“No one could argue with a straight face that the couples getting married today are much happier just because their wedding celebrations cost three times as much as those in 1980. Bigger mansions and costlier parties are wasteful in the same sense that larger antlers on all bull elk are wasteful. The good news is that simple changes in the tax system can eliminate much of this waste without having to deny people the right to decide for themselves how best to spend their money.” PeopleTodayFacesThreeSimplePartyCoupleCostTaxesWasteMarriedNewsBiggerDenyArguingCelebrationGood NewsThree TimesBullsGetting MarriedMansionsTax SystemStraight FaceElkAntlers Author:Robert H. Frank
“Eisenhower was a pretty peace-oriented president. Truman was a pretty hawkish. I would argue, if we had more time, I would argue Truman had a lot to do with getting the Cold War going.” IfsWarPresidentColdArguingMore TimeCold WarTrumanPresident Truman Author:Robert Scheer
“Story is the oldest, commonest, most beloved, and most effective form of communication because our life is essentially a story. That's why the Bible is the most realistic of religious books. We can easily ignore or argue away abstractions, but we bump up against concretely real people, things, and events in story, as in life.” PeopleBookRealStoriesFormLife IsReligiousOur LivesEventsCommunicationArguingBelovedRealisticAbstractionBumpsReligious Books Author:Peter Kreeft
“Evangelists have absolutely no desire to physically or emotionally coerce anyone. In a sense, we are like doctors: we have a duty to tell you the truth, care for you, argue with you (if that is useful), but we can't compel you to do anything.” IfsCareDesireDutyDoctorsArguingEvangelistsCare For YouCoerce Author:Mark Dever
“I love people thinking about apologetics. I just think that we have to be careful. We need to realize that we can argue about evolution or the existence of God or any number of things, but until we tell people the message of the cross, we have not evangelized them.” PeopleThinkingNeedsRealizingNumbersExistenceEvolutionMessagesCrossesCarefulArguingBe CarefulExistence Of GodApologetic Author:Mark Dever
“I'm always amazed to hear my more conservative colleagues talking about how they care about life. They're pro-life, but when it comes down to safe work environments that allow for unions, being able to pay for child care, having family leave - they don't care about any of that. That's where I argue that they're not pro-life, they're pro-birth.” ChildrenCareAblePayTalkingEnvironmentBirthSafeUnionsConservativeDon't CareArguingAmazedColleaguesPro LifeChild CareWork Environment Author:Nina Turner
“The original United States, the founding of America was indeed a shared culture. And you could argue that there was a diversity from the founding days, but not the way the left defines diversity today.” WayStatesTodayAmericaCultureLeftUnitedUnited StatesDiversityOriginalsArguingFounding Author:Rush Limbaugh
“The left want to get rid of all opposition. They don't want to debate the opposition. They don't want to argue. They just don't want there to be any.” WantLeftArguingDebateOpposition Author:Rush Limbaugh
“I think good things come out of having tension with the people that you work with. You've got to be arguing in order to produce something interesting. If everyone's just agreeing with each other, you're not going to push the boundaries.” PeopleIfsThinkingOrderInterestingProduceGood ThingsArguingBoundariesTensionSomething Interesting Author:Felicity Jones
“We're like brothers [with Tommy Lee] - we argue, we don't talk to each other for a while, and then we forget why we were even arguing in the first place.” FirstsForgetBrotherArguing Author:Vince Neil
“Television allows the audience to argue with the creator in a way you don't in a movie.” WayAudienceTelevisionCreatorArguing Author:Malcolm Gladwell
“One must not politicize science. But the converse is not necessarily true. There's no reason why scientists can not go into the public sphere. In fact, I would argue they should.” ShouldReasonFactsScientistArguingReason WhyNo ReasonSpheresCan NotConverses Author:Rush D. Holt, Jr.
