Quote of the Day: 31 December 2022 #QotD

“It’s not enough to change a few little habits! Everybody I know needs a complete personality overhaul!” -Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes
[Happy New Year's Eve! I hope you're able to set some appropriate goals. I know I need to figure a few out.]

Quote of the Day: 30 December 2022 #QotD

“[I]f we don’t allow our kids to contribute to the family, we erode their feelings of belonging. How can you belong to a group if your most meaningful role is that of couch warmer?” -Amy McCready
[The pup seems to resent my efforts to provide him opportunities to contribute to the family. But he likes it when there are extra opportunities that allow him to earn a bit of cash. I guess I shall have to persist.]

Quote of the Day: 29 December 2022 #QotD

“But most of the terrible things that happen in this land don’t happen because of evil men, not really. They happen because of people who just don’t know any better.” -Falcio val Mond, Traitor’s Blade
[It would be so much easier if we could just point to the evil people causing all the problems. But real life doesn't work that way. Too many of our problems arise, not because of some nefarious plot, but because too many people are unwilling to engage in doing good around them.]

Quote of the Day: 28 December 2022 #QotD

“Evil begins when you begin to treat people as things.” -Granny Weatherwax (attributed), I Shall Wear Midnight

[Treating a person as a thing leads you to very dangerous places. Dangerous to others, and to your own humanity.]

Quote of the Day: 27 December 2022 #QotD

“Evil is not something superhuman, it’s something less than human.” -Inspector Lejeune, The Pale Horse
[Or, rather, it is all too human, but something we strive to overcome, and therefore, less worthy of our consideration than so many other things.]

Quote of the Day: 26 December 2022 #QotD

“I don’t know about you, but I would rather fail at doing the right thing than succeed at doing the wrong thing.” -Lawrence W. Reed
[Character matters. Even more than success or worldly gain.]

Quote of the Day: 25 December 2022 #QotD

“[T]here is nothing more important we can do this Christmas than to rivet our focus on the Savior and on the gift of what His life really means to each of us.” -Russell M. Nelson
[Merry Christmas!]

Quote of the Day: 24 December 2022 #QotD

“[F]rom Dickens to Die Hard, running through and making possible all these charming and uplifting stories that have become part of American Christmas, is the original Christmas story, which most Americans from the earliest days would have read in the King James Version[.]” -Christopher Flannery
[Happy Christmas Eve! May your celebrations bring you joy and peace.]

Quote of the Day: 23 December 2022 #QotD

“I should have liked, I do confess, to have had the lightest licence of a child, and yet to have been man enough to know its value.” -Ebenezer Scrooge, _A Christmas Carol
[Isn't that how it always is? We don't recognize the value of the time we are in until we have passed it.]

Quote of the Day: 22 December 2022 #QotD

“Ultimately, any attempt to limit what individuals can think or say weakens the defining ethos of the West, namely the unfettered commitment to the pursuit of truth unencumbered by the shackles of the thought police.” -Gad Saad
[Which seems to be some people's goal.]

Quote of the Day: 21 December 2022 #QotD

“Both the assets and the liabilities of our educational system need to be assessed, to see what can be salvaged from the debacle and reorganized into a viable enterprise.” -Thomas Sowell
[And quickly, before all the assets have depreciated to nothing.]

Quote of the Day: 20 December 2022 #QotD

“We’re all snatching precious moments from the peaceful jaws of time.” -The Green Death, How to Train Your Dragon
[Sometimes, the villain gets the best line.]

Quote of the Day: 19 December 2022 #QotD

“You never know ahead of time what something’s really going to be like.” -Leslie Burke, Bridge to Terabithia
[I have had reality fail to meet my expectations, in both good and bad ways, so many times throughout my life, that I don't know why I still get surprised when it happens.]

