"Democracy is not a spectator sport. And what upsets me is we've lulled ourselves in America into a state of sedentary agitation, where everybody can sit on their couch and get upset about what's going on but not get off their backsides and realize that they are responsible for the change that they need to make.

We who drink deeply from wells that we did not dig, we who eat lavishly from banquet tables set up for us by the sacrifices and struggles of our ancestors, are we just going to luxuriate in all that's America?  Or are we going to realize that this nation has not finished itself yet, and we must return the blessings of our ancestors by showing the same sacrifice and commitment?"

~ Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, USA

"If you have the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed."

-- David Viscott

"An inconvenience is an unrecognized opportunity."

~ Confucius

“If you understand,
things are just as
they are. If you
do not understand,
things are just as
they are.”

~ Zen saying

"Man's greatest actions are performed in minor struggles. Life, misfortune, isolation, abandonment and poverty are battlefields which have their heroes - obscure heroes who are at times greater than illustrious heroes."

-- Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

"Love what you do. Believe in your instincts. And you'd better be able to pick yourself up and brush yourself off every day. While life is not always fair, it is manageable. It's a matter of attitude and confidence."
~Mario Andretti

"All this pain can't stop my believing,
And all this joy can't stop my grieving..."

~ Graham Shaw ("Drunk Again", 'Raw Shaw')

"If you're going through Hell...keep going."

~ Winston Churchill

"The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress."

-- Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French Philosopher

"The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials."

-- Chinese proverb