“There are millions of white Americans today who still can barely bring themselves to acknowledge that the Civil War, with its twin Americas locked in a death match, was about slavery. They'll argue it was about economics, and they're right only because one of those economies was a slave economy. They'll argue it was about culture, and they're right only because one of those cultures was a slave culture.” StillsWarTodayCultureWhiteMillionsEconomyEconomicsSlaverySlaveArguingAcknowledgeCivil WarLockedTwins Author:Steve Erickson
“I think on all the debate on immigration, and all of that, the class of person that should be given the benefit of the doubt is the genuine refugee that is just in real desperate strait. Some of them are in the United States illegally because of [human] trafficking. They were caught up in trafficking, and you can argue to what extent it's their fault, to what extent they didn't know what they were getting into.” ThinkingKnowsShouldHumansPersonsRealStatesGivenUnitedClassUnited StatesDoubtBenefitsFaultsCaughtArguingDebateGenuineImmigrationDesperateCaught UpRefugeeHuman TraffickingTraffickingBenefit Of The Doubt Author:Preston Manning
“People just want to see something happen that is positive for them in their lives. If you're struggling to pay your student-loan debts, or if you've got a kid trying to go to college and don't think you're going to be able to afford it, it really matters whether you get help or not. If you don't have health care or you have insurance but the insurance company won't pay for what your doctor says you need, then what's the point of people arguing in Washington? Why don't you give me some help to fix this problem? I will work with anybody if I think we can actually produce results for people.” PeopleIfsThinkingWantNeedsGivingTryingMatterHelpingProblemHappensCareKidsAbleResultsPayCompanyStruggleStudentsProduceCollegeDoctorsGive MeDebtArguingThings HappenHealth CareLoanInsurance CompaniesStudent Loan Author:Hillary Clinton
“You can argue about violence. It's destructive, but people are inherently violent in a lot of ways. Abusing drugs is always bad for people and bad for society, but the whole notion of festival is tied up with intoxication.” PeopleWayWholeViolenceDrugNotionArguingViolentDestructiveTiedFestivalsIntoxicationTied Up Author:Irvine Welsh
“As Walt Whitman correctly surmised, we are large and we harbor multitudes within us. And those multitudes are locked in chronic battle. There is an ongoing conversation among the different factions in your brain, each competing to control the single output channel of your behavior. As a result, you can accomplish the strange feats of arguing with yourself, cursing at yourself, and cajoling yourself to do something - feats that modern computers simply do not do.” DifferentResultsBrainModernStrangeBattleConversationBehaviorComputerAccomplishArguingLockedMultitudesCompetingOngoingHarborsFeatsFactionsOutputWaltCursing Author:David Eagleman
“As long as 85,000 women are raped every year and 400,000 sexually assaulted in England and Wales alone, it's hard to argue that there isn't a problem. Not to mention the fact that fewer than 1/3 of our MPs are female, that women write only 1/5 front page newspaper articles, that they're less than 1/10 of engineers and that 54,000 a year lose their jobs as a result of maternity discrimination... to name but a tiny sample of issues. It's not 'going too far' to demand equality, and we're certainly not there yet.” WritingYearsLongHardFactsProblemJobsNamesLosesResultsIssuesFrontsDemandPagesFemaleEnglandArguingTinyNewspapersDiscriminationArticlesFewerEngineersSexuallySampleWalesMaternityMps Author:Laura Bates
“I would argue with my father [Pablo Escobar] about his violent attitude and I would tell him to stop his violent ways and to think about peace as an alternative, especially given the many problems he was having. However, he would reply almost immediately by telling me "you are forgetting that the first bomb that exploded in Colombia was an attempt against you, your sister, and your mother - I did not invent narcoterrorism, narcoterrorism was first used against my family.” ThinkingWayFirstsProblemUsedMotherFatherGivenForgetAttitudeMy FamilyArguingViolentAlternativesBombsColombiaPablo Escobar Author:Juan Pablo Escobar