Quote of the Day: 18 December 2022 #QotD

“The Lord always provides us with help when we face adversity, temptation, incomprehension, infirmities, and even death. … He will never abandon us!” -Jorge F. Zeballos

Quote of the Day: 17 December 2022 #QotD

“The trend in our culture is to devalue—even bypass—the family as a basic unit of socialization. But it’s within the family that children learn to love by seeing love demonstrated; learn unselfishness both through teaching and through example (choosing to teach a child at home is unselfishness at work); learn conflict resolution by figuring out how to get along with parents and with each other.” -Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise
[Don't let society tear apart your family. Impart your values to your children. Learn from your parents what things they hold dear. Even if you don't continue all of your family traditions, learn about them, and teach your children about them. Society is built out of families. And strong ones are needed to perpetuate a society worth living in.]

Quote of the Day: 16 December 2022 #QotD

“[G]iving kids too much help with things they can and should do for themselves not only robs them of opportunities, it also erodes their self-confidence.” -Amy McCready
[I probably do a terrible job of helping my children appropriately. It's a daily struggle for me.]

Quote of the Day: 15 December 2022 #QotD

“We don’t always get to be who we want to be, do we?” -Aline, Knight’s Shadow
[Sometimes we have to be who we must be rather than who we want to be. It can be frustrating.]

Quote of the Day: 14 December 2022 #QotD

“To define is to limit.” -Lord Henry Wotton, The Picture of Dorian Gray
[Certainly apropos given the recent definitional changes by a certain dictionary.]

Quote of the Day: 13 December 2022 #QotD

“It’s far better to admit ignorance than to pretend you know something when you really just heard it on TV.” -Patrick Carroll
[Or read it out of a book, or picked it up from a friend, or accepted from any of a number of sources without checking any supporting evidence.]

Quote of the Day: 12 December 2022 #QotD

“All life is dangerous. We forget that, we who have been reared in one of the small pockets of civilisation.” -Mr. Venables, The Pale Horse
[It quickly becomes apparent as you step out of those pockets of civilization, however. Whether that be into the wilderness, or into an urban jungle.]

Quote of the Day: 11 December 2022 #QotD

“Although each possesses specific attributes and divinely appointed responsibilities, woman and man fill equally relevant and essential roles in God’s plan of happiness for His children.” -Ulisses Soares

Quote of the Day: 10 December 2022 #QotD

“Public education is as old as our nation—but only lately has it adopted the purpose of supplanting the family and controlling parents.” -Larry P. Arnn
[I didn't feel like the school system was trying to supplant my parents as the primary authority figure in my life when I was young. I can't say the same thing about them now. I don't know how my parents felt about it at the time though.]

Quote of the Day: 9 December 2022 #QotD

“I already know more than I want to! I liked things better when I didn’t understand them!” -Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes
[Me too. Ignorance truly can be bliss. It can also be deadly. But at least you feel good.]

Quote of the Day: 8 December 2022 #QotD

“In all my teaching I have watched carefully the influence of the tooth-brush, and I am convinced that there are few single agencies of civilization that are more far-reaching.” -Booker T. Washington
[There are many small things that add up to significant differences. Sometimes compounding upon one another.]

Quote of the Day: 7 December 2022 #QotD

“Sometimes the truth is arrived at by adding all the little lies together and deducting them from the totality of what is known.” -Terry Pratchett
[Especially when lies fly fast and thick, as they do in our increasingly contentious society.]

Quote of the Day: 6 December 2022 #QotD

“Anyone who is willing to end a relationship because of a reasoned difference of opinion is not worthy of your friendship.” -Gad Saad
[I may be guilty of having done this once or twice; however, I hope that I have matured to the point that any further instances will be the result of the other party terminating the relationship rather than myself.]

Quote of the Day: 5 December 2022 #QotD

“So clumsy of thought and pen were the Founders that even today, seven generations later, we can tell what they were talking about.” -P. J. O’Rourke
[Well, some of us can anyway. There are plenty of folks who have been failed by the educational establishment that cannot. And more who choose not to be able to.]

Quote of the Day: 4 December 2022 #QotD

“On the path of forgiveness, Jesus Christ’s atoning power can flow into our lives and begin to heal the deep crevasses of the heart and soul.” -Kristin M. Yee

Quote of the Day: 3 December 2022 #QotD

“Written language is very unlike spoken language; it has different rules and conventions.” -Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise
[Neither is superior to the other, only different. And it is a mistake to treat one as the other.]

Quote of the Day: 2 December 2022 #QotD

“You don’t have to be superparent to make a difference in your kids’ lives.” -Amy McCready
[This is a very comforting reminder to receive, and I expect that many parents need it from time to time.]

Quote of the Day: 1 December 2022 #QotD

“Disappointingly – and I really hated to admit it, but this kept happening to me – life failed to live up to my expectations.” -Falcio val Mond, Knight’s Shadow
[A lesson life has clobbered me with repeatedly.]

Quote of the Day: 30 November 2022 #QotD

“To say that any particular reform is no panacea is to say what must be true of anything human. To object to reforms on such grounds is to say that there can be no reform.” -Thomas Sowell

[A further pontification on the perfect being the enemy of the good.]

Quote of the Day: 29 November 2022 #QotD

“To be popular one must be a mediocrity.” -Lord Henry Wotton, The Picture of Dorian Gray
[It is hard to relate to people who aren't also experts in your area of expertise or excellence. You must be mediocre in some way to achieve popularity. That doesn't mean that all you do is mediocre. Merely that you have found a way to connect with the masses who are, by definition, approximately average.]

Quote of the Day: 28 November 2022 #QotD

“I really can’t go along with this modern playing down of evil as something that doesn’t really exist. There is evil. And evil is powerful. Sometimes more powerful than good. It’s there. It has to be recognised—and fought. Otherwise—we go down to darkness.” -Mr. Venables, The Pale Horse
[There are too many instances of atrocities in human history to dismiss evil as nonexistent, regardless of whether or not you hold a belief in God or a god.]

Quote of the Day: 27 November 2022 #QotD

“Indeed, He is ‘the way’ for the plan of salvation to be accomplished so that we can repent and, through faith in Him, return to our Heavenly Father.” -M. Russell Ballard

Quote of the Day: 26 November 2022 #QotD

“[Y]ou can dress up turkey as resplendently as you like, but it will never be beef.” -Andrew Rea
[I hope y'all are enjoying your leftovers. Ours are fine. And we elected to have pie today rather than on Thanksgiving proper, so that we could have more pie variety, and the companionship of friends.]

Quote of the Day: 25 November 2022 #QotD

“Life is full of surprises, but never when you need one.” -Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes

[Or, if you do get one then, it's unlikely to be a surprise you want.]

Quote of the Day: 24 November 2022 #QotD #Thanksgiving

“What is the one thing that people who can fully lean into joy have in common?

“Gratitude.” -Brené Brown

[Happy Thanksgiving!]

Quote of the Day: 23 November 2022 QotD

“[W]hat the wise man cannot change he must channel.” -Havelock Vetinari, Unseen Academicals
[Good to keep in mind. Not only that you could do it yourself, but that others may be doing it with regard to other things going on around you.]

Quote of the Day: 22 November 2022 #QotD

“Health and economics both require the nonnegotiable called freedom. May we never again experiment with the near abolition of freedom in the cause of mitigating disease.” -Jeffrey A. Tucker
[I doubt there won't be an attempt though. They've tasted the power, and they hunger for more.]

Quote of the Day: 21 November 2022 #QotD

“Government is so tedious that sometimes you wonder if the government isn’t being boring on purpose. Maybe they’re trying to put us to sleep so we won’t notice what they’re doing.” -P. J. O’Rourke
[Maybe. Maybe not. Doesn't matter much if that's the reason, because that is the effect.]

Quote of the Day: 20 November 2022 #QotD

“Some would have us believe that truth is relative—that each person should determine for himself or herself what is true. Such a belief is but wishful thinking for those who mistakenly think they will not also be accountable to God.” -Russell M. Nelson

Quote of the Day: 19 November 2022 #QotD

“Once we delimit what can be satirized, we are no longer living in a free society.” -Gad Saad
[Free society is a good thing. Certainly preferable to the alternative.]

