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Action Quotes

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Action Quotes

“The people are led to find in the productive apparatus the effective agent of thought and action to which their personal thought and action can and must be surrendered. And in this transfer, the apparatus also assumes the role of a moral agent. Conscience is absolved by reification.”

PeopleActionMoralRolesConscienceAssumingAgentsProductiveTransfersThoughts And Actions
Book:One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society
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“Reason ... contradicts the established order of men and things on behalf of existing societal forces that reveal the irrational character of this order for "rational" is a mode of thought and action which is geared to reduce ignorance, destruction, brutality, and oppression.”

MenReasonCharacterActionOrderForceIgnoranceDestructionRationalOppressionIrrationalBehalfBrutalityThoughts And Actions
Book:One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society
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“The task of the political philosopher can only be to influence public opinion, not to organize people for action. He will do so effectively only if he is not concerned with what is now politically possible but consistently defends the "general principles which are always the same." In this sense I doubt whether there can be such a thing as a conservative political philosophy. Conservatism may often be a useful practical maxim, but it does not give us any guiding principles which can influence long-range developments.”

PeopleIfsGivingMayLongDoePhilosophyActionPoliticalOpinionPrinciplesDoubtInfluenceDevelopmentConcernedTasksConservativePhilosopherPracticalsRangeConsistentlyOrganizeMaximsPublic OpinionConservatismPolitical PhilosophyOften IsGuiding PrinciplesConservative Political
Author:Friedrich August von Hayek
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“In the Small group the individual can know the effects of his actions on his several fellows, and the rules may effectively forbid him to harm them in any manner and even require him to assist them in specific ways. In the Great Society many of the effects of a person's actions on various fellows must be unknown to him. It can, therefore, not be the specific effects in the particular case, but only rules which define kinds of actions prohibited or required, which must serve as guides to the individual.”

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Author:Friedrich August von Hayek
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“This is what Wisdom means: To be changed without the slightest effort on your part, to be transformed, believe it or not, merely by waking to the reality that is not words , that lies beyond the reach of words. If you are fortunate enough to be Awakened thus, you will know why the finest language is the one that is not spoken, the finest action is the one that is not done and the finest change is the one that is not willed.”

IfsKnowsBelieveMeanDoneEnoughRealityActionLyingLanguageEffortChangedFortunateWakingTransformedFinestAwakened
Book:One Minute Wisdom
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“To play chess on a truly high level requires a constant stream of exact, informed decisions, made in real time and under pressure from your opponent. What's more, it requires a synthesis of some very different virtues, all of which are necessary to good decisions: calculatioñ, creativity and a desire for results. If you ask a Grandmaster, an artist and a computer scientist what makes a good chess player, you'll get a glimpse of these different strengths in action.”

IfsMadeDifferentRealPlayActionDesireArtistAsksDecisionLevelsResultsCreativityVirtuePlayerComputerScientistPressureConstantChessOpponentsStreamsGlimpseHigh LevelUnder PressureSynthesisChess PlayersDecisions MadeGood Decision
Book:How Life Imitates Chess: Making the Right Moves, from the Board to the Boardroom
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“During the years I was on the board of directors of the National Organization for Women in New York City, the most resistant audiences I ever faced in the process of doing corporate workshops on equality in the workplace were not male executives - they were the wives of male executives. As long as her income came from her husband, she was not feeling generous when affirmative action let another woman have a head start vying for her husband's (her) income.”

YearsLongFeelingsActionProcessCitiesAudienceWifeNew YorkDirectorsHusbandOrganizationMalesIncomeCorporateGenerousBoardsExecutivesNew York CityChaptersWorkplaceWorkshopsAffirmative ActionAffirmativeBoard Of DirectorsAnother WomanHead Start
Author:Warren Farrell
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“Do we know what practices would be effective in resisting aliens? Wouldn't the public have to be convinced, in all countries, that there is such a threat? When have the major nations on this planet shown they can agree on any military course of action? Earthlings are already spending a trillion dollars a year on things military. Where would the money come from? Krugman seems to be suggesting more lies are what is needed. How about everybody cutting their military budgets in half and feeding people instead?”