“You ask why London has to 'stand for' anything. One response is that in fact it always inevitably does. One could say at the moment it stands for a complex mix of multiculturalism and financial power. Interestingly, that is a political mix of progressive and oppressive. What I'm arguing is simply that we should take responsibility for the effects of 'our place' around the world. To take responsibility for our embeddedness. If you don't want to, so be it. It does demand an imaginative engagement with our planetary interdependence and that can be quite challenging.” IfsWorldWantShouldDoeMomentsFactsPoliticalAsksChallengesResponsibilityEffectsDemandResponseComplexesFinancialLondonArguingAround The WorldProgressiveEngagementMulticulturalismTaking ResponsibilityImaginativeInterdependence Author:Doreen Massey
“I would argue that among musicians who work in technology today, the level of technological sophistication probably exceeds that of military programs, to be blunt. They are just really smart people attracted to making strange new sounds.” PeopleTodaySoundLevelsTechnologyMilitaryStrangeMusicianSmartProgramArguingTechnologicalExceedBluntSmart PeopleSophisticationReally Smart Author:Jaron Lanier
“Always we argue that unity is necessity because disunity goes in favor of the U.S. , which are our enemy, and everything that goes in favor of the enemy must be eliminated. That is why we are in favor of unity.” EnemyUnityArguingFavorsDisunity Author:Che Guevara
“I do not believe we will get to Ray Kurzweil's proposed "singularity" in which human minds meld with machines to produce, in effect, synthetic human evolution. Our basic problems with maintaining the electric grid argue against that fantasy.” MindBelieveHumansProblemFantasyEffectsProduceEvolutionMachinesArguingHuman MindRaysElectricMaintainingSingularityGridsHuman EvolutionSynthetic Author:James Howard Kunstler
“I believe in term limits for presidents because I think that there is no doubt I'm a better president now than I was when I start. I would argue that I am the best president I've ever been over the last year or two. My team is more effective than it's ever been.But what is also true is that number one, this is grueling.” ThinkingYearsBelieveTwoLastsI BelievePresidentTermNumbersDoubtTeamLimitsI Believe InArguingNo DoubtLast YearTerm LimitsI Am The Best Author:Barack Obama
“I don't think there's a lot of dispute for this. You can argue that we didn't get everything done that we wanted to get done, but I can make a really strong argument, and I think prove, that by almost every measure the country's better off now than when I started.” ThinkingI CanCountryDoneWantedStrongProveArgumentArguingBetter OffDisputes Author:Barack Obama
“We have this wild life experience that is full of fantastic minutiae and banal, huge events at the same time. Yet, all of it shrinks in the shadow of death. It's hard to argue with death as a game-changer.” HardGamesEventsHugeShadowArguingFantasticLife ExperienceShrinksMinutiaeShadow Of DeathGame ChangersWild Life Author:Bryan Fuller
“We are using all of our brain, all of the time; all of it is in use. However, you could probably argue that we don't use it effectively. Some of us are not trained to use our brains to their full potential. But definitely, all of it is there.” UseBrainArguingFull Potential Author:Jason Silva
“We are all so immersed in our own technology bubbles that we're ignoring so many important things. We're all online arguing over nuance and nonsense, and everybody's so incensed and upset about things that ultimately mean nothing while we are destroying our environment. While we're racing towards Armageddon, we're all online arguing about what Beyonce said at some award.” MeanSaidImportantTechnologyEnvironmentImportant ThingsArguingUpsetNonsenseOnlineAwardsRacingDestroyingBubblesOur EnvironmentNuanceArmageddonBeyonce Author:Rick Remender
“The right really wants to punish you for having an opinion. And I think both the left and the right should celebrate people who have different opinions, and disagree with them, and argue with them, and differ with them, but don't just try to shut them up.” PeopleThinkingWantShouldTryingDifferentLeftOpinionArguingCelebrateDisagreeDifferent Opinions Author:Roger Ebert
“In my own personal experience in my life, people that I argue with or have confrontations with are the people I love and care about the most. I wouldn't think to argue with somebody I couldn't give two s**ts about. There's no point in arguing if you don't care.” PeopleIfsThinkingGivingTwoCareMy OwnDon't CareArguingNo PointConfrontationPersonal ExperiencesLove And Care Author:Luke Pasqualino
“Artists used to argue about art for art's sake versus social realism etc, and now it's like the most dominate argument is related to "art for the market's sake." It's a necessity, somewhat, for some people.” PeopleArtUsedArtistSocialArgumentSakeArguingRelatedEtcRealismVersus Author:Lee Klein
