#argument

I'm a writer by profession and it's totally clear to me that since I started blogging, the amount I write has increased exponentially, my daily interactions with the views of others have never been so frequent, the diversity of voices I engage with is far higher than in the pre-Internet age—and all this has helped me become more modest as a thinker, more open to error, less fixated on what I do know, and more respectful of what I don't. If this is a deterioration in my brain, then more, please. "The problem is finding the space and time when this engagement stops, and calm, quiet, thinking and reading of longer-form arguments, novels, essays can begin. Worse, this also needs time for the mind to transition out of an instant gratification mode to me a more long-term, thoughtful calm. I find this takes at least a day of detox. Getting weekends back has helped. But if there were a way to channel the amazing insights of blogging into the longer, calmer modes of thinking ... we'd be getting somewhere. "I'm working on it. ↗

— Andrew Sullivan

#blogging #essays #humility #internet #media

Never preach a sermon without a text from the Bible, a text containing the theme which you can elaborate. The text is the best proof in support of your argument. A sermon without a text is an argument without a proof. ↗

— Isaac Mayer Wise

#best #bible #containing #elaborate #never

Clara shrugged and immediately knew her betrayal of Peter. In one easy movement she'd distanced herself from his bad behavior, even thought she herself was responsible for it. Just before everyone had arrived, she'd told Peter about her adventure with Gamache. Animated and excited she'd gabbled on about her box and the woods and the exhilarating climb up the ladder to the blind. But her wall of words hid from her a growing quietude. She failed to notice his silence, his distance, until it was too late and he'd retreated all the way to his icy island. She hated that place. From it he stood and stared, judged, and lobbed shards of sarcasm. 'You and your hero solve Jane's death?' 'I thought you'd be pleased,' she half lied. She actually hadn't thought at all, and if she had, she probably could have predicted his reaction. But since he was comfortably on his Inuk island, she'd retreat to hers, equipped with righteous indignation and warmed by moral certitude. She threw great logs of 'I'm right, you're an unfeeling bastard' onto the fire and felt secure and comforted. ↗

— Louise Penny

#relationships #self-righteousness #death

I hate you. You’re crazy. One minute you’re cool the next minute you’re throwing pointy objects at my head. Why would I ever want anything to do with you? You are the most insufferable bitch I have ever met!” Jackal yelled all the while looking straight into Mars’ eyes. She scowled taking a step forward, hissing, “Oh, I’m insufferable huh? You’re insufferable! You never say what you mean! The only reason I even bother with you is that I’m curious. And yes! Yes I am crazy. And I’d rather be crazy and say what I mean than keep everything in and pretend I’m something I’m not, to win approval! ↗

— L.M.N.

#bitter #humor #young-love #humor

My argument is that charity does indeed start at home, but it doesn't stop there. ↗

— Andrew Mitchell

#charity #does #home #indeed #start

The argument we always used to use was that keeping records in the catalog was good for people that were coming new to the music, but I think that was talking over a ten year or fifteen year time span. ↗

— Evan Parker

#argument #catalog #coming #fifteen #good

There is a definite argument to be made that videogames are becoming an art form put together by artists of different types. ↗

— John Romero

#art #art form #artists #becoming #definite

Our criminal justice system is fallible. We know it, even though we don't like to admit it. It is fallible despite the best efforts of most within it to do justice. And this fallibility is, at the end of the day, the most compelling, persuasive, and winning argument against a death penalty. ↗

— Eliot Spitzer

#against #argument #best #compelling #criminal

The Republican argument that raising the debt ceiling encourages additional future spending is logically irresponsible. The debt ceiling has to be raised to authorize spending already approved by Congress. Despite that fallacy, the GOP has been able to score political points with its argument. ↗

— Eliot Spitzer

#additional #already #approved #argument #authorize

I never lost an argument and my parents assumed I would be a lawyer. They cast me in that role. ↗

— Jared Harris

#assumed #cast #i #lawyer #lost