Source: (January 2004), Chapter 1: The Hook. p. 8
“Republicans are men of narrow vision, who are afraid of the future.”
As quoted in "Some Szilardisms on War, Fame, Peace", LIFE magazine, Vol. 51, no. 9 (1 September 1961), p. 79
Context: It is not necessary to succeed in order to persevere. As long as there is a margin of hope, however narrow, we have no choice but to base all our actions on that margin. America and Russia have one interest in common which may override all their other interests: to be able to live with the bomb without getting into an all-out war that neither of them wants.
On polls showing his New Democrats were gaining on the Liberals, Sept. 2, 2008[citation needed]
2009, Nobel Prize acceptance speech (December 2009)
Context: There has long been a tension between those who describe themselves as realists or idealists — a tension that suggests a stark choice between the narrow pursuit of interests or an endless campaign to impose our values around the world.
I reject these choices. I believe that peace is unstable where citizens are denied the right to speak freely or worship as they please; choose their own leaders or assemble without fear. Pent-up grievances fester, and the suppression of tribal and religious identity can lead to violence. We also know that the opposite is true. Only when Europe became free did it finally find peace. America has never fought a war against a democracy, and our closest friends are governments that protect the rights of their citizens. No matter how callously defined, neither America's interests — nor the world's — are served by the denial of human aspirations.
“Humankind is made for uncertainty, struggle, choice and change.”
Amys
(15 September 1992)
“The choice of approaches could be made the responsibility of the programmer.”
[199709081901.MAA20863@wall.org, 1997]
Usenet postings, 1997
