
Jill: (in shock)
Steve: A very attractive cow. A prizewinning cow. But you're not a cow. You're a person. But I bet you'd be a prizewinning person if they had a sort of cattle market for women. Umm... a women market! Which, thinking about it, would be a bad thing in many ways.
Jill: (walks away exasperated)
Jane: (enters) Hello Steve, how are you?
Steve: Fine, great. Absolutely.
Jane: (to Steve, as she approaches Jill) Could you remind lovely Susan that Jill and I are vegetarian.
Steve: You're what?
Jill: You're not a vegetarian
Jane: I'm bi-vegetarian.
Jill: What? It doesn't exist, it's not possible.
Jane: I'm an emotional vegetarian, Jill. I know a lot of vegetarians and we tend to like the same films. Do you have a problem with that?
Jill: You never finish your greens and you could suck a whole pig through a straw.
Jane: I'm not exclusively vegetarian, Jill, if that's what you're trying to say. Vegetarianism for me is about mmm... saying yes to things... even meat.
Jill: No, it isn't.
Steve: Look, I'll just tell Susan about the vegetable thing. (exits)
Jane: Oooh, we are being Mrs. Judgemental this evening.
Jill: How did I ever let you talk me into this?
Jane: I explained how we're friends now. Remember?
Jill: Vividly.
.
.
.
Jill: (exasperated) A vegetarian is someone who does not eat meat, you insane bitch.
Jane: (indignant) I get enough of that language during our sessions.
.
.
.
Jane: (gets up from her seat, walks up to slab of roasted meat, stabs it with fork, proceeds to carve and starts bleating) Baa. Baa. Baa. Baa. Baa. Baa. Baa. Baa. (looking at Jill) Mama. Baa. Awww... (throws piece of carved meat onto Jill's plate and returns to her seat back at the table, resumes eating and looks directly at Jill.) If you like animals, you'll love lamb.
--"Inferno."  Coupling
 

"If you expect a kick in the balls and get a slap in the face, that's a victory!"
--Irish Proverb (Ardal O'Hanlon)
 

"Lights go out and I can't be saved
Tides that I tried to swim against
You've put me down upon my knees
Oh I beg, I beg and plead (singing)
Come out of things unsaid, shoot an apple of my head (and a)
Trouble that can't be named, tigers waiting to be tamed (singing)
You are
You are

Confusion never stops, closing walls and ticking clocks (gonna)
Come back and take you home, I could not stop, that you now know (singing)
Come out upon my seas, curse missed opportunities (am I)
A part of the cure, or am I part of the disease (singing)

You are
You are
You are
You are
You are
You are
And nothing else compares
Oh no nothing else compares
And nothing else compares

You are
You are
Home, home, where I wanted to go
Home, home, where I wanted to go
You are
Home, home, where I wanted to go
You are
Home, home, where I wanted to go"
--Coldplay.  Clocks
 

"I know my days are numbered.
I've been in and out of this phase.
But these days keep passing me by.
Good (god) never comes my way.
Try to sit back and relax.
Try and think of something good.
Something else and something pure.
I can't but I know I should.

Things I should have said.
Things that I regret.
And I regret.

No more waiting for something better to come along.
It's much easier to change me than it is to change them all.
Things I should have said and things that I regret.
I need to shed all my skin and start again.

Things I should have said.
Things that I regret.
And I regret.

Things I should have said.
Things that I regret.
And I regret.

And every turn I make is wrong.
I haven't smiled in so long.
Shed my skin and start again.
Shed my skin and start again.
Shed my skin and start again.
Shed my skin and start again.

The memories that I once had,
of all the good good good good times we all used to have.
Shed my skin and start again.
Shed my skin and start again.
Shed my skin and start again.

Things I should have said.
Things that I regret.
And I regret.

Things I should have said.
Things that I regret.
And I regret.

Things I should have said.
Things that I regret.
And I regret.

And I regret.
Things I should have said.
Things I should have said."
--Life of Agony.  I Regret
 

"Strike a balance between confidence and humility -- enough confidence to know that you can make a real difference, enough humility to ask for help."
--Carly Fiorina
 

"You stand like a starter and then
walk away from it all, I know,
I know, I know, I know, I know
Your hands feel like a martyr's and so
you give up the ghost once more, I know,
I know, I know, I know, I know

You say you know what you want it to be...
Well, what do you want it to be?
What were you thinking?
Cuz I know it will never be what you need
It will never be what you see
It's never enough to be --
when this is your own design
It's never enough to be --
when this is your own design

This land, long discovered ago
has been stolen and given away
I can't try to find you a home
when I know that you know the way, I know,
I know, I know, I know

You say you know what you want it to be...
Well, what do you want it to be?
What were you thinking?
Cuz I know it will never be what you need
It will never be what you see
it's never enough to be --
when this is your own design
it's never enough to be --
when this is your own design

And you say you know what you want it to be...
Well, what do you want it to be?
What were you thinking?
Cuz I know it will never be what you need
It will never be what you see
Cuz it's never enough to be --
when this is your own design
It's never enough to be --
when this is your own design
Cuz it's never enough to be --
this is your own design"
--Merrie Amsterburg. Design
 

"Time again I would try to tell you
but I'm ashamed and shy
So I spend the whole night avoiding
not even knowing why

Heart of my head is always listening
Heart of my heart is racing blind
Heart of my head keeps on insisting
Heart of my heart is not that kind
I'm not that kind

I am weak and I can't believe it --
I used to be so strong...
There's a word but you won't receive it
knowing this all along

Heart of my head is always listening
Heart of my heart is racing blind
Heart of my head keeps on insisting
Heart of my heart is not that kind

It's not that kind, you understand
It's nothing, everything
It's not what you're supposed to do
It's all that's in between
Cuz when you're through recovering
you're still you...

Between the two, I won't say I'm sorry
Make the bed and you lie
In fields of green or in fields so stony
sleep will not reach your eyes

Heart of my head is always listening
Heart of my heart is racing blind
Heart of my head keeps on insisting
Heart of my heart is not that kind

Heart of my head is always listening
Heart of my heart is racing blind
Heart of my head keeps on insisting
Heart of my heart is not that kind
I'm not that kind
I'm not that kind
I'm not that kind"
--Merrie Amsterburg. Heart of My Head
 

"Everyday, a shade of blue
You won't believe
What I'm going through
It just feels like I can't afford to let myself go
No, oohooo no...

Everyone is just the same
They touch me
But I can't say

There has been no one brighter than you
I can't deny these things that I do
Feels like the world's at stake 'cause
I have been waiting
I have been waiting for you

Heavenly, that's what you are
You're burnin' me like a shining star
How am I supposed to be that king without you
Ooohooo...it's true yea

Everyone is just the same
They love me
But I can't say

There has been no one brighter than you
I can't deny these things that I do
Feels like the world's at stake yeaaahh...
I have been waiting
I have been waiting for you

Heeeeeeeey yeaaaah

There has been no one brighter than you
I can't deny these things that I do
Feels like the world's at stake 'cause
I have been waiting
I have been waiting for you

I have seen no (light) brighter than you
And I can't deny these things that I do
Feels like the world's at stake yeeaah yeah
I have been waiting
I have been waiting for you

Eeeeehhyea...for you
Ba ba ba ba ba oowww
Yeeeah yea yeah

Everyday I sit down and I feel like I'm waiting
For you
I've been waiting for you
For you

I have been waiting
I have been waiting for you"
--Seal. Waiting for You
 

"Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservative."
--John Stuart Mill
 

"There's a place that I travel
When I want to roam,
And nobody knows it but me

The roads don't go there
And the signs stay home
And nobody knows it but me

It's far far away
And way way afar
It's over the moon and the sea

And wherever you're going
That's wherever you are
And nobody knows it but me"
--Patrick O'Leary.  Nobody Knows It But Me
 

Cerca 2002:
"If there's a higher life, let it shine on me
Let it shine on me through the trees
If there's a higher light, let it shine for me
Let it shine for me
Because I know this sea wants to carry me
it's a sweet, sweet sound she sings
for my release...

Under the opal moon the world looks right to me
Under the opal moon the world seems fine to me
and all that I can say I feel is peace
The lonely dark night wind is calling out to me

If there's a higher love, let it shine for me
Let it shine for me -- if it please
If there's a higher light, let it shine on me
Let it shine on me
Because I know this sea wants to carry me
in a sweet, sweet sound she sings
for my release...

