#societies

If we become one of those societies that attack success, why not come as certain there will be a lot less success? And that's not who we are. ↗

— Mitt Romney

#become #certain #come #less #lot

All human societies go through fads in which they temporarily either adopt practices of little use or else abandon practices of considerable use. ↗

— Jared Diamond

#adopt #considerable #either #else #fads

I was 21 in 1968, so I'm as much a child of the '60s as is possible to be. In those years the subject of religion had really almost disappeared; the idea that religion was going to be a major force in the life of our societies, in the West anyway, would have seemed absurd in 1968. ↗

— Salman Rushdie

#almost #anyway #child #disappeared #force

Free societies are societies in which the right of dissent is protected. ↗

— Natan Sharansky

#free #free societies #protected #right #societies

When we are unwilling to draw clear moral lines between free societies and fear societies, when we are unwilling to call the former good and the latter evil, we will not be able to advance the cause of peace because peace cannot be disconnected from freedom. ↗

— Natan Sharansky

#advance #because #between #call #cannot

Of course, there can be serious injustices within free societies. ↗

— Natan Sharansky

#free #free societies #injustices #serious #societies

Democratic leaders, whose power is ultimately dependent on popular support, are held accountable for failing to improve the lives of their citizens. Therefore, they have a powerful incentive to keep their societies peaceful and prosperous. ↗

— Natan Sharansky

#citizens #democratic #democratic leaders #dependent #failing

I maintain, despite the moment's evidence against the claim, that we are born and grow up with a fondness for each other, and we have genes for that. We can be talked out of it, for the genetic message is like a distant music, and some of us are hard-of-hearing. Societies are noisy affairs, drowning out the sound of ourselves and our connection. ↗

— Lewis Thomas

#against #born #claim #connection #despite

For anyone inclined to caricature environmental history as 'environmental determinism,' the contrasting histories of the Dominican Republic and Haiti provide a useful antidote. Yes, environmental problems do constrain human societies, but the societies' responses also make a difference. ↗

— Jared Diamond

#environment #environmental-determinism #history #societies #environmentalism

Many individuals are doing what they can. But real success can only come if there is a change in our societies and in our economics and in our politics. ↗

— David Attenborough

#come #doing #economics #individuals #many