Quotes that Matter to You

[PsychicTaco115]

As the title implies, what quotes inspire you, make you think and all that other stuff that your philosophy teacher taught you about?

As anyone who knows me on social media sites, I've become infatuated with the phrase

Spoiler: I Am A God

To me, it represents the power that humanity has inside them; to create and destroy, to break and build, to live and die.

Now you tell me!

It can come from anything and everything so don't be such a stickler for only ""famous"" qutoes

 

[shrekfan246]

The only one that's really stuck with me lately is one from early in the Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman book Good Omens, thought by the demon Crowley.

"Oh, he did his best to make [humans'] short lives miserable, because that was his job, but nothing he could think up was half as bad as the stuff they thought up themselves. They seemed to have a talent for it. It was built into the design, somehow. They were born into a world that was against them in a thousand little ways, and then devoted most of their energies to making it worse."

It only seems to grow more relevant every day...

 

[Zontar]

Spoiler: I Am A God

My favorite quote works well with your own.

Spoiler: God is Dead

 

[JoJo]

This is one I've become attached to recently:

Spoiler

It's very true and it helps stalwart my resolve to stand up for what I believe in, online and off, even in the face of criticism.

 

[ClockworkPenguin]

Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can. -John Wesley

Ironically, I didn't come across this quote until after I left the Methodist Church. I'm not going back any time soon, but it's still a good quote.

 

[Foolery]

I always liked this one bit from MASH.

Hawkeye: War isn't Hell. War is war, and Hell is Hell. And of the two, war is a lot worse.

Father Mulcahy: How do you figure, Hawkeye?

Hawkeye: Easy, Father. Tell me, who goes to Hell?

Father Mulcahy: Sinners, I believe.

Hawkeye: Exactly. There are no innocent bystanders in Hell. War is chalk full of them - little kids, cripples, old ladies. In fact, except for some of the brass, almost everybody involved is an innocent bystander.

I'm not religious, but speaking of God, I also kinda dig this one from Watchmen.

God didn't kill that little girl. Fate didn't butcher her. Destiny didn't feed her to those dogs. If God saw what any of us did that night, he didn't seem to mind. From then on I knew; God doesn't make the world this way, we do.

I suppose I like them because I think humans are solely responsible for what happens on this planet aside from nature and the elements. No deities, just people.

 

[Wraith]

One from Anton Szandor Lavey: "Satanism condones any type of sexual activity which properly satisfies your individual desires ? be it heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or even asexual, if you choose. Satanism also sanctions any fetish or deviation which will enhance your sex-life, so long as it involves no one who does not wish to be involved."

It's pretty self explanatory: Have the best sex you can, with whomever you want, but do NOT rape or molest. Doesn't the Bible condone rape in certain passages?

One from this very forum:

Spoiler: Pretty long rant

For me? The one thing I'm probably the most tired of is feminism.

Maybe it's because I get on Tumblr too much, maybe it's because I'm friends with a radfem in real life, maybe it's because I've never felt all that disadvantaged for being a woman, but I'm sick to death of people banging on about feminism all the time. Yes, there are women with real problems out there, especially if you're looking out side of America, but I am not one of them. The very worst I've ever gotten for being a woman is a few sexist comments from immature pigs - but they're easily brushed off and the vast majority of people don't say those things, much less believe them.

Because of this, there are few things in this world that get me angrier than a male feminist trying to lecture me about women. I get it, you're trying to consider women's rights, either as an apology to them, or because you're genuinely sympathetic - but I am not, nor have I ever been, a "victim of the patriarchy" or whatever the feminist buzzword is. I can go to school, get a job, own property - I'm not living in the Stone Age, here, whilst the men frolic in some perfect utopia. So when a guy tries to tell ME what it's like to be a woman, even if they're doing it "for my own good?" Yeah, that pisses me off pretty quickly.

Another thing is when people tell me I can't enjoy something because it's "Misogynistic." Such as "You can't shave your legs, that's giving into the Patriarchy!" Or "You can't like video games, their representation of women is AWFUL!" Um, excuse me, but considering how I am female, I think I'd know what does or does not make me feel worthless for BEING female. So yes, I'll play and enjoy video games, because my ability to empathize with a character does not begin and end with their genitalia.

So basically, I'm tired of everyone - men, women, Tumblr, everyone - for acting like I'm some poor victim for something that I've never felt different for, even though their intentions are good.

And needless to say, when those last two overlap, all Hell breaks loose.