Under the opal moon the world looks right to me
Under the opal moon the world seems fine to me
and all that I can say I feel is peace
The lonely dark night wind is calling after me"
--Merrie Amsterburg. Opal Moon
 

"And I never thought I'd feel this way
And as far as I'm concerned
I'm glad I got the chance to say
That I do believe I love you

And if I should ever go away
Well then close your eyes and try
To feel the way we do today
And then if you can remember

Keep smiling, keep shining
Knowing you can always count on me, for sure
That's what friends are for
For good times and bad times
I'll be on your side forever more
That's what friends are for

Well you came in loving me
And now there's so much more I see
And so by the way I thank you

Oh and then for the times when we're apart
Well then close your eyes and know
The words are coming from my heart
And then if you can remember"
--Burt Bacharach & Carole Bayer Sager. That's What Friends Are For (performed by Elton John, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder)
 

"If today were the last of all days
Would it change how you feel, who you are?
Would you rise for a moment above all your fears
Become one with the moon and the stars?

Would you like what you see looking down?
Did you give everything that you could?
Have you done everything that you wanted to do?
Is there still so much more that you would?

Follow your dream to the end of the rainbow
Way beyond one pot of gold
Open your eyes to the colors around you
And find the true beauty life holds

Would you live for the moment like when you were young
Time didn't travel so fast?
Be free in the present
Enjoying the now
Not tied to a future or past.

You would probably say all you wanted to say
But doesn't is Strike you as strange
That we'd only begin to start living our lives
If today were the last of all days?"
--Brenda Russell & John Ewbank. The Last Day  (performed by Marilyn Scott)
 

"Shishe Se Shisha Takraaye
Shishe Se Shisha Takraaye Jo Bhi Ho Anjaaaaaam
Oh Dekho Kaise
Shishe Se Shisha Takraaye Jo Bhi Ho Anjaaaaam
Oh Dekho Kaise Chalak Chalak Chal
Chalak Chalak Chal Chalak Chalak Chal Chalkaye Re
Chalak Chalak Chal Chalak Chalak Chal Chalkaye Re
Jhanjh Pakawaj Tashe Baaje Chalke Jab Yeh Jaam
Oh Dehko Kaise
Oh Dehko Kaise Dhamak Dhamak Dham Dhamak Dhamak Dham Dhamkaye Re
Dhamak Dhamak Dham Dhamak Dhamak Dham Dhamkaye Re
Shishe Se Shisha Takraayeeeeeee
Yeh Madira Haan Yeh Madira
Yeh Madira To Le Aati Hai Yaadon Ki Barsaat
Chalak Chalak Ke Chalti Jaaye Dil Ko Yeh Madira
Haan Yeh Madira Hoton Se Utre To Bole Dil Ki Baat
Heyy Garaj Garaj Ke Dil Mein Garje Ghum Ke Yeh Badra
Dil Tak Jaise Yeh Pahonchi Aayi Hick! Aayi Aayi Uski Yaad
Uski Ek Jhalak Uski Ek Jhalak Mil Jaaye Itni Hai Fariyad
Itni Hai Fariyad Itni Hai Fariyad
D Dhin Ta Chik Dhin Ta Ta Chick Dhin hin Ta Chik Dhin Ta Ta Chick Dhin Dhin Ta Chik Dhin Ta Ta Chick Dhin Dhin Ta Chik Dhin Ta Ta Chick Dhin
Naache Meera Jogan Banke Oh Mere Ghanshyaam
Dekho Dekho Dekho
Naache Meera Lehra Ke Balkha Ke Oh Mere Ghanshyaam
Oh Dekho Kaise
Zhank Zhank Zhan Zhank Zhank Zhan Zhananan Zhananan
Paayal Baaje Re
Zhank Zhank Zhan Zhank Zhank Zhan Zhananan Zhananan
Paayal Baaje Re
Pyaar Mein Tere Dil Yeh Chaahe Ho Jaaye Badnaam
Oh Dekho Kaise Oh Dekho Oh Dekho
Dekho Dekho Dekho Dekho Kaise
Thirk Thirk Dil Thirk Thirk Dil Thirktha Jaaye Re
Thirk Thirk Dil Thirk Thirk Dil Thirktha Jaaye Re
Dhamk Dhamk Dham Dhamk Dhamk Dham Dhamk Dhamk Dham Jaaye Re
Chan Chan Chanchanachan Chan Chan Chanchanachan Chanak Chanak Chanak Chanak Chananan Paayal Baaje Re
Paayal Baaje Re
Chalak Chalak Chal Dhamk Dhamk Dham Khank Khank Khank
Dhadk Dhadk Dhadk Dil Zhank Zhank Zhan Thrik Thirk Thrlk Jaaye Re
ChalakChalakChal………
Shishe Se Shisha Takraaye
Shishe Se Shisha Takraaye

(The glasses are colliding with each other
Hey the glasses are colliding with each other whatever the outcome may be
Oh look how....

Hey the glasses are colliding with each other whatever the outcome may be
Oh look how they are spilling spilling spilling
Whenever this liquor spills the drums beat
Oh look how
Oh look how…
Beating, thumping, thudding... they pound...
The glasses are colliding with each other

Ohh this wine this wine
Ohh this wine this wine
This wine brings along with it a shower of memories
The wine is spilling and at the same time piercing the heart
When this wine drops down the lips it speaks the heart out
It flashes thundering clouds of pain into my heart
When it reaches the heart at that time I was reminded of her
One glimpse of her, to have one glimpse of her that is my only wish
That is my only wish
That is my only wish

Meera dances after renouncing the world, oh my Krishna
Oh look look
Meera dances swaying and gyrating oh my Krishna
Oh look how
The trinkets are jingling
Oh my heart wants to be infamous in your love
Oh look how
Oh look, ohh look…. look, look, look, look, look, look, look how
Throbbing, throbbing heart... pounds...
Thumping, banging, thudding... a crash rings out...
Jingling, tinkling...
Jingling, jingling... the anklets sound...
Hey, spilling, overflowing, thumping, banging, ringing, clinking, clank
This pounding, pounding heart, jingling, rattling, stomping, stomps!
Splashing, overflowing... it spills...
The glasses are colliding with each other
The glasses are colliding with each other
The glasses are colliding with each other)"
--Nusrat Badr. Chalak Chalak
 

"It starts with one
One thing I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try
Keep that in mind I designed this rhyme
To explain in due time
All I know
Time is a valuable thing
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings
Watch it count down to the end of the day
The clock ticks life away
It's so unreal
Didn't look out below
Watch the time go right out the window
Trying to hold on but didn't even know
Wasted it all just to
Watch you go
I kept everything inside and even though I tried it all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when I tried

I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter

One thing I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try
Keep that in mind I designed this rhyme
To remind myself how
I tried so hard
In spite of the way you were mocking me
Acting like I was part of your property
Remembering all the times you've fought with me
I'm surprised it got so far
Things aren't the way they were before
You wouldn't even recognize me anymore
Not that you knew me back then
But it all comes back to me
In the end
You kept everything inside and even though I tried it all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when I tried

I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
And lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter

I've put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
And for all this
There's only one thing you should know

I've put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
And for all this
There's only one thing you should know
I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
And lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter"
--Linkin Park.  In the End
 

"It seemed to be like the perfect thing for you and me
It's so ironic you're what I had pictured you to be
But there are facts in our lives we can never change
Just tell me that you understand and you feel the same

This perfect romance that I've created in my mind
I'd live a thousand live each one with you right by my side
But yet we find ourselves in a less than perfect circumstance
And so it seems like we'll never get the chance

Ain't it funny how some feelings you just can't deny
And you can't move on even though you try
Ain't it strange when your feeling things you shouldn't feel
Oh, I wish this could be real
Ain't it funny how a moment could just change your life
And you don't want to face what's wrong or right
Ain't if strange how fate can play a part
In the story of your heart

Sometimes I think that a true love can never be
I just believe that somehow it wasn't meant for me
Life can be cruel in a way that I can't explain
And I don't think that I could face it all again

I barely know you but somehow I know what you're all about
A deeper love I've found in you and I no longer doubt
You've touched my heart and it altered ever plan I've made
And now I feel that I don't have to be afraid

Ain't it funny how some feelings you just can't deny
And you can't move on even though you try
Ain't it strange when your feeling things you shouldn't feel
Oh, I wish this could be real
Ain't it funny how a moment could just change your life
And you don't want to face what's wrong or right
Ain't if strange how fate can play a part
In the story of your heart

I locked away my heart but you just set it free
Emotions I felt held me back from what my life should be
I pushed you far away and yet you stayed with me
I guess this means that you and me were meant to be

Ain't it funny how some feelings you just can't deny
And you can't move on even though you try
Ain't it strange when your feeling things you shouldn't feel
Oh, I wish this could be real
Ain't it funny how a moment could just change your life
And you don't want to face what's wrong or right
Ain't if strange how fate can play a part
In the story of your heart

