Patrick > Patrick's Quotes

“Sharp, incisive, clever thinking is steadily becoming a lost art, more and more the domain of specialists and gurus. The trend is troubling and raises the question, Is America losing its ability to think? If, for argument’s sake, we define thinking as the use of knowledge and reasoning to solve problems and plan and produce favorable outcomes, the answer is, apparently, yes.”
― Michael R. LeGault, Think!: Why Crucial Decisions Can't Be Made in the Blink of an Eye

“In the Trump years, Republicans have sent a message that lying is useful and productive, racism is acceptable, the press is the enemy, and a strong-man authoritarian head of government is the ideal.”
― Stuart Stevens, It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump

“The mutability of bacteria, coupled with their ability to pass around and share genetic trumps in a microscopic game of cards, seemed to increasingly leave Homo sapiens holding losing hands.”
― Laurie Garrett, The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance

“A true patriot salutes the flag but always makes sure it’s flying over a nation that’s not only free but fair, not only strong but just.”
― Jon Meacham, Songs of America: Patriotism, Protest, and the Music That Made a Nation

“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”
― Albert Einstein

“What I will remember forever is that no one said a word. I am still amazed at the profoundness that can echo in silence. Each person, including newer boyfriends who I knew less well, gave me a reaffirming hug in turn and headed back to their seats. No one lingered or awkwardly tried to validate my grief. They were there for me, just for a moment, and it was exactly what I needed.”
― David Brooks, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen