#nit

America must be the moral leader. It is not enough to have power. Power must be used to protect freedom and give all people hope for the opportunity to see the fruit of their own labor. ↗

— Jesse Helms

#enough #freedom #fruit #give #hope

What does culture want? To make infinity comprehensible. ↗

— Umberto Eco

#culture #does #infinity #make #want

I want to have faith in strangers. I want to have faith in what we're all going to do next. But I'm worried. I see things shifting from United We Stand to God Bless America. I don't believe in God Bless America. I don't believe a higher power is standing beside us and guiding us. I don't believe we're being singled out. I believe much more in United We Stand. I have my doubts, but I want it to be true. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we really came together, if we really found a common humanity? The hitch is that you can't find a common humanity just because you have a common enemy. You have to find a common humanity because you believe that's true. ↗

— David Levithan

#god-bless-america #united-states #united-we-stand #faith

The Right thinks that the breakdown of the family is the source of crime and poverty, and this they very insightfully blame on the homosexuals, which would be amusing were it not so tragic. Families and 'family values' are crushed by grinding poverty, which also makes violent crime and drugs attractive alternatives to desperate young men and sends young women into prostitution. Family values are no less corrupted by the corrosive effects of individualism, consumerism, and the accumulation of wealth. Instead of shouting this from the mountain tops, the get-me-to-heaven-and-the-rest-be-damned Christianity the Christian Right preaches is itself a version of selfish spiritual capitalism aimed at netting major and eternal dividends, and it fits hand in glove with American materialism and greed. ↗

— John D. Caputo

#christianity #conservatism #fundamentalism #faith

[The] insistence on the absolutely indiscriminate nature of compassion within the Kingdom is the dominant perspective of almost all of Jesus' teaching. What is indiscriminate compassion? 'Take a look at a rose. Is is possible for the rose to say, "I'll offer my fragrance to good people and withhold it from bad people"? Or can you imagine a lamp that withholds its rays from a wicked person who seeks to walk in its light? It could do that only be ceasing to be a lamp. And observe how helplessly and indiscriminately a tree gives its shade to everyone, good and bad, young and old, high and low; to animals and humans and every living creature -- even to the one who seeks to cut it down. This is the first quality of compassion -- its indiscriminate character.' (Anthony DeMello, The Way to Love)... What makes the Kingdom come is heartfelt compassion: a way of tenderness that knows no frontiers, no labels, no compartmentalizing, and no sectarian divisions. ↗

— Brennan Manning

#compassion #faith #jesus #kingdom #light

The challenge of social justice is to evoke a sense of community that we need to make our nation a better place, just as we make it a safer place. ↗

— Marian Wright Edelman

#better place #challenge #community #evoke #just

People always ask me why I still want to play, but I want to know why no one will give me an opportunity. It's like they put a stamp on me: 'Hall of Fame. You're done. That's it.' ↗

— Rickey Henderson

#ask #done #fame #give #give me

A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning. ↗

— Brad Henry

#good #good teacher #hope #ignite #imagination

It's such a stress always trying to get bigger houses and larger cars and better schools. Of course, parents want to give their children the best opportunities in life, but sometimes that can stifle them. ↗

— Shirley Henderson

#best #better #bigger #cars #children

Running - and yoga, too - is my sanity and my saviour. It's just finding the time to do it! ↗

— Jill Hennessy

#just #running #sanity #saviour #time