Ain't it funny how some feelings you just can't deny
And you can't move on even though you try
Ain't it strange when your feeling things you shouldn't feel
Oh, I wish this could be real
Ain't it funny how a moment could just change your life
And you don't want to face what's wrong or right
Ain't if strange how fate can play a part
In the story of your heart

Ain't it funny how some feelings you just can't deny
And you can't move on even though you try
Ain't it strange when your feeling things you shouldn't feel
Oh, I wish this could be real
Ain't it funny how a moment could just change your life
And you don't want to face what's wrong or right
Ain't if strange how fate can play a part
In the story of your heart"
--Jennifer Lopez & Cory Rooney. Ain't It Funny
 

"I hand you my ball and chain
You just hand me that same old refrain
I'm walking on a wire, I'm walking on a wire
And I'm falling

I wish I could please you tonight
But my medicine just won't come right
I'm walking on a wire, I'm walking on a wire
And I'm falling

Too many steps to take
Too many spells to break
Too many nights awake
And no one else
This grindstone's wearing me
Your claws are tearing me
Don't use me endlessly
It's too long, too long to myself

Where's the justice and where's the sense?
When all the pain is on my side of the fence
I'm walking on a wire, I'm walking on a wire
And I'm falling

Too many steps to take
Too many spells to break
Too many nights awake
And no one else
This grindstone's wearing me
Your claws are tearing me
Don't use me endlessly
It's too long, it's too long to myself

It scares you when you don't know
Whichever way the wind might blow
I'm walking on a wire, I'm walking on a wire
And I'm falling
I'm walking on a wire, I'm walking on a wire
And I'm falling
I'm walking on a wire, I'm walking on a wire
And I'm falling"
--Richard Thompson & Linda Thompson. Walking On A Wire
 

"'Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin': 'Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!'

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', ('This is my message to you-ou-ou:')

Singin': 'Don't worry 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right.'
Singin': 'Don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!'

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', 'This is my message to you-ou-ou:'

Singin': 'Don't worry about a thing, worry about a thing, oh!
Every little thing gonna be all right. Don't worry!'
Singin': 'Don't worry about a thing' - I won't worry!
''Cause every little thing gonna be all right.'

Singin': 'Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right' - I won't worry!
Singin': 'Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right.'
Singin': 'Don't worry about a thing, oh no!
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!"
--Bob Marley. Three Little Birds
 

"Never made it as a wise man
I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealin'
Tired of livin' like a blind man
I'm sick of sight without a sense of feeling
This is how you remind me
This is how you remind me of what I really am

It's not like you to say sorry, I was waiting on a different story
This time I'm mistaken for handing you a heart worth breaking
I've been wrong, I've been down, been to the bottom of every bottle
These five words in my head scream "are we havin' fun yet?"

It's not like you didn't know that
I said I love you and I swear I still do
And it must have been so bad
Cause livin' with me must have damn near killed you

This is how you remind me of what I really am
This is how you remind me of what I really am

It's not like you to say sorry, I was waiting on a different story
This time I'm mistaken for handing you a heart worth breaking
I've been wrong, I've been down, been to the bottom of every bottle
These five words in my head scream "are we havin' fun yet?"

Never made it as a wise man
I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealin'

This is how you remind me
This is how you remind me of what I really am

It's not like you to say sorry, I was waiting on a different story"
--Nickelback.  How You Remind Me
 

"Everything's so blurry
and everyone's so fake
and everybody's empty
and everything is so messed up
pre-occupied without you
I cannot live at all
My whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl

You could be my someone
you could be my scene
you know that I'll protect you
from all of the obscene
I wonder what you're doing
imagine where you are
there's oceans in between us
but that's not very far

Can you take it all away
can you take it all away
well ya shoved it in my face
this pain you gave to me
Can you take it all away
can you take it all away
well ya shoved it my face

Everyone is changing
there's no one left that's real
to make up your own ending
and let me know just how you feel
cause I am lost without you
I cannot live at all
my whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl

You could be my someone
you could be my scene
you know that I will save you
from all of the unclean
I wonder what you're doing
I wonder where you are
There's oceans in between us
but that's not very far

Can you take it all away
can you take it all away
well ya shoved it in my face
this pain you gave to me
Can you take it all away
can you take it all away
well ya shoved it my face

Nobody told me what you thought
nobody told me what to say
everyone showed you where to turn
told you when to run away
nobody told you where to hide
nobody told you what to say
everyone showed you where to turn
showed you when to run away

Can you take it all away
can you take it all away
well ya shoved it in my face
this pain you gave to me
Can you take it all away
can you take it all away
well ya shoved it my face

This pain you gave to me

You take it all
You take it all away...
This pain you gave to me
You take it all away
This pain you gave to me
Take it all away
This pain you gave to me"
--Wesley Scantlin. Blurry (performed by Puddle of Mudd)
 

"Do you really think we want those laws observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them to be broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against... We're after power and we mean it... There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted-- and you create a nation of lawbreakers-- and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Reardon, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with."
--Ayn Rand.  Atlas Shrugged
 

"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home."
--James Michener
 

"The Earth is degenerating these days. Bribery and corruption abound. Children no longer mind their parents, every man wants to write a book, and it is evident that the end of the world is fast approaching."
--translated from an Assyrian stone tablet, c. 2800 B.C.
 

"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."
--Anonymous
 

"When I saw you standing there
with a broken halo in your hair
outside in the winter window
I wanted to kiss your hand...
Then the ice screamed and the sidewalk
leaned in the snow
when I touched your face
Right then and there I swear
that time was frozen sand

No, no, I won't let go of my romeo

So the arrow joined our hearts
and our souls will never part
like a wild spring in a white life
that was oh so cold
Race and run past the lemon sun
past the moon and her huntress tune
We fly until we cry that none
were born so bold

No, no, I won't let go of my romeo"
--Merrie Amsterburg. My Romeo
 

"When the road gets dark
And you can no longer see
just let my love throw a spark
And have a little faith in me

And when the tears you cry
Are all you can believe
Just give these loving arms a try
And have a little faith in me
And

Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me

When your secret heart
Cannot speak so easily
Come here darlin'
From a whisper start
To have a little faith in me

And when your back's against the wall
Just turn around and you will see
i will catch, i will catch your fall baby
Just have a little faith in me

Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me

Well, I've been loving you for such a long time girl
Expecting nothing in return
Just for you to have a little faith in me
You see time, time is our friend
'Cause for us there is no end
And all you gotta do is have a little faith in me
I said I will hold you up, i will hold you up
your love gives me strength enough
So have a little faith in me"
--John Hiatt.  Have A Little Faith In Me
 

"You think I'd leave your side baby?
You know me better than that
You think I'd leave down
When you're down on your knees?
I wouldn't do that

I'll do you right when you're wrong
I-----I, ohhhh, ohhh

If only you could see into me

Oh when you're cold
I'll be there
To hold you tight to me
When you're on the outside baby and you can't get in
I will show you,
You're so much better than you know
When you're lost
When you're alone
And you can't get back again
I will find you darling and I'll bring you home

If you want to cry,
I am here to dry your eyes
And in no time you'll be fine

You think I'd leave your side baby
You know me better than that
You think I'd leave you down,
When you're down on your knees
I wouldn't do that

I'll do you right when you're wrong
I-----I, ohhhh, ohhh

If only you could see into me

Oh when you're cold
I'll be there
To hold you tight to me
Oh when you're alone
I'll be there
By your side baby

Oh when you're cold
I'll be there
To hold you tight to me
Oh when you're alone
I'll be there by your side baby"
--Sade. By Your Side
 

"If atheism is a religion, then bald is a hair color."
--Mark Schnitzius
 

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
--Mohandas "Mahtama" Karamchand Gandhi
 

Cerca 2001:
"Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I did not die."
--Mary E. Frye

Wife: Arrest him!
Thomas More: For what?
Wife: He's dangerous!
Roper: For all we know he's a spy!
Daughter: Father, that man's bad!
More: There's no law against that!
Roper: There is, God's law!
More: Then let God arrest him!
Wife: While you talk he's gone!
More: And go he should, if he were the Devil himself, until he broke the law!
Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!
More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
Roper: Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!
More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down (and you're just the man to do it!), do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
--Robert Bolt. A Man for All Seasons.
 

"Who can say
Where the road goes
Where the day flows?
Only time

And who can say
If your love grows
As your heart chose?
Only time

Who can say
Why your heart sighs
As your love flies?
Only time

And who can say
Why your heart cries
When your love lies?
Only time

Who can say
When the roads meet
That love might be
In your heart?

And who can say
When the day sleeps
If the night keeps
All your heart?

