“Many free countries have lost their liberty, and ours may lose hers; but, if she shall, be it my proudest plume, not that I was the last to desert, but that I never deserted her.” IfsMayCountryLastsLostLosesLibertyDesertDesertedFree Country Book:Lincoln on Democracy Source: Lincoln on Democracy
“First, the desert is the country of madness. Second, it is the refuge of the devil, thrown out into the "wilderness of upper Egypt" to "wander in dry places." Thirst drives man mad, and the devil himself is mad with a kind of thirst for his own lost excellence--lost because he has immured himself in it and closed out everything else. So the man who wanders into the desert to be himself must take care that he does not go mad and become the servant of the one who dwells there in a sterile paradise of emptiness and rage.” MenFirstsKindDoeCountryCareLostHe ManDevilMadnessMadExcellenceTake CareRageWanderDesertServantParadiseDryEmptinessThrownWildernessRefugeThirstEgypt Book:Thoughts In Solitude Source: Thoughts In Solitude
“Are you a politician asking what your country can do for you or a zealous one asking what you can do for your country? If you are the first, then you are a parasite; if the second, then you are an oasis in the desert.” IfsFirstsCountryCan DoPoliticianAskingDesertParasitesOasisZealous Author:Khalil Gibran
“The California I knew, old rancho California, is gone. It just doesn't exist, except maybe in little pockets. I lived on the edge of the Mojave Desert, an area that used to be farm country. There were all these fresh-produce stands with avocados and date palms. You could get a dozen artichokes for a buck or something. Totally wiped out now.” LittlesCountryUsedGoneProduceAreasEdgesUsed To BeDesertCaliforniaPocketsFarmsDozenPalmsBucksAvocadosArtichokesMojave Author:Sam Shepard