Education should be a lifelong process according to one's aptitude and resources. It does not need to be academic or vocational, but it should be mind-opening.
Education helps one become a better human by cultivating one's greatest asset: one's mind.
An "examined life" must also be an examining life, a probing life. This is a much broader goal, one of a loftier nature. An examined life not only leads to a better understanding of oneself; it also sharpens the tools for a more enlightened scrutiny of our world, enabling critical thinking.
A good citizen must develop critical thinking skills and an enlightened mindset.
Ignorance breeds intolerance and vulnerability; intolerance necessitates action and elicits strong emotions.
Objectivity is not an achievable destination but a beacon showing the right path.
Obtaining an education is one of life's worthiest goals. Right or wrong, I view it as the first obligation after survival is assured. I have in mind the kind of education that prepares minds for critical consideration of information, cultivates life-improving capabilities, and contributes to the quality of everyone's existence, creating worthy citizens. I envision education as that sacrosanct process of excising ignorance and its blind confidence. I see education as that process that scrapes away the dangers lurking in dark, unenlightened minds bent on destruction and evil. I imagine education as a magical process via which human life improves with time.
Uneducated or poorly educated people are hesitant to admit error, guarding their meager intellectual storehouse with zeal, possibly because they lack the intellectual ammunition to defend it.
Wars bring hunger. Wars bring famine. Wars bestialize people.
Dark minds are everywhere; they grow like weeds. The crafty revolutionary or demagogue who dreams of himself controlling society understands this mentality and knows how to exploit it. We have never had a time without some conflict in human history because we have always had such power-hungry minds and an abundance of gullible, dark-minded people. A march of folly, indeed.
People's tribalism has no cure. It is a disease with many faces.
Creating a high civilization takes many generations, one small step forward followed by another, whether or not in temporal succession. However, destroying a culture does not take long in historical terms. Mankind is more efficient at tearing down than at building up.
Culture can unite or set us apart.
Culture has a long reach. Never underestimate the cultural hold on any country's denizens. Whether we realize it or not, the traditions we were raised with become a part of who we are. Some customs give us pleasure and comfort; some enslave and victimize us. Culture, as a guiding force, exerts a powerful influence on us, shaping our beliefs and interactions. A culture's social norms, whether verbal or nonverbal, can force us to fall in line or face stigma.
Being apolitical means protecting my intellectual integrity, not surrendering it to the right or the left, and reserving the right to examine issues as objectively as possible without preconceptions.
America is an idea of unlimited human potential.
What does it mean to be principled? It means adhering to rules the group members understand, accept, and aspire to. A child absorbs such rules or principles the same way it learns to speak the mother tongue and cannot question them any more than it could challenge the grammatical structure of the mother tongue.
Confidence in ourselves, our abilities, and our resilience gives us the durable resolve we need.
Admitting error, I have come to believe, is one of man's nobler manifestations. Lamentably, one occasionally learns of people in responsible positions who slaughter the truth to protect their precious stance of consistency.
Holding grudges is not a good idea; it harms us more than anyone else.
Taking the high road has long-term dividends.
Respecting people's rights and promoting shared values is not easy.
As a society, we can go much further by consistently practicing mutual respect.
Gratitude is due to those who preceded us for their intended or fortuitous contribution to improving our lives.
One can endure a great deal for a worthwhile goal.
One can become a slave to one's competence.
Growth and success without risk-taking are generally not possible.
Success is guaranteed if wisdom and good luck are in the mix and fueled by hard work.
Making money is an activity that, sooner or later, a wise mind determines to be essentially unworthy of the time invested.
Making money is a time robber.
Making lots of money and building oneself monuments or recirculating trite ideas, like the longest yacht and the like, suggests intellectual bankruptcy.
No matter what the opportunity, do your best. You will be noticed. You will make it.
My happiest moments are when I use my time wisely.
Those whom you love the most can hurt the most.
While wars affect people's behavior, people can be cruel to each other, even to their own kin, at any time, warfare or not.
Victims look for validation; it is an innate need.
Does everyone need the love of their family, of someone? Do we have an intense desire to be loved and nurtured? Psychologists think so. Some will even go further, prescriptively propounding that we must offer attention and love to others as a source of happiness and satisfaction.
Where there is greed, there is no love.
Do not expect fairness in a family dictatorship.
Relatives and property don't mix well together.
Some people feel more important and accomplished if they keep another human in indebted servitude. I learned over the years the importance of treating people with respect, no matter how lowly their position.
Sometimes, the end does justify the means.
Luck is what we encounter on our life's journey and what life has equipped us with before the journey starts.
Good luck means an opportune match between one's abilities and the opportunities presented.
Much of what we go through in life is a battle of nerves. We need to have ways at our disposal to fortify whatever is required to get the job done. My tenacity came from a long-established conversation with myself.
Beware, what goes around comes around.
Curiosity does not come to dinner unless there is something to eat.
I wish there had been a way to have done some things differently, but life without regrets does not exist.