Night keeps all your heart

Who can say
If your love grows
As your heart chose?
Only time

And who can say
Where the road goes
Where the day flows?
Only time

Who knows?
Only time
Who knows?
Only time"
--Enya. Only Time

"    "Thousands of years ago, the first man discovered how to make fire. He was probably burned at the stake he had taught his brothers to light. He was considered an evildoer who had dealt with a demon mankind dreaded. But thereafter men had fire to keep them warm, to cook their food, to light their caves. He had left them a gift they had not conceived and he had lifted darkness off the earth. Centuries later, the first man invented the wheel. He was probably torn on the rack he had taught his brothers to build. He was considered a transgressor who ventured into forbidden territory. But thereafter, men could travel past any horizon. He had left them a gift they had not conceived and he had opened the roads of the world.
    That man, the unsubmissive and first, stands in the opening chapter of every legend mankind has recorded about its beginning. Prometheus was chained to a rock and torn by vultures-- because he had stolen the fire of the gods. Adam was condemned to suffer-- because he had eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Whatever the legend, somewhere in the shadows of its memory mankind knew that its glory began with one and that the one paid for his courage.
    Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision. Their goals differed, but they all had this in common: that the step was first, the road new, the vision unborrowed, and the response they received-- hatred. The great creators-- the thinkers, the artists, the scientists, the inventors-- stood alone against the men of their time. Every great new thought was opposed. Every great new invention was denounced. The first motor was considered foolish. The airplane was considered impossible. The power loom was considered vicious. Anesthesia was considered sinful. But the men of unborrowed vision went ahead. They fought, they suffered and they paid. But they won."
    No creator was prompted by a desire to serve his brothers, for his brothers rejected the gift he offered and that gift destroyed the slothful routine of their lives. His truth was his only motive. His own truth, and his own work to achieve it in his own way. A symphony, a book, an engine, a philosophy, an airplane or a building-- that was his goal and his life. Not those who heard, read, operated, believed, flew or inhabited the thing he created. The creation, not its users. The creation, not the benefits others derived from it. The creation which gave form to his truth. He held his truth above all things and against all men.
    His vision, his strength, his courage came from his own spirit. A man's spirit, however, is his self. That entity which is his consciousness. To think, to feel, to judge, to act are functions of the ego.
    The creators were not selfless. It is the whole secret of their power-- that it was self-sufficient, self-motivated, self-generated. A first cause, a fount of energy, a life force, a Prime Mover. The creator served nothing and no one. He had lived for himself.
    And only by living for himself was he able to achieve the things which are the glory of mankind. Such is the nature of achievement.
    Man cannot survive except through his mind. He comes on earth unarmed. His brain is his only weapon. Animals obtain food by force. Man has no claws, no fangs, no horns, no great strength of muscle. He must plant his food or hunt it. To plant, he needs a process of thought. To hunt, he needs weapons, and to make weapons-- a process of thought. From this simplest necessity to the highest religious abstraction, from the wheel to the skyscraper, everything we are and everything we have comes from a single attribute of man-- the function of his reasoning mind.
    But the mind is an attribute of the individual. There is no such thing as a collective brain. There is no such thing as a collective thought. An agreement reached by a group of men is only a compromise or an average drawn upon many individual thoughts. It is a secondary consequence. The primary act-- the process of reason-- must be performed by each man alone. We can divide a meal among many men. We cannot digest it in a collective stomach. No man can use his lungs to breathe for another man. No man can use his brain to think for another. All the functions of body and spirit are private. They cannot be shared or transferred.
    We inherit the products of the thought of other men. We inherit the wheel. We make the cart. The cart becomes an automobile. The automobile becomes an airplane. But all through the process what we receive from others is only the end product of their thinking. The moving force is the creative faculty which takes this product as material, uses it and originates the next step. This creative faculty cannot be given or received, shared or borrowed. It belongs to single, individual men. That which it creates is the property of the creator. Men learn from one another. But all learning is only the exchange of material. No man can give another the capacity to think. Yet that capacity is our only means of survival.
    Nothing is given to man on earth. Everything he needs has to be produced. And here man faces his basic alternative: he can survive in only one of two ways-- by the independent work of his own mind or as a parasite fed by the minds of others. The creator originates. The parasite borrows. The creator faces nature alone. The parasite faces nature through an intermediary.
    The creator's concern is the conquest of nature. The parasite's concern is the conquest of men.
    The creator lives for his work. He needs no other men. His primary goal is within himself. The parasite lives second-hand. He needs others. Others become his prime motive.
    The basic need of the creator is independence. The reasoning mind cannot work under any form of compulsion. It cannot be curbed, sacrificed or subordinated to any consideration whatsoever. It demands total independence in function and in motive. To a creator, all relations with men are secondary.
    The basic need of the second-hander is to secure his ties with men in order to be fed. He places relations first. He declares that man exists in order to serve others. He preaches altruism.
    Altruism is the doctrine which demands that man live for others and place others above self.
    No man can live for another. He cannot share his spirit just as he cannot share his body. but the second-hander has used altruism as a weapon of exploitation and reversed the base of mankind's moral principles. Men have been taught every precept that destroys the creator. Men have been taught dependence as a virtue.
    The man who attempts to live for others is a dependent. He is a parasite in motive and makes parasites of those he serves. The relationship produces nothing but mutual corruption. It is impossible in concept. The nearest approach to it in reality-- the man who lives to serve others-- is a slave. If physical slavery is repulsive, how much more repulsive is the concept of servility of the spirit? The conquered slave has a vestige of honor. He has the merit of having resisted and of considering his condition evil. But the man who enslaves himself voluntarily in the name of love is the basest of creatures. He degrades the dignity of man and he degrades the conception of love. But this is the essence of altruism.
    Men have been taught that the highest virtue is not to achieve, but to give. Yet one cannot give that which has not been created. Creation comes before distribution-- or there will be nothing to distribute. The need of the creator comes before the need of any possible beneficiary. Yet we are taught to admire the second-hander who dispenses gifts he has not produced above the man who made the gifts possible. We praise an act of charity. We shrug at an act of achievement.
    Men have been taught that their first concern is to relieve the suffering of others. But suffering is a disease. Should one come upon it, one tries to give relief and assistance. To make that the highest test of virtue is to make suffering the most important part of life. Then man must wish to see other suffer-- In order that he may become virtuous. Such is the nature of altruism. The creator is not concerned with disease, but with life. Yet the work of the creators has eliminated one form of disease after another, in man's body and spirit, and brought more relief from suffering than any altruist could ever conceive.
    Men have been taught that it is a virtue to agree with others. But the creator is the man who disagrees. Men have been taught that it is a virtue to swim with the current. But the creator is the man who goes against the current. Men have been taught that it is a virtue to stand together. But the creator is the man who stands alone.
    Men have been taught that the ego is the synonym of evil, and selflessness the ideal of virtue. But the creator is the egotist in the absolute sense, and the selfless man is the one who does not think, feel, judge or act. These are functions of the self.
    Here the basic reversal is most deadly. The issue has been perverted and man has been left no alternative-- and no freedom. As poles of good and evil, he was offered two conceptions: egotism and altruism. Egotism was held to mean the sacrifice of others to self. Altruism-- the sacrifice of self to others. This tied man irrevocably to other men and left him nothing but a choice of pain: his own pain borne for the sake of others or pain inflicted upon others for the sake of self. When it was added that man must find joy in self-immolation, the trap was closed. Man was forced to accept masochism as his ideal-- under the threat that sadism was his only alternative. This was the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on mankind.
    This was the device by which dependence and suffering were perpetuated as fundamentals of life.
    The choice is not self-sacrifice or domination. The choice is independence or dependence. The code of the creator or the code of the second-hander. This is the basic issue. It rests upon the alternative of life or death. The code of the creator is built on the needs of the reasoning mind which allows man to survive. The code of the second-hander is built on the needs of a mind incapable of survival. All that which proceeds from man's independent ego is good. All that which proceeds from man's dependence upon men is evil.
    The egotist in the absolute sense is not the man who sacrifices others. He is the man who stands above the need of using others in any manner. He does not function through them. He is not concerned with them in any primary matter. Not in his aim, not in his motive, not in his thinking, not in his desires, not in the source of his energy. He does not exist for any other man-- and he asks no other man to exist for him. This is the only form of brotherhood and mutual respect possible between men.
    Degrees of ability vary, but the basic principle remains the same: the degree of a man's independence, initiative and personal love for his work determines his talent as a worker and his worth as a man. Independence is the only gauge of human virtue and value. What a man is and makes of himself; not what he has or hasn't done for others. There is no substitute for personal dignity. There is no standard of personal dignity except independence.
    In all proper relationships there is no sacrifice of anyone to anyone. An architect needs clients, but he does not subordinate his work to their wishes. They need him, but they do not order a house just to give him a commission. Men exchange their work by free, mutual consent to mutual advantages when their personal interests agree and they both desire the exchange. If they do not desire it, they are not forced to deal with each other. They seek further. This is the only possible form of relationship between equals. Anything else is a relation of slave to master, or victim to executioner.
    No work is ever done collectively, by a majority decision. Every creative job is achieved under the guidance of a single individual thought. An architect requires a great many men to erect his building. But he does not ask them to vote on his design. They work together by free agreement and each is free in his proper function. An architect uses steel, glass, concrete, produced by others. But the materials remain just so much steel, glass and concrete until he touches them. What he does with them is hi individual product and his individual property. This is the only pattern for proper co-operation among men.
    The first right on earth is the right of the ego. Man's first duty is to himself. His moral law is never to place his prime goal within the persons of others. His moral obligation is to do what he wishes, provided his wish does not depend primarily upon other men. This includes the whole sphere of his creative faculty, his thinking, his work. But it does not include the sphere of the gangster, the altruist and the dictator.
    A man thinks and works alone. A man cannot rob, exploit or rule-- alone. Robbery, exploitation and ruling presuppose victims. They imply dependence. They are the province of the second-hander.
    Rulers of men are not egotists. They create nothing. They exist entirely through the persons of others. Their goal is in their subjects, in the activity of enslaving. They are as dependent as the beggar, the social worker and the bandit. The form of dependence does not matter.
    But men were taught to regard second-handers-- tyrants, emperors, dictators-- as exponents of egotism. By this fraud they were made to destroy the ego, themselves and others. The purpose of the fraud was to destroy the creators. Or to harness them. Which is a synonym.
    From the beginning of history, the two antagonists have stood face to face: the creator and the second-hander. When the first creator invented the wheel, the second-hander responded. He invented altruism.
    The creator -- denied, opposed, persecuted, exploited-- went on, moved forward and carried all humanity along on his energy. The second-hander contributed nothing to the process except impediments. The contest has another name: the individual against the collective.
    The 'common good' of a collective-- a race, a class, a state-- was the claim and justification of every tyranny ever established over men. Every major horror of history was committed in the name of an altruistic motive. Has any act of selfishness ever equaled the carnage perpetrated by disciplines of altruism? Does the fault lie in men's hypocrisy or in the nature of the principle? The most dreadful butchers were the most sincere. They believed in the perfect society reached through the guillotine and the firing squad. Nobody questioned their right to murder since they were murdering for an altruistic purpose. It was accepted that man must be sacrificed for other men. Actors change, but the course of the tragedy remains the same. A humanitarian who starts with declarations of love for mankind and ends with a sea of blood. It goes on and will go on so long as men believe that an action is good if it is unselfish. That permits the altruist to act and forces his victims to bear it. The leaders of the collectivist movements ask nothing for themselves. But observe the results.
    The only good which men can do to one another and the only statement of their proper relationship is-- Hands off!
    Now observe the results of a society built on the principle of individualism. This, our country. The noblest country in the history of men. The country of greatest achievement, greatest prosperity, greatest freedom. This country was not based on selfless service, sacrifice, renunciation or any precept of altruism. It was based on a man's right to the pursuit of happiness. His own happiness. Not anyone else's. A private, personal, selfish motive. Look at the results. Look into your own conscience.
    It is an ancient conflict. Men have come close to the truth, but it was destroyed each time and one civilization fell after another. Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by laws or his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men.
    Now, in our age, collectivism, the rule of the second-hander and second-rater, the ancient monster, has broken loose and is running amuck. It has brought men to a level of intellectual indecency never equaled on earth. It has reached a scale of horror without precedent. It has poisoned every mind. It has swallowed most of Europe. It is engulfing our country.
    I am an architect. I know what is to come by the principle on which it is built. We are approaching a world in which I cannot permit myself to live.
    Now you know why I dynamited Cortlandt.
    I destroyed it because I did not choose to let it exist. It was a double monster. In form and in implication. I had to blast both. The form was mutilated by two second-handers who assumed the right to improve upon that which they had not made and could not equal. They were permitted to do it by the general implication that the altruistic purpose of the building superseded all rights and that I had no claim to stand against it.
    I agreed to design Cortlandt for the purpose of seeing it erected as I designed it and for no other reason. That was the price I set for my work. I was not paid.
    I do not blame Peter Keating. He was helpless. He had a contract with his employers. It was ignored. He had a promise that the structure he offered would be built as designed. The promise was broken. The love of a man for the integrity of his work and his right to preserve it are now considered a vague intangible and an unessential. You have heard the prosecutor say that. Why was the building disfigured? For no reason. Such acts never have any reason, unless it's the vanity of some second-handers who feel they have a right to anyone's property, spiritual or material. Who permitted them to do it? No particular man among the dozens in authority. No one cared to permit it or to stop it. No one was responsible. No one can be held to account. Such is the nature of all collective action.
    I did not receive the payment I asked. But the owners of Cortlandt got what they needed from me. They wanted a scheme devised to build a structure as cheaply as possible. They found no one else who could do it to their satisfaction. I could and did. They took the benefit of my work and made me contribute it as a gift. But I am not an altruist. I do not contribute gifts of this nature.
    It is said that I have destroyed the home of the destitute. It is forgotten that but for me the destitute could not have had this particular home. Those who were concerned with the poor had to come to me, who have never been concerned, in order to help the poor. It is believed that the poverty of the future tenants gave them a right to my work. That their need constituted a claim on my life. That is was my duty to contribute anything demanded of me. This is the second-hander's credo now swallowing the world.
    I came here to say that I do not recognize anyone's right to one minute of my life. Nor to any part of my energy. Nor to any achievement of mine. No matter who makes the claim, how large their number or how great their need.
    I wished to come here and say that I am a man who does not exist for others.
    It had to be said. The world is perishing from an orgy of self-sacrificing.
    I wished to come here and say that the integrity of a man's creative work is of greater importance than any charitable endeavor. Those of you who do not understand this are the men who're destroying the work.
    I wished to come here and state my terms. I do not care to exist on any others.
    I recognize no obligation toward men except one: to respect their freedom and to take no part in a slave society. To my country, I wish to give the ten years which I will spend in jail if my country exists no longer. I will spend them in memory and in gratitude for what my country has been. It will be my act of loyalty, my refusal to live or work in what has taken its place.
    My act of loyalty to every creator who ever lived and was made to suffer by the force responsible for the Cortlandt I dynamited. To every tortured hour of loneliness, denial, frustration, abuse he was made to spend-- and to the battles he won. To every creator whose name is known-- and to every creator who lived, struggled and perished unrecognized before he could achieve. To every creator who was destroyed in body or in spirit. To Henry Cameron. To Steven Mallory. To a man who doesn't want to be named, but who is sitting in this courtroom and knows I am speaking of him.""
--Ayn Rand.  The Fountainhead

