Andy

“One of the reasons people lock onto motherhood as a key to feminine identity is the belief that children are the way to fulfill your capacity to love. But there are so many things to love besides one's own offspring, so many things that need love, so much other work love has to do in the world.”
― Rebecca Solnit, The Mother of All Questions

“See, I focus my efforts against the terror and violence of my own state for really two main reasons. First of all, in my case the actions of my state happen to make up the main component of international violence in the world. But much more importantly than that, it's because American actions are the things that I can do something about. So even if the United States were causing only a tiny fraction of the repression and violence in the world-which obviously is very far from the truth-that tiny fraction would still be what I'm responsible for, and what I should focus my efforts against. And that's based on a very simple ethical principle-namely, that the ethical value of one's actions depends on their anticipated consequences for human beings: I think that's kind of like a fundamental moral truism... Again, it's a very simple ethical point: you are responsible for the predictable consequences of your actions, you're not responsible for the predictable consequences of somebody else's actions.”
― Noam Chomsky, Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky

“I began to formulate a new law describing the relationship of protection to despondency: A sad soul can kill you quicker--far quicker--than a germ.”
― John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America

“A bullet in the head will fix an incipient asthma attack every time.”
― Adrian McKinty, Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly