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John Ralston Saul
: It is undoubtedly easier to believe in absolutes, follow blindly, mouth received wisdom. But that is self-betrayal.
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John Ralston Saul quote-It is undoubtedly easier to believe in absolutes, follow blindly, mouth received wisdom....
Wisdom feed seeded by this
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George F Kennan :
"
If humiliation and rejection are to be the rewards of faithful and effective service in this field, what are those of us to conclude who have also served prominently in this line of work but upon whom this badge has not yet been conferred? We cannot deceive ourselves into believing that it was merit, rather than chance, that spared some of us the necessity of working in areas of activity that have now become controversial, of recording opinions people now find disagreeable, of aiding in the implementation of policies now under question. ... In no field of endeavor is it easier than in the field of foreign affairs to be honestly wrong; in no field is it harder for contemporaries to be certain they can distinguish between wisdom and folly; in no field would it be less practicable to try to insist on infallibility as a mark of fitness for office.
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Edwin Abbot :
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I awoke rejoicing, and began to reflect on the glorious career before me. I would go forth, methought, at once, and evangelize the whole of Flatland. Even to Women and Soldiers should the Gospel of Three Dimensions be proclaimed. I would begin with my Wife. Just as I had decided on the plan of my operations, I heard the sound of many voices in the street commanding silence. Then followed a louder voice. It was a herald's proclamation. Listening attentively, I recognized the words of the Resolution of the Council, enjoining the arrest, imprisonment, or execution of any one who should pervert the minds of the people by delusions, and by professing to have received revelations from another World.
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Benjamin Franklin :
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To follow by faith alone is to follow blindly.
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Everett D Martin :
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It is easier to believe than to doubt.
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John Burroughs :
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It is always easier to believe than to deny. Our minds are naturally affirmative.
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Johnny Carson :
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Who could follow Carson? Well, believe me, somebody can - and will.
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Alizée :
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(Regarding whether she believes in fortune) Yes, absolutely, I think I was born under a lucky star.
"
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George Bernard Shaw :
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A man's own self is the last person to believe in him, and is harder to cheat than the rest of the world.
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F D Van Amburgh :
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Things that I felt absolutely sure of but a few years ago, I do not believe now. This thought makes me see more clearly how foolish it would be to expect all men to agree with me.
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David J Schwartz :
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Believe Big. The size of your success is determined by the size of your belief. Think little goals and expect little achievements. Think big goals and win big success. Remember this, too! Big ideas and big plans are often easier -- certainly no more difficult -- than small ideas and small plans.
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John Ralston Saul Wisdom feed
1
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John Ralston Saul:
"
Just as the unleashing of ideas and myths in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries cleared the way for endless changes in state and social structures, so the subsequent pinning down and splitting up of language into feudal states has now made it impossible for the citizen to participate seriously in society. The inviting humanist irony of the early days has given way to the off-putting rational cynicism and sloganeering of our time.
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John Ralston Saul:
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Pessimism: A valuable protection against quackery.
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John Ralston Saul:
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Elites quite naturally define as the most important and admired qualities for a citizen those on which they themselves have concentrated.
"
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John Ralston Saul:
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We talk endlessly of the individual and of individualism, for example, when any sensible glance at major issues indicates that we live in an era of great conformism. Our societies turn upon democratic principles, yet the quasi totality of our leading citizens refuse to take part in that process and, instead, leave the exercise of political power to those for whom they have contempt. Our business leaders hector us in the name of capitalism, when most of them are no more than corporate employees, isolated from personal risk.
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John Ralston Saul:
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Thus the Age of Reason has turned out to be the Age of Structure; a time when, in the absence of purpose, the drive for power as a value in itself has become the principal indicator of social approval. And the winning of power has become the measure of social merit.
