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“The Nazis were monsters to kill little girls.” “I know that’s what people say,” Mr. Stempel told her. “But most of them weren’t. They were just ordinary people. That’s what makes them so terrifying. Monsters you can fight. But when the people who come for you in the night are your neighbors and coworkers and classmates . . . When you never know who’s sick and who’s not . . .” He shrugged. “Sick?” “Hate is a disease, Dawn.”
this is why knowledge, and the books that contain it, are so very important and should be protected and shared!
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“There’s a cure?” “Yes, and you have it,” Mr. Stempel said. “It’s the truth. It won’t work on everyone. But maybe your son isn’t too far gone.”
As far as he was concerned, if your faith was shaken by foul words or sex scenes, then you must not have had very much to begin with.
The self-righteous ones were always the biggest hypocrites.
There is no need to make magic. There is magic all around us. We need only to recognize it and make use of what is already there.
“Yeah, well, don’t give her too much credit. She didn’t invent it. Using fear to control people is about as old as time.”
The worst thing you could do as a parent, she thought, was to shield young women from the ugliness of the world—then blame them when they did not see it coming.
this....omg this!!! Parent is a verb - its literally your job to prepare your child for the real word, the good. bad, and ugly that exists in it, and help create people.who will make it better!
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“Every human being has their share of monsters lurking in their family tree.
“The first thing you need to do, Beverly, is keep learning. There are people in this town who are stuck. There are some that insist on going backward. You want to make up for what your ancestor did? Learn everything you can and do your best to lead the way forward.”
What matters is never letting people tell you what to think. Don’t let them convince you that one way is right and another way wrong. Gather as much knowledge as you can, because information is power. And choosing how to use it is freedom. The more you know, the freer you will be.”
That’s why libraries exist—to make sure people always have access to the information they need. Every day, we help people find answers to questions that they’re terrified to ask.”
“Once Jesus arrived on the scene, all those Old Testament laws no longer applied. The New Testament tells us we’re supposed to follow Christ, not the old ways. And as far as I know, Jesus never said a damn thing about gay folks or barbecue. But he sure did talk a lot about love.”
100% this on every level!!!!
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They had to do whatever it took to keep future generations from living lives more fulfilling than their own.
It's sad that fear and ignorance lead to that....
the people history remembers are those who build monuments out of marble.
Yet history is full of unintended consequences.
The only thing that matters is who you’ve loved.
what’s the secret to a good, long life? Bernice would tell them: live and let live. Be true to yourself and let others do the same.
With the television off, all they’d had to guide them was common sense and good hearts. No one told them to be scared, so they weren’t. No one told them who their enemies were, so they didn’t have any. No one warned them to avoid dangerous books, so they read whatever called out to them—mostly John Grisham. And maybe he was wrong—maybe he’d just been a little kid—but everything had seemed perfectly fine. Keith prayed they could return to those days.
TV, news, and social media have destroyed common sense! people are so quick to hop on a bandwagon idea without any true knowledge or understanding and not doing any independent research. People need to use common sense and research and not blindly believe what the talking heads say!
Secrets are a disease that eats away at your soul. My grandmother always said the best disinfectant is sunlight.”
the most lethal creatures on earth were young men with a few bad ideas and nothing to lose.
You had to know a person’s political leanings, astrological signs, and pharmaceutical history if you wanted to interpret their “news” correctly. Sorting the facts from the fiction was exhausting, confusing, and occasionally hilarious.
lord isn't the the truth with social media being a "news" source lol
Books don’t turn people into murderers.
But what’s wrong with feeling bad? Isn’t that what makes us all try to do better? You worried the next generation might want to improve things around here? Who knows—maybe they’ll make sure all people are treated equally and allowed to pursue happiness with those they love. Lord have mercy, wouldn’t that be awful? Heaven forbid!”
“Y’all want to know how to tell if you’ve been a good parent?” Moxie asked the crowd. “It’s real easy. If you have a family that loves each other and children who want to spend time with you, then you’ve been a good parent.”
1000000% yes!!!!
“I think of every bouquet as a little story,” Betsy told her, “and stories are the most powerful things in this world. They can mend broken hearts, bring back good memories, and make people fall in love.” “Or convince them to do the right thing,”
Lindsay’s little prank had started a chain reaction. The books she’d put in that library had opened eyes, granted courage, and exposed terrible crimes. That’s why they were dangerous—why so many people had wanted to hide them. Lindsay had known all along what they could do.
A lot of it’s tough for people to hear, but it’s important, you know? It’s like finding out you were born with a health condition. Maybe you didn’t do anything to deserve it. But if you ignore it, nothing’s going to get better. You gotta look at the problem before you can fix it.”
this!!! you have to know the past, the good and the bad of it, in order to make a better future!
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