"   "What do you... want... Ellsworth?"
    "Power, Petey."
    There were steps in the apartment above, someone skipping gaily, a few sounds on the ceiling as of four or five tap beats. The light fixture jingled and Keatings's head moved up in obedience. Then it came back to Toohey. Toohey was smiling, almost indifferently.
    "You... always said..." Keating began thickly, and stopped.
    "I've always said just that. Clearly, precisely and openly. It's not my fault if you couldn't hear. You could, of course. You didn't want to. Which was safer than deafness-- for me. I said I intended to rule. Like all my spiritual predecessors. But I'm luckier than they were. I inherited the fruit of their efforts and I shall be the one who'll see the great dream made real. I see it all around me today. I recognize it. I don't like it. I didn't expect to like it. Enjoyment is not my destiny. I shall find such satisfaction as my capacity permits. I shall rule."
    "Whom...?"
    "You. The world. It's only a matter of discovering the lever. If you learn how to rule one single man's soul, you can get the rest of mankind. It's the soul, Peter, the soul. Not whips or swords or fire or guns. That's why the Caesars, the Attilas, the Napoleons were fools and did not last. We will. The soul, Peter, is that which can't be ruled. It must be broken. Drive a wedge in, get your fingers on it-- and the man is yours. You won't need a whip-- he'll bring it to you and ask to be whipped. Set him in reverse-- and his own mechanism will do your work for you. Use him against himself. Want to know how it's done? See if I ever lied to you. See if you haven't heard all this for years, but didn't want to hear, and the fault is yours, not mine. There are many ways. Here's one. Make man feel small. Make him feel guilty. Kill his aspiration and his integrity. That's difficult. The worst among you gropes for an ideal in his own twisted. Kill integrity by internal corruption. Use it against itself. Direct it toward a goal destructively of all integrity. Preach selfishness. Tell man that he must live for others. Tell men that altruism is the ideal. Not a single one of them has ever achieved it and not a single one ever will. His every living instinct screams against it. But don't you see what you accomplish? Man realizes that he's incapable of what he's accepted as the noblest virtue-- and it gives him a sense of guilt, of sin, of his own basic unworthiness. Since the supreme ideal is beyond his grasp, he gives up eventually all ideals, all aspiration, all sense of personal value. He feels himself obliged to preach what he can't practice. But one can't be good halfway or honest approximately. To preserve one's integrity is a hard battle. Why preserve that which one knows to be corrupt already? His soul gives up its self-respect. You've got him. He'll obey. He'll be glad to obey-- because he can't trust himself, he feels uncertain, he feels unclean. That's one way. Here's another. Kill man's sense of values. Kill his capacity to recognize greatness or to achieve it. Great men can't be ruled. We don't want any great. Don't deny the conception of greatness. Destroy it from within. The great is the rare, the difficult, the exceptional. Set up standards of achievement open to all, to the least, to the most inept-- and you stop the impetus to effort in all men, great or small. You stop all incentive to improvement, to excellence, to perfection. Laugh at Roark and hold Peter Keating as a great architect. You've destroyed architecture. Build up Lois Cook and you've destroyed literature. Hail Ike and you've destroyed the theater. Glorify Lancelot Clokey and you've destroyed the press. Don't set out to raze all shrines-- you'll frighten men. Enshrine mediocrity-- and the shrines are razed. Then there's another way. Kill by laughter. Laughter is an instrument of human joy. Learn to use it as a weapon of destruction. Turn it into a sneer. It's simple. Tell them to laugh at everything. Tell them that a sense of humor is an unlimited virtue. Don't let anything remain sacred in a man's soul-- and his soul won't be sacred to him. Kill reverence and you've killed the hero in man. One doesn't reverence with a giggle. He'll obey and he'll set no limits to his obedience-- anything goes-- nothing is too serious. Here's another way. This is most important. Don't allow men to be happy. Happiness is self-contained and self-sufficient. Happy men have no time and no use for you. Happy men are free men. So kill their joy in living. Take away from them whatever is dear or important to them. Never let them have what they want. Make them feel that the mere fact of personal desire is evil. Bring them to a state where saying 'I want' is no longer a natural right, but a shameful admission. Altruism is of great help in this. Unhappy men will come to you. They'll need you. They'll come for consolation, for support, for escape. Nature allows no vacuum. Empty man's soul-- and the space is yours to fill. I don't see why you should look so shocked, Peter. This is the oldest one of all. Look back at history. Look at any great system of ethics, from the Orient up. Didn't they all preach the sacrifice of personal joy? Under all the complications of verbiage haven't they all had a single leitmotif: sacrifice, renunciation, self-denial? Haven't you been able to catch their theme song-- 'Give up, give up, give up, give up'? Look at the moral atmosphere of today. Everything enjoyable, from cigarettes to sex to ambition to the profit motive, is considered depraved or sinful. Just prove that a thing makes men happy-- and you've damned it. That's how far we've come. We've tied happiness to guilt. And we've got mankind by the throat. Throw your first-born into a sacrificial furnace-- lie on a bed of nails-- go into the desert to mortify the flesh-- don't dance-- don't go to the movies on Sunday-- don't try to get rich-- don't smoke-- don't drink. It's all the same line. The great line. Fools think that taboos of this nature are just nonsense. Something left over, old-fashioned. Bu there's always a purpose in nonsense. Don't bother to examine folly-- ask yourself only what it accomplishes. Every system of ethics that preached sacrifice grew into a world power and ruled millions of men. Of course, you must dress it up. You must tell people that they'll achieve a superior kind of happiness by giving up everything that makes them happy. You don't have to be too clear about it. Use big vague words. 'Universal Harmony'-- 'Eternal Spirit'-- 'Divine Purpose'-- 'Nirvana'-- 'Paradise'-- 'Racial Supremacy'-- 'The Dictatorship of the Proletariat.' Internal corruption, Peter. That's the oldest one of all. The farce has been going on for centuries and men still fall for it. Yet the test should be so simple: just listen to any prophet and if you hear him speak of sacrifice-- run. Run faster than from a plague. It stands to reason that where there's sacrifice, there's someone collecting sacrificial offerings. Where there's service, there's someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice, speaks of slaves and masters. And intends to be the master. But if ever you hear of a man telling you that you must be happy, that it's your natural right, that your fist duty is to yourself-- that will be the man who's not after your soul. That will be the man who has nothing to gain from you. But let him come and you'll scream your heads off, howling that he's a selfish monster. So the racket is safe for many, many centuries. But here you might have noticed something. I said, 'It stands to reason.' Do you see? Men have a weapon against you. Reason. So you must be very sure to take it away from them. Cut the props from under it. But be careful. Don't deny outright. Never deny anything outright, you give your hand away. Don't say reason is evil-- though some have gone that far and with astonishing success. Just say that reason is limited. That there's something above it. What? You don't have to be too clear about it either. The field's inexhaustible. 'Instinct'-- 'Feeling'-- 'Revelation'-- 'Divine Intuition'-- 'Dialectic Materialism.' If you get caught at some crucial point and somebody tells you that your doctrine doesn't make sense-- you're ready for him. You tell him that there's something above sense. That here he must not try to think, he must feel. He must believe. Suspend reason and you play it deuces wild. Anything goes in any manner and you wish whenever you need it. You've got him. Can you rule a thinking man? We don't want any thinking men."
    Keating had sat down on the floor, by the side of the dresser; he had felt tired and he had simply folded his legs. He did not want to abandon the dresser; he felt safer, leaning against it; as if it still guarded the letter he had surrendered.
    "Peter, you've heard all this. You've seen me practicing it for ten years. You see it being practiced all over the world. Why are you disgusted? You have no right to sit there and stare at me with the virtuous superiority of being shocked. You're in on it. You've taken your share and you've got to go along. You're afraid to see where it's leading. I'm not. I'll tell you. The world of the future. The world I want. A world of obedience and unity. A world where the thought of each man will not be his own, but an attempt to guess the thought of the brain of his neighbor who'll have no thought of his own but an attempt to guess the thought of the next neighbor who'll have no thought-- and so on, Peter, around the globe. Since all must agree with all. A world where no man will hold a desire for himself, but will direct all his efforts to satisfy the desires of his neighbor who'll have no desires except to satisfy the desires of the next neighbor who'll have no desires-- around the globe, Peter. Since all must serve all. A world in which man will not work for so innocent an incentive as money, but for that headless monster-- prestige. The approval of his fellows-- their good opinion-- the opinion of men who'll be allowed to hold no opinion. An octopus, all tentacles and no brain. Judgement, Peter! Not judgement, but public polls. An average drawn upon zeroes-- since no individuality will be permitted. A world with its motor cut off and a single heart, pumped by hand. My hand-- and the hands of a few, a very few other men like me. Those who know what makes you tick-- you great, wonderful average, you who have not risen in fury when we called you average, the little, the common, you who've liked and accepted those names. You'll site enthroned and enshrined. You, the little people, the absolute ruler to make all past rulers squirm with envy, the absolute, the unlimited, God and Prophet and King combined. Vox populi. The average, the common, the general. Do you know the proper antonym for Ego? Bromide, Peter. The rule of the bromide. But even the trite has to be originated by someone at some time. We'll do the originating. Vox dei. We'll enjoy unlimited submission-- from men who've learned nothing except to submit. We'll cal it 'to serve.' We'll give out medals for service. You'll fall over one another in a scramble to see who can submit better and more. There will be no other distinction to seek. No other form of personal achievement. Can you see Howard Roark in the picture? No? Then don't waste time on foolish questions. Everything that can't be ruled must go. And if freaks persist in being born occasionally, they will not survive beyond their twelfth year. When their brain begins to function, it will feel the pressure and it will explode. The pressure gauged to a vacuum. Do you know the fate of deep-sea creatures brought out to sunlight? So much for future Roarks. The rest of you will smile and obey. Have you noticed that the imbecile always smiles? Man's first frown is the first touch of God on his forehead. The touch of thought. But we'll have neither God nor thought. Only voting by smiles. Automatic levers-- all saying yes... Now if you were a little more intelligent like your ex-wife, for instance-- you'd ask: What of us, the rulers? What of me, Ellsworth Monkton Toohey? And I'd say, Yes you're right. I'll achieve no more than you will. I'll have no purpose save to keep you contented. To lie, to flatter you, to praise you, to inflate your vanity. To make speeches about the people and the common good. Peter, my poor old friend, I'm the most selfless man you've ever known. I have less independence than you, whom I just forced to sell your soul. You've used people at least for the sake of what you could get from them for yourself. I want nothing for myself. I use people for the sake of what I can do to them. It's my only function and my satisfaction. I have no private purpose. I want power. I want my world of the future. Let all live for all. Let all sacrifice and none profit. Let all suffer and none enjoy. Let progress stop. Let all stagnate. There's equality in stagnation. All subjugated to the will of all. Universal slavery-- without even the dignity of a master. Slavery to slavery. A great circle-- and a total equality. The world of the future."
    "Ellsworth... you're..."
    "Insane? Afraid to say it? There you sit and the word's written all over you, your last hope. Insane? Look around you. Pick up any newspaper and read the headlines. Isn't it coming? Isn't it here? Every single thing I told you? Isn't Europe swallowed already and we're stumbling on to follow? Everything I said is contained in a single word-- collectivism. And isn't that the god of our century? To act together. To think-- together. To feel-- together. To unite, to agree, to obey. To obey, to serve, to sacrifice. Divide and conquer-- first. But then-- unite and rule. We've discovered that one at last. Remember the Roman Emperor who said he wished humanity had a single neck so he could cut it? People laughed at him for centuries. But we'll have the last laugh. We've accomplished what he couldn't accomplish. We've taught men to unite. This makes one neck ready for one leash. We found the magic word. Collectivism. Look at Europe, you fool. Can't you see past the guff and recognize essence? One country is dedicated to the proposition that man has no rights, the collective is all. The individual is held as evil, the mass-- as God. No motive and no virtue permitted-- except that of service to the proletariat. That's one version. Here's another. A country dedicated to the proposition that man has no rights, that the motive and no virtue permitted-- except that of service to the race. Am I raving or is this the cold reality of two continents already? Watch the pincer movement. If you're sick of one version, we push you into another. We get you coming and going. We've closed the doors. We've fixed the coin. Heads-- collectivism, and tails-- collectivism. Fight the doctrine which slaughters the individual with doctrine which slaughters the individual. Give up your soul to a council-- or give it up to a leader. But give it up, give it up, give it up. My technique, Peter. Offer poison as food and poison as antidote. Go fancy on the trimmings but hang on to the main objective. Give the fools choice, let them have their fun-- don't forget the only purpose you have to accomplish. Kill the individual. Kill man's soul. The rest will follow automatically. Observe the state of the world as of the present moment. Do you still think I'm crazy, Peter?"
    Keating sat on the floor, his legs spread out. He lifted one hand and studied his fingertips, then put it to his mouth and bit off a hangnail. But the movement was deceptive; the man was reduced to a single sense, the sense of hearing, and Toohey knew that no answer could be expected.
    Keating waited obediently; it seemed to make no difference; the sounds had stopped and it was not his function to wait until they started again.
    Toohey put his hands on the arms of his chair, then lifted his palms from the wrists and clasped the wood again, a little slap of resigned finality. He pushed himself up to his feet.
    "Thank you, Peter," he said gravely. "Honesty is a hard thing to eradicate. I have made speeches to large audiences all my life. This was the speech I'll never have a chance to make."
    Keating lifted his head. His voice had the quality of a downpayment on terror; it was not frightened, but it held the advance echoes of the next hour to come:
    "Don't go, Ellsworth."
    Toohey stood over him, and laughed softly.
    "That's the answer, Peter. That's my proof. You know me for what I am, you know what I've done to you, you have no illusions of virtue left. But you can't leave me and you'll never be able to leave me. You've obeyed me in the name of ideals. You'll go on obeying me without ideals. Because that's all you're good for now... Goodnight, Peter.""
--Ayn Rand.  The Fountainhead

