I'm a quotation addict, so this was an excuse to create a file of quotations on CHANGE. So here's a big batch, wherein you get to read what a few hundred some wise folk say about change--
Old Quotation Books I Use to Source Quotations
If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten. Anonymous
Never change horses in mid stream. Proverb
No matter how far you have gone on a road, turn back. Proverb, Turkish
It often takes more courage to change one's opinion than to stick to it. Geoffrey F. Abert
Just because the solutions of problems are not visible at any particular time does not mean that those problems will never be alleviated or confined to tolerable dimensions. History has a way of changing the very terms in which problems operate and of leaving them, in the end, unsolved, to be sure, yet strangely deflated of their original meaning and importance. M. I. Abramowitz
If we learn the art of yielding what must be yielded to the changing present we can save the best of the past. Dean Acheson, address to Law Club of Chicago, 1-22-1937
Controbersial proposals, once accepted, soon became hallowed. Dean Acheson, speech, Independence MO, 3-31-1962
If you don't change your beliefs, your life will be like this forever. Douglas Noel Adams
When a man you like switches from what he said a year ago, or 4 years ago, he is a broad-minded person who has courage enough to change his mind with changing conditions. When a man you don't like does it, he is a liar who has broken his promises. Franklin P. Adams
If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain. Maya Angelou
What really distinguishes this generation in all countries from earlier generations ... is its determination to act, its joy in action, the assurance of being able to change things by one's own efforts. Hannah Arendt
CHANGE, ADAPTATION, LAW, GOVERNMENT, REVOLUTION Even when laws have been written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered. Aristotle 384-322BC N E
No nation, no social institution ever acquired coherence without some sort of a fight. Out of the fight come its myths and its heroes. Thurman Arnold
Men believe that a society is disintegrating when it can no longer be pictured in familiar terms. Unhappy is a people that has run out of words to describe what is going on. Thurman Arnold
Rob Kall is executive editor and publisher of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, inventor . He is a frequent Speaker on Politics, Impeachment, The art, science and power of story, heroes and the hero's journey, Positive Psychology, Stress, Biofeedback and a wide range of subjects. He is a campaign consultant specializing in tapping the power of stories for issue positioning, stump speeches and debates. He recently retired as organizer of several conferences, including StoryCon, the Summit Meeting on the Art, Science and Application of Story and The Winter Brain Meeting on neurofeedback, biofeedback, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology. See more of his articles here and, older ones, here.
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A few declarations.
-While I'm registered as a Democrat, I consider myself to be a dynamic critic of the Democratic party, just as, well, not quite as much, but almost as much as I am a critic of republicans.
-My articles express my personal opinion, not the opinion of this website.
Unfortunately, wisdom plays little role in the divisive partisan political rivalry for power.
Oh, there are flashes of wisdom once in a while in campaigns, but most partisan politician's idea of change is to gain power over those who disagree with them, so they can make changes that please them and their financial supporters.
The trouble is, usually about half the population becomes losers in this contest for power, and sometimes, as has been the case under the Reagan and Bush regimes, the majority loses while the wealthiest few win big.
It's insane, foolish, juvenile rivalry, and it divides and polarizes us. It's like kids playing "king of the mountain."
Joseph J. Adamson has a plan to liberate us from all those who would rule over us, whether in the name of religion or patriotism. He suggests a way that will put an end to the presidential monarchy, and an end to oligarchy, and establish government that is truly of, by and for the people.
This is one of the absolutely best commentaries/compilations I have ever read. It sums up everything we face in trying to find that right, true and correct moral path. Kudos again and again, Rob.
by
Georgianne Nienaber (134 articles, 43 quicklinks, 8 diaries, 234 comments)
on Tuesday, January 8, 2008 at 6:21:44 PM
thirteen pages long?.............Rob, you should have made it fourteen........maybe things were a little slow at the office...........Uhh, never mind.......sometimes I just babble........
by
Ernest (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 129 comments)
on Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at 3:00:05 AM
Great set of quotes. Here's one I think you're missing in your thought pattern.
"Change is only a sterile means not an end unto itself" Andris Smerotkins
I think a lot of commenter are missing the point of what is going on.
What the public are saying to me is they want "HOPE" Change is only means to Hope.
Change by definition can be either disirable or not.
Politically, and from a maketing perspective Obama is selling hope from Change.
Andris' Law of Desperation: The more out of control the populous believe they have become the more they will grasp for (straws) someone who offers Hope.
What surprises me though is how those who actually analyse policy aren't pushing the candidate's for meaningful systemic changes while the public in the mood for change. Now is the time.
Demand that the candidates tell you HOW they intend on fixing the excesses of GWB and ensuring that they can never happen again then support the candidate most practical and useful response.
Now is the time for horse trading while the candidates are desperate and accessable. Lock them in. Get them to commit to a compact with the Citizens of America.
Your turn now
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Andris (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 532 comments)
on Tuesday, January 8, 2008 at 7:59:45 PM
This is not a site for this kind of fraudulent hogwash crap . Take your diversion and brainwashing stuff to forums more receptive for it. Here we talk sense. Which means that nonsense is not welcome. And once you are branded a con man trickster no one will care about your blather. Hang on if you wish to be ridiculed but expect no more response from me never. I don't have time to waste.
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ramsheyi (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 346 comments)
on Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at 6:00:32 AM
We should always consider before making change........I want to steal this comment from someone , Confuscious Says, "If it's not broken don't change it" or very similar to that in any case...........it can be applied very successfully to most issues............The trouble is most of our political and economical issues are broken....horribly so.....
Why would I make such as radical comment like that?..........Because we are suffering horribly so from setback...........Not the same suffering as we see in 3rd and 4th world counties, let me clarify that one......there are no poor people in America......and if you think there are, you've been sheltered to long..........However, we are suffering from the setback of a modern culture, standards of life and lack of progressive leadership............
So what's it gonna be Americans?..............$10/gal gas and all that goes along with that?.................or change?............When answering that question, do it with courage, enthusiasm, devout passion and unrelenting determination that we are going to get it right this time...................
In my opinion, we don't want our neighboring countries to hate us. We should live and let live...........Spiritually, most of us have a need to share with our neighbors and help them grow............We can also learn from them............As it is now, we are suffering from political interference..........
by
Ernest (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 129 comments)
on Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at 2:48:34 AM
German proverb To change and to change for the better are two different things.
Change your language and you change your thoughts. -- Karl Albrecht
There's nothing that will change someone's moral outlook quicker than cash in large sums. -- Larry Flynt
Radical changes in world politics leave America with a heightened responsibility to be, for the world, an example of a genuinely free, democratic, just and humane society. -- Pope John Paul II
We are not to expect to be translated from despotism to liberty in a featherbed. -- Thomas Jefferson
Change before you have to. -- Jack Welch
Willingness to change is a strength, even if it means plunging part of the company into total confusion for a while. -- Jack Welch
by
Tony Forest (4 articles, 10 quicklinks, 116 diaries, 1008 comments)
on Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at 6:38:32 AM
"When the best leader's work is accomplished, the people say, We did it ourselves!" -- Lao Tsu, in the Book of Tao
I like that best because it is particularly appropriate with regard to the work of Joseph J. Adamson, who writes anonymously from behind the scenes. Why? Because it is the truth, and nothing but the truth, that will finally unite us and liberate us from ALL those who want to rule over us.
He shows us how we can establish government that is truly of, by and for the people, and that serves all the people by using the common wealth for the common good.