#right

The exaltation and happiness of any community, goes hand in hand with the knowledge possessed by the people, when applied to laudable ends; whereupon we can exclaim like the wise man; righteousness exalteth a nation; for righteousness embraces knowledge and knowledge is power. ↗

— Joseph Smith Jr.

#inspiriational #knowledge #lds #mormon #religion

A yogi is much more disciplined in his speech. Yogic tradition has it that speech must pass before three barriers prior to being uttered aloud. These barriers come in the form of three questions: Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary? (112-113) ↗

— Prem Prakash

#kindness #necessity #right-speech #speech #yoga

In a country that doesn't discriminate between fame and infamy, the latter presents itself as plainly more achievable. ↗

— Lionel Shriver

#infamy #right-and-wrong #fame

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. ↗

— Helen Keller

#avoiding #children #danger #daring #does

We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought. ↗

— Kathryn Stockett

#people #race-relations #separation

As the many male victims of rape in the regime's disgusting jails can testify, this state-run pathology of sexual repression and sexual sadism is not content to degrade women only. ↗

— Christopher Hitchens

#iran #prison-rape #rape #sexual-repression #sodomy

There is no indication that any church official suggested or supported the emperor's action against gay people. On the contrary, the only persons known by name to have been punished for homosexual acts were prominent bishops. ↗

— John Boswell

#christianity #church #gay-rights #roman-empire #homosexuality

[P]eople only make decisions based on what they know. You can have everyone in the country vote freely and democratically and still come up with the wrong answer - if the information they base that decision on is wrong. People don't want the truth [when] it is complicated. They don't want to spend years debating an issue. They want it homogenized, sanitized, and above all, simplified into terms they can understand...Governments are often criticized for moving slowly, but that deliberateness, it turns out, is their strength. They take time to think through complex problems before they act. People, however, are different. People react first from the gut and then from the head...give that knee-jerk reflex real power to make its overwhelming will known as a national mandate instantly and you can cause a political riot. Combine these sins - simplification of information and instant, visceral democratic mandates - and you lose the ability to cool down. There is no longer deliberation time between events that may or may not be true and our reaction to them. Policy becomes instinct rather than thought. ↗

— Tracy Hickman

#gay-rights #politics #science-fiction #science

What are you?" I rasped. It smiled. "Whatever scares you. ↗

— Kim Harrison

#witches

Hey, why do pegasi gallop as they fly, anyway?" Blackjack whinnied. Why do humans swing their arms as they walk? I dunno, boss. It just feels right. ↗

— Rick Riordan

#percy-jackson #human-rights