PeopleKnowsYearsCountrySeemsWould BeActionLyingCoursesNationsHalfPracticeCuttingMilitaryPlanetsNeededMajorsAgreeDollarsThreatSpendingConvincedAliensBudgetsFeedingResistingSuggestingMilitary Budget
Author:Stanton T. Friedman
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“Time is short, your obligations are infinite. Are your houses regulated, your children instructed, the afflicted relieved, the poor visited, the work of piety accomplished?”

ChildrenActionHousePoorInfiniteOur ChildrenObligationYour ChildrenAccomplishedPietyBenevolenceRelieved
Book:Sermons of John-Baptist Massillon, Bishop of Clermon, to which is prefixed the life of the author, from the last London edition
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“Courage is finding the inner strength and bravery required when confronting danger, difficulty, or opposition. Courage is the energy current behind all great actions and the spark that ignites the initial baby steps of growth. It resides deep within each of us, ready to be accessed in those moments when you need to forge ahead or break through seemingly insurmountable barriers. It is the intangible force that propels you forward on your journey.”

NeedsMomentsActionEnergyForceGrowthBehindsStepsBreakCourageJourneyDangerReadyBabyFindingsDifficultyBraveryCurrentsOppositionBarriersInner StrengthSparksInitialsBreak ThroughConfrontingDeep WithinIntangibleIgniteInsurmountableBaby Steps
Book:If Life Is a Game, These Are the Rules: Ten Rules for Being Human as Introduced in Chicken Soup for the Soul
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“We cannot continue to have an excellence gap with the rest of the world and intend to remain the [economic superpower] and [military superpower] of the planet. That's just not going to happen. We're in a position where unless we take action, we'll end up being the [France] of the 21st century: a lot of talk, but not a lot of strength behind it in terms of economic capability.”

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Author:Mitt Romney
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“I have just accepted the invitation of Her Majesty The Queen to form a Government. This will be a new Government with new priorities and I have been privileged to have been granted the great opportunity to serve my country and at all times I will be strong in purpose, steadfast in will, resolute in action in the service of what matters to the British people, meeting the concerns and aspirations of our whole country.”

PeopleHas BeensCountryMatterWholeGovernmentActionFormPurposeOpportunityStrongConcernMeetingsBritishAcceptedPrioritiesAll TimeGrantedQueensAspirationWhat MattersPrivilegedInvitationsMajestyGreat OpportunitySteadfastResoluteNew Government
Author:Gordon Brown
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“Machiavelli says that if as a ruler you accept that your every action must pass moral scrutiny, you will without fail be defeated by an opponent who submits to no such moral test. To hold on to power, you have not only to master the crafts of deception and treachery but to be prepared to use them where necessary.”

IfsUseActionAcceptingMoralFailingMastersTestsPreparedCraftsDeceptionOpponentsRulersSubmitDefeatedBe PreparedScrutinyTreachery
Author:J. M. Coetzee
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“The Germans gathered together ethnic divisions from all over Europe in which men of the same linguistic and cultural background could serve together. The Georgian SS division conducted itself with distinction in normal military action, but a good many people seem to think that anybody who was ever a member of the SS was automatically a war criminal.”

PeopleThinkingMenWarSeemsActionTogetherMilitaryMembersNormalEuropeCriminalsBackgroundsDistinctionGood ManDivisionMilitary ActionGeorgians
Author:Jeff Cooper
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“This is love: You stop bothering about the universal, the general, get sucked instead into the local and particular: When will I see her again? What shall we do today? Do you like these shoes? Theory and reflection are delicate old uncles bustled out of the way by the boisterous nephews action and desire. Themes evaporate, only plot remains.”

WayLoveTodayActionDesireLove YouParticularTheoryReflectionUniversalRemainsShoesLocalsBotherThemePlotDelicateUnclesNephewBoisterous
Author:Glen Duncan
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“Actions are interesting to watch. I learn about the actors. Their movements are emblems of the tensions in this internal landscape, which their actions resolve. About-to-act is an interesting state to experience, because I am conscious of just those tensions. Acting itself feels fairly dull; it not only resolves, it obliterates those tensions from my consciousness. Acting is only interesting as it leads to new tensions that, irrelevantly, cause me to act again.”