Admiral Mifune: No, it's not that... I was just thinking about something I was told once about monkey tribes.
Chief of Staff Fuji: What?
Admiral Mifune: Monkeys create very organized tribes with a leader at the top. But once every few years without fail a heretic monkey will appear in the tribe.
Chief of Staff Fuji: Oh. A heretic monkey.
Admiral Mifune: This heretic will leave his tribe and try to join another. But the monkeys of his new tribe will try to keep it out, literally beating it until it's bloody.
Chief of Staff Fuji: Aah, so even monkey societies have strays like Tylor, huh Admiral?
Admiral Mifune: However, those strays are a vital element to their survival.
Chief of Staff Fuji: They're a vital element?
Admiral Mifune: The reason is that the heretics keep them from inbreeding too much. It keeps the tribal bloodline from growing too thick.  Therefore the heretic monkey is necessary for the entire tribe's survival.
Chief of Staff Fuji: You're saying these heretics play a necessary role in nature?
Admiral Mifune: Yes, and Tylor may be the heretic for our own military society.
Chief of Staff Fuji: Admiral, are you suggesting that the military needs Tylor?
Admiral Mifune: Aah.
Chief of Staff Fuji: What is it Admiral, is something wrong?
Admiral Mifune: The heretic is the vital link in any group, but I still don't know if Justy Ueki Tylor is the one.
--"For His Was a Genius No Rule Could Contain."  The Irresponsible Captain Tylor
 