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John Ralston Saul:
"
Neither Capitalism nor Socialism can pretend to be an ideology. They are merely methods for dividing ownership and income. What is most peculiar for such theoretically practical methodologies, which are also theoretically opposed to each other, is that neither of them has ever existed, except in a highly tentative form. And even then they are invariably mixed together. Their mutually exclusive vocabularies have more to do with basic similarities than with differences.
"
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John Ralston Saul:
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A man who uses power to do evil is in theory judged to have been conscious of his acts and to be as fit for punishment as a perpetrator of premeditated murder. But the technocrat is not trained on that level. He understands events within the logic of the system. The greatest good is the greatest logic or the greatest appearance of efficiency or responsibility for the greatest possible part of the structure.
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John Ralston Saul:
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This breakdown of social order - rules of dress, sexual controls, speech patterns, family structures - has been seen as a great victory for the individual. On the other hand, it may simply be a reflection of the individual's frustration at being locked up inside a specialization. These acts of personal freedom are irrelevant to the exercise of power. So in lieu of taking a real part in the evolution of society, the individual struggles to appear as if no one has power over his personal evolution. Thus victories won for these individual liberties may actually be an acceptance of defeat by the individual.
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John Ralston Saul:
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Today, more than ever, women are occupying positions of influence. However, in the past they have been the exceptions to the rule and were usually obliged to hold on to their power by deforming themselves into honorary men or into magnified archetypes of the female who manipulated men. It still is not clear that women can successfully become part of the established structures without accepting these deformations.
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John Ralston Saul:
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The pinning on of stars reaches its full cynical significance when sanctified valour and bereaved families are used to lend dignity to wars stupidly fought. The courageous and their families are drawn into a circular trap. The sacrificed soldier was valorous under the orders of a commander who has rewarded his effort. The battle was therefore worth fighting. Courage made it worthwhile. The basic rule of war - that it is fought to be won - has been forgotten.
"
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![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=108044&author=John Ralston Saul"e=It+is+undoubtedly+easier+to+believe+in+absolutes%2C+follow+blindly%2C+mouth+received+wisdom.+But+that+is+self-betrayal.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F14995%2FJohn+Ralston_Saul_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=92571&author=George F Kennan"e=If+humiliation+and+rejection+are+to+be+the+rewards+of+faithful+and+effective+service+in+this+field%2C+what+are+those+of+us+to+conclude+who+have+also+served+prominently+in+this+line+of+work+but+upon+whom+this+badge+has+not+yet+been+conferred%3F%0AWe+cannot+deceive+ourselves+into+believing+that+it+was+merit%2C+rather+than+chance%2C+that+spared+some+of+us+the+necessity+of+working+in+areas+of+activity+that+have+now+become+controversial%2C+of+recording+opinions+people+now+find+disagreeable%2C+of+aiding+in+the+implementation+of+policies+now+under+question.+...+In+no+field+of+endeavor+is+it+easier+than+in+the+field+of+foreign+affairs+to+be+honestly+wrong%3B+in+no+field+is+it+harder+for+contemporaries+to+be+certain+they+can+distinguish+between+wisdom+and+folly%3B+in+no+field+would+it+be+less+practicable+to+try+to+insist+on+infallibility+as+a+mark+of+fitness+for+office.