Today's Words of Wisdom - September 5, 2015

Today is the birthday of the following people:

Jonathan Kozol (1936 - ):

“A dream does not die on its own. A dream is vanquished by the choices ordinary people make about real things in their own lives...”

and

“Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.”

and

“You have to remember. . .that for this little boy whom you have met, his life is just as important to him, as your life is to you. No matter how insufficient or how shabby it may seem to some, it is the only one he has.”

and

“There is something deeply hypocritical in a society that holds an inner-city child only eight years old "accountable" for her performance on a high-stakes standardized exam but does not hold the high officials of our government accountable for robbing her of what they gave their own kids six or seven years before.”

and

“The future teachers I try to recruit are those who have refused to let themselves be neutered in this way, either in their private lives or in the lives that they intend to lead in school. When they begin to teach, they come into their classrooms with a sense of affirmation of the goodness and the fullness of existence, with a sense of satisfaction in discovering the unexpected in their students, and with a longing to surprise the world, their kids, even themselves, with their capacity to leave each place they've been ... a better and more joyful place than it was when they entered it.”

Freddie Mercury (1946 – 1991):

“I'm possessed by love — but isn't everybody? Most of my songs are love ballads and things to do with sadness and torture and pain."

and

"In terms of love, you're not in control and I hate that feeling. I seem to write a lot of sad songs because I'm a very tragic person. But there's always an element of humor at the end.”

and

“Can you imagine how terrible it is when you've got everything and you're still desperately lonely? That is awful beyond words."

and

"I'm so powerful on stage that I seem to have created a monster. When I'm performing I'm an extrovert, yet inside I'm a completely different man.”

Werner Herzog (1942 - ):

“What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark? It would be like sleep without dreams.”

and

“Facts do not convey truth. That's a mistake. Facts create norms, but truth creates illumination.”

and

“Read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read...if you don't read, you will never be a filmmaker.”

George Lazenby (1939 - ):

“Fame is short-lived and you're the last to know when you are no longer hot. I used to be able to stroll into London clubs like Tramp. But one day I turned up and the doorman blocked my way. Suddenly I was no longer Bond, I was just plain old George Lazenby, and that didn't even give me license to get into a club.”

Michael Keaton (1951 - ):

“In the household in which I was raised, the themes were pretty simple. 'Work hard. Don't quit. Be appreciative, be thankful, be grateful, be respectful. Also, never whine, never complain. And always, for crying out loud, keep a sense of humor.'”

and

“I choose not to be at the whim of others. I want to be at my own whim.”