"I'm taking small steps to your temple door
I'm waking slowly amidst this dull roar
I am facing the future and all that it holds
I am waiting for you, now my love

One star above me and two stars ahead
One moon to guide me, alone I am led
Like a child of a fire who will walk on the coals
I am waiting for you, now my love
I am waiting for you, now my love

Little steps, darling
Little steps now my love

I'm taking small steps to your temple door
I'm waking slowly amidst this dull roar
I am facing the future and all that it holds
I am waiting for you, now my love

Little steps, darling
Little steps now my love"
--Merrie Amsterburg.  Little Steps
 

"We can talk like we're in love or talk like we're above it
We can talk and talk until we talk ourselves out of it"
--Elvis Costello. Talking In The Dark
 

"I'm so tired
of falling in love
Finding it easier
to fall out
I can't deny it
I feel it inside
I'll keep its fire
you can't hide

I'm falling in love again
ain't nothing I can do
Falling in love again
this time it's with you
When I fall
it's always the same
and I'm so tired
of playing this game

It's so long now
since I gave up my heart
I've kept the light down
I don't wanna get it hard
So let me tell you now
I just wanna be sure
that you won't hurt me
Can you promise me that?

Falling in love again
ain't nothing I can do
Falling in love again, girl
and this time it's with you
When I fall
it's always the same
and I'm so tired
of playing this game

Got to tell me if you're gonna break my heart
If you don't wanna take the chance
And if it ain't true, all it's gonna be
is nothing but a poor romance
So, give me that promise to hold on now
I'll never let you go
I've got to have something go on, oh
then you know now

Falling in love again
ain't nothing I can do
Falling in love again, girl
this time it's with you
When I fall
it's always the same
and I'm so tired
of playing this game, yeah

(Falling in love)
Falling in love again
(Falling in love)
Falling in love again
(Falling in love)
Falling in love again
(Falling in love)

Falling in love again
ain't nothing I can do
Falling in love again, girl
this time it's with you
When I fall
it's always the same
and I'm so tired
of playing this game"
--Eagle Eye Cherry. Falling In Love Again
 

"CRM is like high school sex: Everybody talks about it. Everybody thinks everyone else is doing it, and those that are doing it are doing it poorly."
--H. Robert Wientzen
 

"I am lonely like the moon
You are far away as the earth
Though you say I light your thoughts
Night after night
Soon you forget

We are drifting in this dance
I can feel you circle my heart
Keeping such a graceful distance
So close but somehow apart

Sometimes I cry for you
Knowing you don't want me to
Sometimes I whisper to the stars up in the sky

That I want to find the way to your soul
Kiss in the sun when morning comes
You don't seem to count the hours
When we are not together
I've seen a tender fire in your eyes

Yet when I'm gone you carry on
I float in this emptiness
Till at least love returns
With the night
And the lonely moon

I am lonely like the moon
Always wanting you to be near
I embrace you till the dawn
Then with a smile
You disappear

We continue in our dance
There are times I think it should end
But I lose myself in rapture
And we start all over again

Sometimes I cry for you
Knowing you don't want me to
Sometimes I whisper to the stars up in the sky

That I want to find the way to your soul
Kiss in the sun when morning comes
You don't seem to count the hours
When we are not together
I've seen a tender fire in your eyes

Yet when I'm gone you carry on
I float in this emptiness
Till at least love returns
With the night
And the lonely moon

I love the warm emotion you bring
Though there is pain, I don't complain
How you can inspire me
Whenever we're together
Every time it's like a new song
You move me so
I think you know
I won't even say a word
In your arms or far from sight
I'll be your light
Like the lonely moon"
--Scottie Raskell.  The Lonely Moon (English Version)
 

"My tea's gone cold
I'm wondrin why I
Got out of bed at all
The morning rain clouds up my window
And I can't see at all
And even if I could it'd all be gray
but your picture on my wall
It reminds me that it's not so bad
It's not so bad
I drank too much last night
Got bills to pay
My head just feels in pain
I missed the bus and there'll be hell today
I'm late for work again
And even if I'm there they'll all imply
That I might not last the day
And then you called me
And it's not so bad
It's not so bad

And I....want to thank you
For giving me the best day of my life
Oohh, just to be with you
Is having the best day of my life

Push the door I'm home at last
And I'm soaking through and through
And then you handed me a towel
And all I see is you
And even if my house falls down now
I wouldn't have a clue
Because you're near me

And I....want to thank you
For giving me the best day of my life
Oooh, just to be with you
Is having the best day of my life"
--Dido. Thank You
 

"Friends cherish each other's hopes.
They are kind to each other's dreams."
--Henry David Thoreau
 

"THEL'S Motto
Does the Eagle know what is in the pit?
Or wilt thou go ask the Mole:
Can Wisdom be put in a silver rod?
Or Love in a golden bowl?


