#sm

It's not politically correct to say that you love one child more than you love your others. I love all of my kids, period, and they're all your favorites in different ways. But ask any parent who's been through some kind of crisis surrounding a child--a health scare, an academic snarl, an emotional problem--and we will tell you the truth. When something upends the equilibrium--when one child needs you more than the others--that imbalance becomes a black hole. You may never admit it out loud, but the one you love the most is the one who needs you more desperately than his siblings. What we really hope is that each child gets a turn. That we have deep enough reserves to be there for each of them, at different times. All this goes to hell when two of your children are pitted against each other, and both of them want you on their side. ↗

— Jodi Picoult

#favoritism #love #parenting #love

The opportunities for heroism are limited in this kind of world: the most people can do is sometimes not to be as weak as they've been at other times. ↗

— Angus Wilson

#heroism #kind #limited #most #opportunities

Whereas in the past optimism had been regarded as rather shallow - because 'oh well, it's just your temperament, you happen to be just a cheerful sort of person' - what I wanted to do was to establish that in fact it is the pessimists who are allowing all kinds of errors to creep into their work. ↗

— Colin Wilson

#because #been #cheerful #creep #errors

I have always strenuously supported the right of every man to his own opinion, however different that opinion might be to mine. He who denies to another this right, makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing it. ↗

— Thomas Paine

#religion #skepticism #age

Another person who's smarter than I. What a relief to not have to be the smartest guy anymore. ↗

— Dave Winer

#anymore #guy #i #person #relief

I rode it once, which was up the driveway in the opening credits of the show. I didn't know how to stop it. I actually nearly killed the director of photography, and I smashed into the sound truck. ↗

— Henry Winkler

#credits #director #driveway #how #i

In all her history, from the formation of the federal government until the hour of secession, no year stands out more prominently than the year 1858 as evidencing the national patriotism of Virginia. ↗

— John Sergeant Wise

#federal government #formation #government #her #history

When it is recalled that until the Christian era the underworld was never regardded as a hostile area, that all gods were useful and essentially friendly to man despite occasional lapsesl when we see the steady methodical inculcation into humanity of the idea of man's worthlesseness - until redeemed - the necessity of the Devil may become evident as a weapon, a weapon designed and used time and time again in every age to whip men into a surrender to a particular church or church state. ↗

— Arthur Miller

#christianity #hell #morality #religion #age

Go, forget me - why should sorrow, O'er that brow a shadow fling? Go, forget me - and tomorrow, brightly smile and sweetly sing. Smile - though I shall not be near thee; Sing - though I shall never hear thee. ↗

— Charles Wolfe

#brow #fling #forget #go #hear

As you look at the flow of Muslim fundamentalism, or fundamentalism in various areas and various religions, they all play on the people who have very little. ↗

— James Wolfensohn

#flow #fundamentalism #little #look #muslim