This one stuck out to me, mainly because I hate it when people try to be offended for others. Not saying people outside a group can't be upset at injustices done to another group, but it's insulting to tell someone from that group how they should feel on an issue.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

'Come on, you're being very un-Dude'- Walter Sobchak, The Big Lebowski

Sure, not a very grandiose quote, but every time I find myself getting stressed or angry I hear John Goodman's voice in my head and I calm myself. There are definitely some quotes with more gravitas, but it's been a long day and I have headache, so that's all that I can remember.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

"I know that I know nothing" - Socrates

Pretty much the only one I can think of right now, but always true. Especially relevant in the internet age, when every twat on every message board pretends to be an expert on religion, politics, culture, sexism, history, arts, science and everything else in between. Though the translation doesn't quite convey the original purpose (the literal translation is actually along the lines of "I know that I don't know"), it's a powerful quote nonetheless.

 

[Esotera]

Money is a sign of poverty.

Meaning that society becomes richer once its individuals don't feel the need to collect money for its own sake, or that society progresses to a level where money is no longer necessary. The quote is from Iain M Banks's Culture novels, and represent an absolute ideal that humanity could become one day.

 

[Zhukov]

"I speak when I have something to say, not when I fell I have to say something." - I just like having it on hand for whenever people ask me why I'm so quiet.

"I know enough to know that I know very little." - Just because it often turns out to be the case.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

A witty quote proves nothing - Voltaire

It is the best of all quotes.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

'Less concerned about fitting into the world, your world that is.'- "The Only" - NIN

It's in my profile as well, and I just love it to bits. Explains a lot about my attitude towards people in general really.

SO EDGY!

 

[davidmc1158_v1legacy]

"Those who think they know it all merely annoy those of us who actually do." I have no idea where this quote originally came from, and it really doesn't matter.

I've always tried to use it as an introspection tool. I am a "know-it-all" type of twit. Whenever I get irritated when someone calls me out on it, or when I run into another "know-it-all" I tend to remember this quote and try to recenter myself with the realization of "Hey! You're being an asshole again! STOP IT!"

It seems to work for me pretty well.

 

[Hagi]

Man can do what he wills but he cannot will what he wills. - Schopenhauer

Always liked Schopenhauer, the perfect mix of genius, madness and arrogance that makes for an interesting philosopher. When he's wrong he tends to be so very, very, very, very wrong. But when he's right he does manage to strike at some universal truth I think.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

'And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more soldier reporting, sir. I've served my time in Hell."' I like that quote. General Eisenhower said it before D-Day.

"You do not count days! You do not count miles! Count only the number of Germans you have killed!" A Russian officer said that in a Call of Duty game. Don't remember which one.

 

[deathbydeath]

"When you have come to the edge of all that you know and are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things will happen: That there will be something solid to stand on or you'll be taught to fly."- Horus, in False Gods by Graham McNeill

Ignoring the irony between the quote and speaker there, it's pretty solid and a nicely accurate representation of something that nobody can give a proper definition to these days.

"God is the dream of good government." -Morpheus from Deus Ex

This part of the conversation in particular pretty much redefined how I perceive and value authority.

Now it's time for some Max Payne 2:

"The genius of the hole: no matter how long you spend climbing out, you can still fall back down in an instant."

"There are no choices. Nothing but a straight line. The illusion comes afterwards, when you ask
"why me?" and "what if?". When you look back and see the branches, like a pruned bonsai tree, or forked lightning. If you had done something differently, it wouldn't be you, it would be someone else looking back, asking a different set of questions."

"Your past has a way of sneaking up on you. You'll hear broken echoes of it everywhere, like a bad replay. You'll get mad at everyone for reminding you about it, even if it's all in your head."

"When entertainment turns into a surreal reflection of your life, you're a lucky man if you can laugh at the joke."

All of those are true.

 

[MysticSlayer]

Doesn't the Bible condone rape in certain passages?

No, it never condones rape. It does give an odd punishment for it in Deuteronomy, in which a rapist is forced to pay the bride price for her and take her as his wife. After that, the details are debatable, but passages in 2 Samuel seem to indicate that the "marriage" was only a custom that legally bound the rapist to financially support the woman for the rest of her life. Technically, she could leave him and do whatever she wanted, and he would still be forced to financially support her.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

"Why do we fight?" - Horse

If you don't know what I'm talking about, you don't have my attention.

 

[AntiChri5]

"I know that I know nothing" - Socrates

Pretty much the only one I can think of right now, but always true. Especially relevant in the internet age, when every twat on every message board pretends to be an expert on religion, politics, culture, sexism, history, arts, science and everything else in between. Though the translation doesn't quite convey the original purpose (the literal translation is actually along the lines of "I know that I don't know"), it's a powerful quote nonetheless.

"I know enough to know that I know very little." - Just because it often turns out to be the case.

One of the people you can talk to in New Vegas, an NCR scientist named Doctor Hildern, says something along the same lines as these.

If you ask him about how the war is going, he will refuse to answer, saying that he has no idea, that it isn't his specialty and to talk to one of the military officers. Continue to press him and he gives you this gem:

Spoiler

He is kind of a douche, but the man has a point.