#nor

Imagine a land where people are afraid of dragons. It is a reasonable fear: dragons possess a number of qualities that make being afraid of them a very commendable response. Things like their terrible size, their ability to spout fire, or to crack boulders into splinters with their massive talons. In fact, the only terrifying quality that dragons do not possess is that of existence. Now, the people of this land know about dragons because their leaders have warned them about them. They tell stories about cruel dragons with razor teeth and fiery breath. They recount legends of dragons hunting by night on silent wings. In short, the leaders make sure that the people believe in all the qualities of dragons, including that key quality of existence. And then they control the people — when they need to — with their fear of dragons. The people pay a dragon-slaying tax … everyone stays indoors after dark to avoid being snatched by swooping claws … and nobody ever strays out of bounds for fear of being eaten well and truly up. Perhaps somebody will wonder if dragons aren’t, after all, fictitious because — despite their size — nobody seems to have actually seen one. And so it is necessary from time to time to provide evidence: a burnt tree or two, a splintered rock, the mysterious absence of a villager. The population is controlled by the dragons in its collective mind. It’s contrived superstition, and it is possible because the people do not know enough about the way the world works to know that dragons do not exist. ↗

— David Whiteland

#dragons #existence #faith #ignorance #superstition

My overall message for labor members is... that we understand that the benefits of trade are clear, but the disruption and the dislocation are painfully concentrated and we can't ignore them. ↗

— Alexis Herman

#clear #concentrated #dislocation #disruption #ignore

It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honor him for what he is. ↗

— Hermann Hesse

#each #him #honor #learn #other

For neither life nor nature cares if justice is ever done or not. ↗

— Patricia Highsmith

#done #ever #justice #life #nature

Until you have formed the habit of looking for the good instead of the bad there is in others, you will be neither successful nor happy. ↗

— Napolean Hill

#formed #good #habit #happy #instead

Unification is one thing, and stability in Northeast Asia is another thing. ↗

— Kim Dae Jung

#asia #east asia #northeast #one thing #stability

To the Master's honor all must turn, each in its track, without a sound, forever tracing Newton's ground. ↗

— Albert Einstein

#forever #ground #honor #master #must

You know, North Korea situation is far worse than East Germany, and South Korea is weaker than West Germany. ↗

— Kim Dae Jung

#far #germany #know #korea #north

Our single greatest challenge is the ability to move power to markets outside North Dakota. ↗

— John Hoeven

#challenge #dakota #greatest #greatest challenge #markets

I do understand what it is to not want to commit to someone, knowing that might bring pain or commit to a life that has to do with being responsible to people other than myself. These things, I think, are normal things. ↗

— Philip Seymour Hoffman

#being responsible #bring #commit #i #i do