Quote of the Day: 18 November 2022 #QotD

“Rome boasted the name of the Eternal City. It was but eight hundred years from the sack of the city by one tribe of barbarians to the sack of the city by another tribe of barbarians. Between lay something akin to a democratic commonwealth. Then games, and bribes for the populace, with dictators and Cæsars, while later the Prætorian Guard sold the royal purple to the highest bidder. After which came Alaric, the Goth, and night. Since when democracy lay dormant for some fifteen centuries.” -Calvin Coolidge

[Republics come and go. I'd prefer not to live in a time when we haven't got one, though.]

Quote of the Day: 17 November 2022 #QotD

“The home-school environment prepares children for the ‘real world’ better than identification with age-segregated peer groups. After all, the typical workplace contains a number of different ages and abilities, not a single peer group.” -Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise
[People with no experience of homeschooling or know no homeschooling families tend to be overly concerned with socialization of homeschoolers. Even people who I consider to have been poorly homeschooled have had fine socialization. In fact, there is only one family that I knew that poorly socialized their children, and that seemed to be out of fear for how the world would poison their children's lives.]

Quote of the Day: 16 November 2022 #QotD

“To be Elect is to insist that unequal outcomes mean unequal opportunity, which is false.” -John McWhorter
[This is an easy thing to verify. It doesn't take a ton of thought to reach this conclusion, but if you never actually engage your brain, you'll accept this premise without questioning it.]

Quote of the Day: 15 November 2022 #QotD

“You don’t reason with mobs for the same reason you don’t reason with hordes of fire ants: they’re too stupid to understand what you’re saying and eventually they’ll just swarm over you.” -Falcio val Mond, Saint’s Blood
[A good thing to keep in mind when in a situation that involves a mob. Even when it is only in potentia.]

Quote of the Day: 14 November 2022 #QotD

“Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.” -Lord Henry Wotton, The Picture of Dorian Gray
[Whether in the realm of love, politics, or something else, this seems to be true to me.]

Quote of the Day: 13 November 2022 #QotD

“Our Heavenly Father’s love for each of His children is real. He is there for each one.” -Hugo Montoya

Quote of the Day: 12 November 2022 #QotD

“Too often, American educators are like the Wizard of Oz, handing out substitutes for brains, bravery, or heart.” -Thomas Sowell
[After decades of pumping out such 'graduates' year on year we're4 now in a pretty poor place.]

Quote of the Day: 11 November 2022 #QotD

“It’s not denial. I’m just very selective about the reality I accept.” -Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes
[A lot of people have been employing that lately, and a few more a likely to adopt that approach soon.

Unrelatedly, have a blessed Veterans' Day.]

Quote of the Day: 10 November 2022 #QotD

“[T]hat’s the flaw of coulda shoulda woulda. We assume the path not taken would be utterly flawless and cause no issues whatsoever. But that’s not how humanity works.” -Sarah Hoyt
[It is so tempting to assume a single change in your past would have changed the entire trajectory of your life. The reality is that it almost certainly wouldn't. And that's hard to accept.]

Quote of the Day: 9 November 2022 #QotD

“Well, you might not be my first choice for Prince Charming, but there’s probably plenty worse.” -Glenda Sugarbean, Unseen Academicals
[Probably how a lot of folks were feeling about 'their' candidate yesterday.]

Quote of the Day: 8 November 2022 #QotD

“Happy Vote the Bums Out Day[.]” -@dril_nye
[And let us hope that they do.]

Quote of the Day: 7 November 2022 #QotD

“VOTE, n. The instrument and symbol of a freeman's power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country.” -Ambrose Bierce
[You have received many imploring messages to go vote. Now, think about whether you really should. Have you pondered the issues? Have you considered the candidates? If not, perhaps you shouldn't vote. There's more to your civic duty than to merely cast a ballot. It is but a drop in the bucket of what should be your civic engagement. Not the be all end all.]

Quote of the Day: 6 November 2022 #QotD

“[A]s we allow Him to direct us in all things, we receive testimony that ‘all things denote there is a God,’ because where we look for Him we will find Him—each and every day.” -Tracy Y. Browning

Quote of the Day: 5 November 2022 #QotD

“When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.” -P. J. O’Rourke
[That's a good reason to change them frequently.]