THEL

I
The daughters of Mne Seraphim led round their sunny flocks,
All but the youngest: she in paleness sought the secret air.
To fade away like morning beauty from her mortal day:
Down by the river of Adona her soft voice is heard;
And thus her gentle lamentation falls like morning dew.

O life of this our spring! why fades the lotus of the water?
Why fade these children of the spring? born but to smile & fall.
Ah! Thel is like a watry bow, and like a parting cloud,
Like a reflection in a glass: like shadows in the water
Like dreams of infants, like a smile upon an infants face.
Like the doves voice, like transient day, like music in the air:
Ah! gentle may I lay me down and gentle rest my head.
And gentle sleep the sleep of death, and gently hear the voice
Of him that walketh in the garden in the evening time.

The Lilly of the valley breathing in the humble grass
Answerd the lovely maid and said: I am a watry weed,
And I am very small and love to dwell in lowly vales:
So weak the gilded butterfly scarce perches on my head
Yet I am visited from heaven and he that smiles on all
Walks in the valley, and each morn over me spreads his hand
Saying, rejoice thou humble grass, thou new-born lily flower.
Thou gentle maid of silent valleys and of modest brooks:
For thou shall be clothed in light, and fed with morning manna:
Till summers heat melts thee beside the fountains and the springs
To flourish in eternal vales: they why should Thel complain.
Why should the mistress of the vales of Har, utter a sigh.

She ceasd & smild in tears, then sat down in her silver shrine.

Thel answerd, O thou little virgin of the peaceful valley.
Giving to those that cannot crave, the voiceless, the o'er tired
The breath doth nourish the innocent lamb, he smells the milky garments
He crops thy flowers while thou sittest smiling in his face,
Wiping his mild and meekin mouth from all contagious taints.
Thy wine doth purify the golden honey; thy perfume.
Which thou dost scatter on every little blade of grass that springs
Revives the milked cow, & tames the fire-breathing steed.
But Thel is like a faint cloud kindled at the rising sun:
I vanish from my pearly throne, and who shall find my place.

Queen of the vales the Lily answered, ask the tender cloud,
And it shall tell thee why it glitters in the morning sky.
And why it scatters its bright beauty thro the humid air.
Descend O little cloud & hover before the eyes of Thel.

The Cloud descended and the Lily bowd her modest head:
And went to mind her numerous charge among the verdant grass.


II.
O little Cloud the virgin said, I charge thee to tell me
Why thou complainest now when in one hour thou fade away:
Then we shall seek thee but not find: ah Thel is like to thee.
I pass away, yet I complain, and no one hears my voice.

The Cloud then shewd his golden head & his bright form emerg'd.
Hovering and glittering on the air before the face of Thel.

O virgin know'st thou not our steeds drink of the golden springs
Where Luvah doth renew his horses: lookst thou on my youth.
And fearest thou because I vanish and am seen no more.
Nothing remains; O maid I tell thee, when I pass away.
It is to tenfold life, to love, to peace, and raptures holy:
Unseen descending, weigh my light wings upon balmy flowers:
And court the fair eyed dew, to take me to her shining tent
The weeping virgin, trembling kneels before the risen sun.
Till we arise link'd in a golden band and never part:
But walk united bearing food to all our tender flowers.

Dost thou O little cloud? I fear that I am not like thee:
For I walk through the vales of Har, and smell the sweetest flowers:
But I feed not the little flowers: I hear the warbling birds,
But I feed not the warbling birds, they fly and seek their food:
But Thel delights in these no more because I fade away
And all shall say, without a use this shining women liv'd,
Or did she only live to be at death the food of worms.

The Cloud reclind upon his airy throne and answerd thus.

Then if thou art the food of worms, O virgin of the skies,
How great thy use, how great thy blessing, every thing that lives.
Lives not alone nor or itself: fear not and I will call,
The weak worm from its lowly bed, and thou shalt hear its voice.
Come forth worm and the silent valley, to thy pensive queen.

The helpless worm arose and sat upon the Lillys leaf,
And the bright Cloud saild on, to find his partner in the vale.


III.
Then Thel astonish'd view'd the Worm upon its dewy bed.

Art thou a Worm? image of weakness. art thou but a Worm?
I see thee like an infant wrapped in the Lillys leaf;
Ah weep not little voice, thou can'st not speak, but thou can'st weep:
Is this a Worm? I see they lay helpless & naked: weeping
And none to answer, none to cherish thee with mothers smiles.

The Clod of Clay heard the Worms voice & rais'd her pitying head:
She bowd over the weeping infant, and her life exhald
In milky fondness, then on Thel she fix'd her humble eyes

O beauty of the vales of Har, we live not for ourselves,
Thou seest me the meanest thing, and so I am indeed:
My bosom of itself is cold, and of itself is dark,

But he that loves the lowly, pours his oil upon my head
And kisses me, and binds his nuptial bands around my breast.
And says; Thou mother of my children, I have loved thee
And I have given thee a crown that none can take away.
But how this is sweet maid, I know not, and I cannot know
I ponder, and I cannot ponder; yet I live and love.

The daughter of beauty wip'd her pitying tears with her white veil,
And said, Alas! I knew not this, and therefore did I weep:
That God would love a Worm I knew, and punish the evil foot
That wilful bruis'd its helpless form: but that he cherish'd it
With milk and oil I never knew, and therefore did I weep,
And I complaind in the mild air, because I fade away.
And lay me down in thy cold bed, and leave my shining lot.

Queen of the vales, the matron Clay answered: I heard thy sighs.
And all thy moans flew o'er my roof, but I have call'd them down:
Wilt thou O Queen enter my house, tis given thee to enter,
And to return: fear nothing, enter with thy virgin feet.


IV.
The eternal gates terrific porter lifted the northern bar:
Thel enter'd in & saw the secrets of the land unknown;
She saw the couches of the dead, & where the fibrous roots
Of every heart on earth infixes deep its restless twists:
A land of sorrows & of tears where never smile was seen.

She wandered in the land of clouds thro' valleys dark, listning
Dolors & lamentations: waiting oft beside the dewy grave
She stood in silence, listning to the voices of the ground,
Till to her own grave plot she came, & there she sat down.
And heard this voice of sorrow breathed from the hollow pit.

Why cannot the Ear be closed to its own destruction?
Or the glistening Eye to the poison of a smile!
Why are Eyelids stord with arrows ready drawn,
Where a thousand fighting men in ambush lie!
Or an Eye of gifts & graces showring fruits & coined gold!

Why a Tongue impress'd with honey from every wind?
Why an Ear, a whirlpool fierce to draw creations in?
Why a Nostril wide inhaling terror trembling & affright
Why a tender curb upon the youthful burning boy?
Why a little curtain of flesh on the bed of our desire?

The Virgin started from her seat, & with a shriek,
Fled back unhinderd till she came into the vales of Har"
--William Blake. The Book of Thel
 

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"
--Arthur C. Clarke

"It can happen any moment,
Without reason or rhyme.
It might be right around a corner,
Or it'll come up from behind.
A picture that I thought would fade,
That I still clearly see.

When the thought of you
Catches up with me.

It can happen on a Sunday drive,
Sky above a shade of blue.
Heading down some lonesome highway,
Then you come into view.
Mile after mile goes by,
But you're all I see.

When the thought of you
Catches up with me.

When a cloud of you comes to mind,
It'll carry me away,
To a better place and time.

It can happen in the dead of night,
Or any day of the week.
Sometimes you can find me,
When I'm in bed asleep.
I'll have that dream about you,
And I sure love what I see.

When the thought of you
Catches up with me.

When the thought of you
Catches up with me.

When the thought of you
Catches up with me."
--David Ball.  When The Thought of You Catches Up With Me
 

"I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,
May you never take one single breath for granted,
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed,
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance....I hope you dance.

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Livin' might mean takin' chances but they're worth takin',
Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth makin',
Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter,
When you come close to sellin' out reconsider,
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I h