Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, #2)

by T.J. Klune

“But I believe the greatest weapon we have at our disposal is our voices. And I am going to use my voice for you, and for me. Hate is loud. We are louder.”

“When we live in fear, it controls us. Every decision we make is smothered by it. I refuse to live like that any longer. I have every right to walk in through those front doors, same as anyone else.”

“Because I’m an adult who does adult things, like taxes and laundry and being sad for no reason.” Unfazed, the conductor said, “How wonderful! I, too, am filled with an encroaching dread over my own mortality. I’ve always thought that being aware of one’s impending demise makes for a more interesting life, but I have yet to prove this particular hypothesis. Have a pleasant trip, and do let us know if there’s anything we can do to make your journey as comfortable as possible. Ta!”

If you go into a situation expecting the worst, it may cloud your ability to see what good can come from it.”

“But if we use moral relativism, the argument would be that those who are afraid of you are correct because that’s what they believe. And that’s where it can get tricky. Because if morality is based upon personal desire, how can one find a truly objective moral ground and make the morally right decision?”

“They would endeavor to dismantle their prejudices and welcome those who are different with open arms. But we don’t live in such a world, and we must do what we can with what we have.” He leaned forward. “However, you are correct. It shouldn’t be up to us to prove we are not a threat. And yet, we find ourselves in the unenviable position of having to do exactly that.

“It’s hard.” “What is?” “Being alive.” “It is,” Arthur agreed. “But perhaps that’s the point: the trials and tribulations of life weigh heavily upon us, but we find people to help lighten the load.

He said it’s okay to not be okay, so long as it doesn’t become all we know.”

“Because if you’ve convinced yourself there is darkness around every corner, you’re conditioned to fear it, especially when it goes hand in hand with a particular narrative.”

“Speaking hypothetically—and only about the book we’re discussing—I believe they do care, but not in any way that benefits the groups affected. They care about themselves. About control. About manipulation in media, in polling, in the spreading of fear until subservience is not only a relief, but a welcome one at that.”

“A great man once said stories of imagination upset those without one.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be the one to decide what is or isn’t offensive to a person in the community you’re denigrating,”

finally understood what life was supposed to be like. Color, joy. Togetherness. Knowing people are there to have your back even when you’re at your darkest.”

I will do everything in my not so inconsiderable power to ensure we come together in the spirit of unity and the desire for change. To break that which is already broken counts for naught. It must be rebuilt from the ground up by all of us.”

hope was the thing with feathers, but it was also in the hearts and minds of those who believed all was not lost, no matter the odds.