“First we build the tools, then they build us.”
“When we build, let us think that we build for ever.”
Source: The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849), Chapter VI: The Lamp of Memory, section 10.
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John Ruskin 133
English writer and art critic 1819–1900Related quotes
“We used to build civilizations. Now we build shopping malls.”
Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe (1991)
                                        
                                        2015, State of the Union Address (January 2015) 
Context: When we make rash decisions, reacting to the headlines instead of using our heads; when the first response to a challenge is to send in our military -- then we risk getting drawn into unnecessary conflicts, and neglect the broader strategy we need for a safer, more prosperous world. That’s what our enemies want us to do. I believe in a smarter kind of American leadership. We lead best when we combine military power with strong diplomacy; when we leverage our power with coalition building; when we don’t let our fears blind us to the opportunities that this new century presents. That’s exactly what we’re doing right now. And around the globe, it is making a difference. [... ] That’s how America leads -- not with bluster, but with persistent, steady resolve.
                                    
“We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us.”
                                        
                                        Speech to the House of Commons (October 28, 1943), on plans for the rebuilding of the Chamber (destroyed by an enemy bomb May 10, 1941), in Never Give In! : The best of Winston Churchill’s Speeches (2003), Hyperion, p. 358  ISBN 1401300561 
The Second World War (1939–1945)
                                    
                                        
                                         "The Importance of Gold Now and After the Complete Victory of Socialism" (5 November 1921) http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1921/nov/05.htm, Collected Works, Vol. 33, p. 113. 
1920s
                                    
                                        
                                        "Me (reprise)" (song) 
Song lyrics 
Source: Gilbert O'Sullivan,  "Me (reprise)" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAyN2Q_j1po (song on YouTube)
                                    
1990s, A Period of Consequences (September 1999)
Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), (July 28, 2016)
“We don't need to build more prisons! We must build more graveyards!”
                                        
                                        Original: (pt) Não precisamos construir mais cadeias! Temos de construir mais cemitérios! 
Original: (pt) Source: [9 December 2009, Morre Luiz Carlos Alborghetti, dono do bordão 'bandido bom é bandido morto', https://extra.globo.com/tv-e-lazer/morre-luiz-carlos-alborghetti-dono-do-bordao-bandido-bom-bandido-morto-209786.html, Portuguese, Extra, Editora Globo S/A, 31 March 2019]