A Calamity of Souls Quotes

“A great nation can never realize its full potential until all its citizens are allowed to realize theirs. And the rest of the world is not waiting for us to get our house in order. They are moving forward in ways that are best for them, not for us. By battling each other we’re literally fighting with one arm tied behind our back, and for no good reason at all.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“All that time, money, and resources spent on keeping this country divided. If we had just honestly confronted our history, and spent far less than a tenth of that time, money, and resources on bringing us together, do you know what kind of country we would have right now?”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“There are only imperfect human beings who work through the difficult challenges associated with living.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“There are no fallen Catholics, Miss DuBose. There are only imperfect human beings who work through the difficult challenges associated with living. Sometimes they fall, but then they rise again. As did the son of God. For our eternal salvation.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“I pray for the day when this country moves forward together, as one mighty nation, and one united people. It wasn’t that long ago that Senator Joe McCarthy sought to tear this country apart, pitting one American against another with his slanderous accusations and pieces of paper with nothing on them. Divided is when we are at our weakest, our most vulnerable. We are called the United States of America for a reason, because when we are truly united, there is nothing on earth that can defeat us, including whatever bogeyman someone puts up to turn one American against another. Dr. King may no longer be with us, but he loved the possibility of this country. And his spirit and his message of hope, his cry for equality, will forever be part of us.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“the lack of empathy?” she said. “Brings out the very worst in us. It just simply makes us angry, all the time, and looking for other people to hate for no good reason.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“You see, protest makes change occur, but attitudes are slow to come along for the ride. But real change transforms attitudes. And with that you have sustained change.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“Real change is built on one person at a time doing something different. Something they might have been scared to do before. Like a white lawyer who’d never thought of defending a Black man in court. Then another person and another person comes along and does something different”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“whites may be even more emotionally and spiritually damaged by their racist beliefs and terrible actions than the Blacks are by those very same beliefs and actions.” He noted the scar by her eye. “How awful it must be to think you have the right to harm another person… for no reason. I can only imagine that attacker’s soul is… empty.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“We’ve been through so much together, and we all actually agree on a lot of fundamental principles. Yet I never hear anyone talk about that. Just about what we don’t agree on. What divides us, not what unites us.” He paused and composed himself because he could feel his heart racing and his voice rising, and he didn’t want that, not now. He looked at Sally Reeves in the crowd, her son next to her.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“A wise woman once told me that if you let the bully win he never goes away.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“You don’t have to marry one or have a meal with them to respect the fact that they’re people, too.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“I taught you and your brother that lesson when you were boys. And now I’m telling you, as a man, that you are not walking away from this. You go on and do your job. You and her,” she added, drilling another stare at DuBose. “And you punch those people right in the damn face and you show them they don’t control one thing about you, son. Not one goddamn thing.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“Father, you should know that I’m a fallen Catholic.” “There are no fallen Catholics, Miss DuBose. There are only imperfect human beings who work through the difficult challenges associated with living. Sometimes they fall, but then they rise again. As did the son of God. For our eternal salvation.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“People with money and power in this country have pitted white and Black workers against each other for centuries. That exploitation has made a very few very rich, with everyone else barely keeping their heads above water.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“Rich, poor, colored, white,” his father would say. “We’re all God’s children. We all deserve kindness and respect.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“We’ve been through wars and sickness and depressions. We’ve been through so much together, and we all actually agree on a lot of fundamental principles. Yet I never hear anyone talk about that. Just about what we don’t agree on. What divides us, not what unites us.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“To borrow a line from Mark Twain, that is truly the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“When one has faith, of any kind, the odds of good things happening become short rather than long. And even if we hadn’t met today, I believe we would have achieved the same results elsewhere.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“Brings out the very worst in us. It just simply makes us angry, all the time, and looking for other people to hate for no good reason.” He eyed the altar. “I believe you came here to pray. Would you mind if I joined you?” “Father, you should know that I’m a fallen Catholic.” “There are no fallen Catholics, Miss DuBose. There are only imperfect human beings who work through the difficult challenges associated with living. Sometimes they fall, but then they rise again. As did the son of God. For our eternal salvation.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“But, back to the Golden Rule: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ It combines the knowledge that we are egocentric beasts, but that we must get along to prosper and live in peace. And really, is it such a burden to be nice and respectful to others?”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“demonstrating that love and tolerance and empathy are far superior to their opposites, for all of us. Empathy brings out the very best in people. It makes them in God’s image, the way he wants us to be. He was a humble servant who never sought material wealth; his fortune was in his faith. And in his love for others. All others.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“If a heart surgery was only successful once every ten thousand operations, or a plane landing safely occurred only once every ten thousand times, what would people demand? Change the way it was done. Now.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“love and tolerance and empathy are far superior to their opposites,”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“risk”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“But there was a lot of depravity out there. People not listening to a damn thing that anyone who disagreed with them said. Making them out to be the enemies”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“And as Winston Churchill once said so succinctly but brilliantly”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“Since Blacks weren’t really allowed to purchase homes”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“There are no fallen Catholics”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls

“Since Blacks weren’t really allowed to purchase homes, nice cars were really the only way to show affluence and accomplishment. And the automobiles they typically purchased were large because often whole families had to sleep in them. And the powerful engines were critical, to outrun whites intent on doing them harm, including the police.”
― David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls