#sm

We should get out of this business of empire. It is untenable. We should get out of the business of interfering in the affairs of other nations. We should get out of those lands before they kick us out. ↗

— Pat Buchanan

#militarism #militarism-war #business

One simple answer is that there has been a massive rise in the incidence of sanctimony and smugness among the successful that has nothing to do with any change in the underlying reality. Rather, it has been stimulated by politicians who have realized that it is possible to win power by recruiting the most economically successful forty per cent or so of the population in a crusade to roll back the gains made by their fellow citizens in the previous forty years. And how better to rationalize this than to tell people that they deserve the incomes that the market generates? ↗

— Brian M. Barry

#economics #nulabor #politics #reaganism #thatcher

One of the main reasons that we lose our enthusiasm in life is because we become ungrateful..we let what was once a miracle become common to us. We get so accustomed to his goodness it becomes a routine.. ↗

— Joel Osteen

#enthusiasm #god #good #joel-osteen #miracle

[W]hat counts as ‘realistic’, what seems possible at any point in the social field, is defined by a series of political determinations. An ideological position can never be really successful until it is naturalized, and it cannot be naturalized while it is still thought of as a value rather than a fact. Accordingly, neoliberalism has sought to eliminate the very category of value in the ethical sense. Over the past thirty years, capitalist realism has successfully installed a ‘business ontology’ in which it is simply obvious that everything in society, including healthcare and education, should be run as a business. … [E]mancipatory politics must always destroy the appearance of a ‘natural order’, must reveal what is presented as necessary and inevitable to be a mere contingency, just as it must make what was previously deemed to be impossible seem attainable. ↗

— Mark Fisher

#capitalist-realism #ideology #nature #neoliberalism #possibility

Some people, who always talk about how busy they are, are really trying to claim how 'important' they are. ↗

— Donna Lynn Hope

#self-centered #self-importance #business

Even if you succeed in study and business, if your nation collapses, then what good is it for? ↗

— Hirobumi Ito

#nation #patriotism #politics #business

Why were you lurking under our window?" "Yes - yes, good point, Petunia! What were you doing under our windows, boy?" "Listening to the news," said Harry in a resigned voice. His aunt and uncle exchanged looks of outrage. "Listening to the news! Again?" "Well, it changes every day, you see," said Harry. ↗

— J.K. Rowling

#harry-potter #humor #news #sarcasm #change

A change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things. ↗

— Barack Obama

#commitment #politics #change

Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence. ↗

— Ovid

#change #inspirational #perseverance #change

Grimalkin yawned and licked his whiskers. 'Not dead,' he replied. 'Hardly dead. But she changed her name and appearance so many times, even the oldest fey would hardly remember her. She likes to keep a low profile, you know.' Puck frowned, knitting his bows together. 'Then how is it you remember her?' he demanded, sounding indignant. 'I am a cat,' purred Grimalkin. ↗

— Julie Kagawa

#long-memory #mystery #smug #change