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F14306%2FGeorge+F+Kennan_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=65759&author=Edwin Abbot"e=I+awoke+rejoicing%2C+and+began+to+reflect+on+the+glorious+career+before+me.+I+would+go+forth%2C+methought%2C+at+once%2C+and+evangelize+the+whole+of+Flatland.+Even+to+Women+and+Soldiers+should+the+Gospel+of+Three+Dimensions+be+proclaimed.+I+would+begin+with+my+Wife.%0AJust+as+I+had+decided+on+the+plan+of+my+operations%2C+I+heard+the+sound+of+many+voices+in+the+street+commanding+silence.+Then+followed+a+louder+voice.+It+was+a+herald%27s+proclamation.+Listening+attentively%2C+I+recognized+the+words+of+the+Resolution+of+the+Council%2C+enjoining+the+arrest%2C+imprisonment%2C+or+execution+of+any+one+who+should+pervert+the+minds+of+the+people+by+delusions%2C+and+by+professing+to+have+received+revelations+from+another+World.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F13182%2FEdwin_Abbot_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=61030&author=Benjamin Franklin"e=To+follow+by+faith+alone+is+to+follow+blindly.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F165%2FBenjamin_Franklin_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=31646&author=Everett D Martin"e=++It+is+easier+to+believe+than+to+doubt.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F6522%2FEverett+D._Martin_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=31562&author=John Burroughs"e=++It+is+always+easier+to+believe+than+to+deny.+Our+minds+are+naturally+affirmative.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F1541%2FJohn_Burroughs_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=59127&author=Johnny Carson"e=Who+could+follow+Carson%3F+Well%2C+believe+me%2C+somebody+can+-+and+will.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F11616%2FJohnny+Carson_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=66730&author=Alizée"e=%28Regarding+whether+she+believes+in+fortune%29+Yes%2C+absolutely%2C+I+think+I+was+born+under+a+lucky+star.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2Fimages_web%2Fauthor_no_icon.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=108824&author=George Bernard Shaw"e=A+man%27s+own+self+is+the+last+person+to+believe+in+him%2C+and+is+harder+to+cheat+than+the+rest+of+the+world.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F8027%2FGeorge_Bernard_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=31711&author=F D Van Amburgh"e=++Things+that+I+felt+absolutely+sure+of+but+a+few+years+ago%2C+I+do+not+believe+now.+This+thought+makes+me+see+more+clearly+how+foolish+it+would+be+to+expect+all+men+to+agree+with+me.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2Fimages_web%2Fauthor_no_icon.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=31688&author=David J Schwartz"e=++Believe+Big.+The+size+of+your+success+is+determined+by+the+size+of+your+belief.+Think+little+goals+and+expect+little+achievements.+Think+big+goals+and+win+big+success.+Remember+this%2C+too%21+Big+ideas+and+big+plans+are+often+easier+--+certainly+no+more+difficult+--+than+small+ideas+and+small+plans.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F1194%2FDavid+J._Schwartz_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=108016&author=John Ralston Saul"e=Just+as+the+unleashing+of+ideas+and+myths+in+the+seventeenth+and+eighteenth+centuries+cleared+the+way+for+endless+changes+in+state+and+social+structures%2C+so+the+subsequent+pinning+down+and+splitting+up+of+language+into+feudal+states+has+now+made+it+impossible+for+the+citizen+to+participate+seriously+in+society.+The+inviting+humanist+irony+of+the+early+days+has+given+way+to+the+off-putting+rational+cynicism+and+sloganeering+of+our+time.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F14995%2FJohn+Ralston_Saul_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=108053&author=John Ralston Saul"e=Pessimism%3A+A+valuable+protection+against+quackery.%0A&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F14995%2FJohn+Ralston_Saul_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=108017&author=John Ralston Saul"e=Elites+quite+naturally+define+as+the+most+important+and+admired+qualities+for+a+citizen+those+on+which+they+themselves+have+concentrated.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F14995%2FJohn+Ralston_Saul_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=108018&author=John Ralston Saul"e=We+talk+endlessly+of+the+individual+and+of+individualism%2C+for+example%2C+when+any+sensible+glance+at+major+issues+indicates+that+we+live+in+an+era+of+great+conformism.