
“The best of us would rather be popular than right.”
No. 44, the Mysterious Stranger (unpublished manuscript written 1902–1908)
The Wild Flag (1943)
Context: The delegate from Patagonia spoke up. 'I fear that the wild flag, one for all, will prove an unpopular idea.'
'It will, undoubtedly,' sighed the Chinese delegate. 'But now that there are only a couple of hundred people on earth, even the word "unpopular" loses most of its meaning. At this juncture we might conceivably act in a sensible, rather than a popular, manner.' And he produced eighty-two more shoeboxes and handed a wild flag to each delegate, bowing ceremoniously.
Next day the convention broke up and the delegates returned to their homes, marveling at what they had accomplished in so short a time. And that is the end of our dream.
“The best of us would rather be popular than right.”
No. 44, the Mysterious Stranger (unpublished manuscript written 1902–1908)
“People always call it luck when you’ve acted more sensibly than they have.”
Source: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
As quoted in "On The Universal Declaration of Human Rights" by Hillary Rodham Clinton in Issues of Democracy Vol. 3, No. 3 (October 1998), p. 11
Letter to Bushrod Washington http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/default.xqy?keys=FOEA-chron-1780-1783-01-15-12 (15 January 1783)
1780s
“In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.”
As quoted in Traits of a Healthy Family (1985) by Dolores Curran, p. 199.
Context: The family is our refuge and our springboard; nourished on it, we can advance to new horizons. In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.