“As many glaciers are melting and icy tundras are decaying, there's an unprecedented amount of woolly mammoth material that's becoming dislodged from the ice. Not just mammoth, but all kinds of fossils from the past. What occurred to me was, had anyone tried to pinpoint the first case of human-induced extinction? What was the first time we as species pushed another one to oblivion? I would argue that's probably going to be one of the defining moral problems of the century, human-induced extinction. And I really wanted to know, when did we first cross that barrier?” KnowsFirstsHumansKindProblemWantedPastMoralCasesCenturyMaterialsAmountBecomingFirst TimeCrossesSpeciesArguingAll KindsIceBarriersOblivionFossilsExtinctionDefiningMeltingUnprecedentedIcyGlaciers Author:Dario Robleto
“No self-respecting feminist could argue with the claim that the novel is more likely to accept existing power structures than not. But there's a vast difference, surely, between Dickens saying Indians should be exterminated and a Dave Eggers writing eloquently about the NSA, but not being as outspoken on American military power abroad.” ShouldWritingSelfDifferencesAcceptingNovelMilitaryClaimsStructureFeministArguingNsaDaveDickensOutspokenMilitary PowerAmerican Military Author:Kamila Shamsie
“I wrote my own first book about the defense of television as an art form in 1992. It was harder to make the argument then. Now it seems absolutely a given. You can argue about when the Platinum Age Of Television begins, but I don't think that anybody can argue that it's not here.” ThinkingArtBookAgeArgumentArguing Author:David Bianculli
“I did not mean to argue that gender is fluid and changeable (mine certainly is not). I only meant to say that we should all have greater freedoms to define and pursue our lives without pathologization, de-realization, harassment, threats of violence, violence, and criminalization. I join in the struggle to realize such a world.” WorldMeanRealizingStruggleViolenceThreatGenderArguingHarassment Author:Judith Butler
“I like intersections. They're the nature of New York, and there's always the possibility that when you're at one you can meet someone new. Have I ever met anyone new at an intersection? No, but I like the idea of it. I like cities because if you're stopping on the corner to wait for a light to change, there's the possibility that you and somebody else can talk. And if you and that somebody else start to talk, then you can start to argue, and if you start to argue, you might start a revolution.” WaitingPossibilityRevolutionArguing Author:Vito Acconci
“There are pros and cons about the policy decision whether to follow the Geneva Conventions in a war where they do not legally apply. Among the pros might be benefits for America's image, its ability to argue in future conflicts that the Conventions should be followed, and training soldiers to follow only the Geneva standards. Among the cons might be greater security and safety for our troops who capture and detain al Qaeda operatives and the ability to gather more actionable intelligence swiftly.” WarAbilityDecisionSecurityPolicyConflictTrainingSafetySoldierArguingAl QaedaOur Troops Author:John Yoo
“Coming from the era of vinyl you could argue that everything went wrong in the music business the moment we went digital. The day the first CD came out, it all went downhill in the music industry. Digital destroyed everything.” MomentsArguingMusic BusinessMusic IndustryVinyl Author:Andy Summers
“You can argue about globalization and the many benefits it has had, but also you have to appeal to the mass with everything. The Chinese, the Americans, the Russians... Everything becomes this very bland product, and that's all we're producing at the moment. It's driven by money.” MomentsDrivenArguingChineseGlobalization Author:Ruth Wilson
“My formal education as an extension to my college degree in journalism was the time that I spent working with the student newspaper. I would argue that my greatest education occurred by working for the student newspaper. It wasn't necessarily the classroom work that made my formal education special. It was the idea that I had the opportunity to practice it before I went into the real world.” WorldRealOpportunitySpecialStudentsCollegeArguingJournalismReal WorldClassroomCollege Degree Author:Don Yaeger