+Our+societies+turn+upon+democratic+principles%2C+yet+the+quasi+totality+of+our+leading+citizens+refuse+to+take+part+in+that+process+and%2C+instead%2C+leave+the+exercise+of+political+power+to+those+for+whom+they+have+contempt.+Our+business+leaders+hector+us+in+the+name+of+capitalism%2C+when+most+of+them+are+no+more+than+corporate+employees%2C+isolated+from+personal+risk.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F14995%2FJohn+Ralston_Saul_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=108019&author=John Ralston Saul"e=Thus+the+Age+of+Reason+has+turned+out+to+be+the+Age+of+Structure%3B+a+time+when%2C+in+the+absence+of+purpose%2C+the+drive+for+power+as+a+value+in+itself+has+become+the+principal+indicator+of+social+approval.+And+the+winning+of+power+has+become+the+measure+of+social+merit.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F14995%2FJohn+Ralston_Saul_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=108020&author=John Ralston Saul"e=Neither+Capitalism+nor+Socialism+can+pretend+to+be+an+ideology.+They+are+merely+methods+for+dividing+ownership+and+income.+What+is+most+peculiar+for+such+theoretically+practical+methodologies%2C+which+are+also+theoretically+opposed+to+each+other%2C+is+that+neither+of+them+has+ever+existed%2C+except+in+a+highly+tentative+form.+And+even+then+they+are+invariably+mixed+together.+Their+mutually+exclusive+vocabularies+have+more+to+do+with+basic+similarities+than+with+differences.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F14995%2FJohn+Ralston_Saul_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=108022&author=John Ralston Saul"e=A+man+who+uses+power+to+do+evil+is+in+theory+judged+to+have+been+conscious+of+his+acts+and+to+be+as+fit+for+punishment+as+a+perpetrator+of+premeditated+murder.+But+the+technocrat+is+not+trained+on+that+level.+He+understands+events+within+the+logic+of+the+system.+The+greatest+good+is+the+greatest+logic+or+the+greatest+appearance+of+efficiency+or+responsibility+for+the+greatest+possible+part+of+the+structure.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F14995%2FJohn+Ralston_Saul_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=108023&author=John Ralston Saul"e=This+breakdown+of+social+order+-+rules+of+dress%2C+sexual+controls%2C+speech+patterns%2C+family+structures+-+has+been+seen+as+a+great+victory+for+the+individual.+On+the+other+hand%2C+it+may+simply+be+a+reflection+of+the+individual%27s+frustration+at+being+locked+up+inside+a+specialization.+These+acts+of+personal+freedom+are+irrelevant+to+the+exercise+of+power.+So+in+lieu+of+taking+a+real+part+in+the+evolution+of+society%2C+the+individual+struggles+to+appear+as+if+no+one+has+power+over+his+personal+evolution.+Thus+victories+won+for+these+individual+liberties+may+actually+be+an+acceptance+of+defeat+by+the+individual.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F14995%2FJohn+Ralston_Saul_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=108024&author=John Ralston Saul"e=Today%2C+more+than+ever%2C+women+are+occupying+positions+of+influence.+However%2C+in+the+past+they+have+been+the+exceptions+to+the+rule+and+were+usually+obliged+to+hold+on+to+their+power+by+deforming+themselves+into+honorary+men+or+into+magnified+archetypes+of+the+female+who+manipulated+men.+It+still+is+not+clear+that+women+can+successfully+become+part+of+the+established+structures+without+accepting+these+deformations.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F14995%2FJohn+Ralston_Saul_64x64.png){kind=link}
![Powerpoint](http://www.iwise.com/downloadPPT.php?quote_id=108025&author=John Ralston Saul"e=The+pinning+on+of+stars+reaches+its+full+cynical+significance+when+sanctified+valour+and+bereaved+families+are+used+to+lend+dignity+to+wars+stupidly+fought.+The+courageous+and+their+families+are+drawn+into+a+circular+trap.+The+sacrificed+soldier+was+valorous+under+the+orders+of+a+commander+who+has+rewarded+his+effort.+The+battle+was+therefore+worth+fighting.+Courage+made+it+worthwhile.+The+basic+rule+of+war+-+that+it+is+fought+to+be+won+-+has+been+forgotten.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwise.com%2FauthorIcons%2F14995%2FJohn+Ralston_Saul_64x64.png){kind=link}