FeelsStatesActionActorsCausesInterestingActingConsciousnessWatchesMovementConsciousLandscapeTensionDullInternalsResolveEmblems
Book:Dhalgren
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“Sport carries on without deviation the mechanical tradition of furnishing relief and distraction to the worker after he has finished his work proper so that he is at no time independent of one technique or another. In sport the citizen of the technical society finds the same spirit, criteria, morality, actions and objectives in short, all the technical laws and customs which he encounters in office or factory.”

ActionLawSpiritSportsCitizensMoralityOfficeTraditionIndependentWorkersFinishedTechniqueObjectivesEncountersReliefCarrieCustomsDistractionFactoriesCriteriaDeviation
Author:Jacques Ellul
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“Having analyzed these traits, we can now advance a definition of propaganda - not an exhaustive definition, unique and exclusive of all others, but at least a partial one: Propaganda is a set of methods employed by an organized group that wants to bring about the active or passive participation in its actions of a mass of individuals, psychologically unified through psychological manipulations and incorporated in an organization.”

WantActionIndividualGroupsMassUniqueOrganizationMethodDefinitionsActivePsychologicalPropagandaOrganizedManipulationTraitsPassiveParticipationEmployedExclusiveUnifiedPsychological Manipulation
Author:Jacques Ellul
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“Despite the apparent absoluteness of the First Amendment, there are any number of ways of getting around it, ways that are known to any student of law. In general, the strategy is to manipulate the distinction between speech and action which is at bottom a distinction between inconsequential and consequential behavior.”

WayFirstsActionLawNumbersKnownStudentsSpeechBehaviorConstitutionStrategyBottomDespiteDistinctionAmendmentsManipulateFirst AmendmentInconsequential
Author:Stanley Fish
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“I heard the term "mamisma" when describing Speaker of the House [Nancy] Pelosi, how she was speaking from that place which is kind of like a strong mother. Like when your mom says like, "put that down!" you know that is coming from a place of both love and strength. And at this critical stage in human history we need both action and caring.”

KnowsNeedsHumansKindActionMotherHouseStrongTermHeardStageMomCaringCriticalSpeakersHuman HistoryDescribingYour MomNancyStrength And Love
Author:Elizabeth Lesser
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“The fact is that in too many parts of our country, we still have discrimination. And affirmative action is not just something that applies to people of color. Some people have a mistaken view of it in America. It also is with respect to women, it's with respect to other efforts to try to reach out and be inclusive in our country.”

PeopleTryingStillsCountryFactsActionAmericaViewsEffortColorDiscriminationOur CountryReach OutMistakenRespecting OthersAffirmative ActionAffirmative
Author:John F. Kerry
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“The party belongs to the millions of the rank and file. It does not belong to the handful of politicians who have assumed fraudulently to upset the will of the rank and file. The action of these men is in no sense "regular," as they claim it to be.... theft and dishonesty cannot give and never shall give a title to regularity.”

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Book:The Works of Theodore Roosevelt
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“A party should not contain utterly incongruous elements, radically divided on the real issues, and acting together only on false and dead issues insincerely painted as real and vital. It should not in the several States as well as in the Nation be prostituted to the service of the baser type of political boss. It should be so composed that there should be a reasonable agreement in the actions taken by it both in the Nation and in the several States. Judged by these standards, both of the old parties break down.”

ShouldWellsRealStatesActionTogetherPoliticalNationsPartyActingBreakIssuesTakenTypeElementsStandardsReasonableAgreementBossDividedJudgedBreaking DownActing Together
Author:Theodore Roosevelt
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“To permit every lawless capitalist, every law-defying corporation, to take any action, no matter how iniquitous, in the effort to secure an improper profit and to build up privilege, would be ruinous to the Republic and would mark the abandonment of the effort to secure in the industrial world the spirit of democratic fair dealing.”

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Book:Presidential addresses and state papers
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