“I have no interest in arguing with haters, and also, I really don't want to be associated, you know, with a group of people who are only pushing to fight against something and not for something. I do want to be known as different. Period. And I believe in the self-determination of all people and if that's the way people want to define themselves, so be it.” PeopleBelieveDifferentFightingI BelieveInterestArguing Author:Majora Carter
“I'm lucky to be in food at the moment, because we're living in a time where so many people are obsessed with it. People will go to food festivals now, and argue over the merits of a taco for hours. It's about the people who deeply care, and want that exchange of ideas.” PeopleMomentsCareHoursLuckyArguingObsessed Author:Jonathan Gold
“Fasting is required, staying away from fighting and arguing and bombing of masjids is still going on. Hatred is still manifested between Sunni and Shi'a, I don't know whether there is deepening of commitment to Ramadan in that part of the world.” WorldFightingCommitmentHatredArguing Author:Louis Farrakhan
“I just hope we can find our way back to engaging with one another, arguing strongly with one another, and then going down and having a root beer together or something and - and having a good laugh about it as we work together for the best interests of the next generation of Americans who are going to inherit this country.” CountryTogetherInterestLaughingArguingBeerWorking TogetherNext GenerationGood Laugh Author:James Mattis
“There certainly is a pattern of administrations that have good transitions, George W. Bush to Barack Obama, and administrations that have really bad transitions, I would say Dwight Eisenhower to John F. Kennedy. I would say this is beginning to look like a bad transition, from Barack Obama to Donald Trump as they begin to argue even at the presidential level, which is more or less unprecedented.” ArguingBarackPresidentialDwight Author:David Brooks
“I think that all moralities adequately serving the function of fostering social cooperation must contain a norm of reciprocity - a norm of returning good for good received. Such a norm is a necessity, I argue, because it helps relieve the strains on motivation of contributing to social cooperation when it comes into conflict with self-interest.” ThinkingHelpingMotivationMoralityConflictArguingCooperationNormReciprocity Author:David Wong
“People come to have different moral beliefs because they have different non-moral beliefs about relevant facts. People are disposed to believe whatever justifies the practices and institutions that benefit them. But I argue that not all moral differences can be explained away in such a fashion. Some of the most profound disagreements come from differences in priority assigned to values such as relationship and community on the one hand, and individual rights and personal autonomy for the individual, on the other hand.” PeopleBelieveDifferentValuesIndividualBeliefCommunityMoralFashionProfoundArguingPrioritiesJustifyRelevantAutonomyDisagreementIndividual Rights Author:David Wong
“I argue for a relational conception of the person as a basis for an environmental ethic that can encourage us to preserve the environment not solely on the basis of satisfying human interests and not solely because we might attribute intrinsic value to the environment, but because the environment is something with which we can potentially enter into constructive relationship, as part of what makes us who we are or transform who we are and open us up to new interests.” ValuesInterestEnvironmentEthicsEnvironmentalArguing Author:David Wong
“One thing to argue against Hillary Clinton being harmed by my saying on aging is that when you take Hollywood and television and look at the primary demographic there. Hollywood movies. Most of them are made for guys that still have acne, just reached puberty, you know, under 24. And they don't vote, the lowest common denominator in terms of age demographics.” AgeGuyTermCommonVoteAgingClintonArguingLowestPuberty Author:Rush Limbaugh
“The idea is not to get to a conclusion if the Democrats and the media have their way. Now, arguing against - other than common sense. Arguing against a relatively quick conclusion here is that this investigation will include whatever has been done or not done by Michael Flynn. And if the special counsel decides that there need to be indictments, well, then you can forget about a quick wrap-up to anything. If there are indictments, subpoenas, investigations, if there's gonna be trials, then you can throw rapidity out the window.” DoneForgetCommonSpecialWindowDemocratArguingCommon SenseConclusion Author:Rush Limbaugh