dejah_thoris

“Too many men and governments the life of the human mind is a danger to be feared more than any other danger, and the Word which cannot be purchased, cannot be falsified, and cannot be killed is the enemy most hunted for and hated. It is not necessary to speak of the burning of the books in Germany, or of the victorious lie in Spain, or of the terror of the creative spirit in Russia, or of the hunting and hounding of those in this country who insist that certain truths be told and who will not be silent. These things are commonplace. They are commonplace to such a point that they no longer shock us into anger. Indeed it is the essential character of our time that the triumph of the lie, the mutilation of culture, and the persecution of the Word no longer shock us into anger.”
― Felix Frankfurter, Their Correspondence, 1928-45

“Kertbeny coined 'heterosexual' and 'homosexual' as a pair on purpose: having two marked categories instead of only one generates a certain amount of equality, which was precisely his point. The paired words suggest that both 'homo' and 'hetero' are marked categories whose specialization sets them off from the unmarked human universal, the undifferentiated 'sexual'.”
― Hanne Blank, Straight: The Surprisingly Short History Of Heterosexuality

“What would the natural, logical fruit of heightened consciousness be if not inertia, by which I mean consciously sitting with folded arms! I mentioned that before. And I repeat it again and again: spontaneous people and men of action can act precisely because they are limited and stupid.”
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from Underground

“Wherever collective memory based on selective use of the past holds sway, everyone thinks alike. When everyone thinks alike, no one thinks at all. A society where no one thinks at all is little more than a frenetic and debauched, if picturesque, village bazaar.”
― Aleš Debeljak