Favourite Quotes and Quotations

[Sugar Marie]

He had some other quotes that are frequently ignored by those who wish to perpetuate the myth that the Civil War was about slavery.

In his 1860 inaugural address, he said: "I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so."

Two years later, President Lincoln wrote: "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union (Letter to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862)."

And in 1858 Lincoln had written: "I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races. I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people. There is a physical difference between the white and black races, which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality."

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3487

Uh-oh, I didn't want to start anything here - but since we are already on the subject - I don't think that anyone w/even a cursory knowledge of Lincoln and the Civil War denies that his motivation was not to further the cause of black people.

Having said that, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was the cornerstone from which African Americans have been able to build upon - through many long years of struggle and oppression - to reach a point in this country where we now have a black President.

I think it's interesting that this is coming up at the moment, as I'm sure many of you have heard former President Jimmy Carter's comments on the state of racism, now, as it relates to an apparent backlash to President Obama. There is a discussion to be had right there, and it may need to start w/the motives of every white person that voted for or against our man at the top. People are already dismissing Carter and saying that he's bringing up a non-issue to guilt Pres. Obama's detractors into towing the "leftist line". I don't personally care where anyone stands politically, but no matter how uncomfortable the subject may be, racial motivation is not a non-issue. To paraphrase a slightly unrelated line: We haven't come that far, baby.

So, to close this out, I agree that Abraham Lincoln's views on race are important for this reason: no matter what he actually did to further the cause of racial equality in America, condescension is still dehumanizing, and even when it isn't explicitly expressed (as is mostly the case in this day and age), it is still an attitude that is acutely felt.

[CorbinKale]

Uh-oh, I didn't want to start anything here - but since we are already on the subject - I don't think that anyone w/even a cursory knowledge of Lincoln and the Civil War denies that his motivation was not to further the cause of black people.

Having said that, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was the cornerstone from which African Americans have been able to build upon - through many long years of struggle and oppression - to reach a point in this country where we now have a black President.

The cornerstone for freedom quote would have to be, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." According to Lincoln's own words, that was definitely NOT on his mind.

[themadone06]

This is to themadone06 directly:
I just reread this post, and made myself wince.
Please know that my intent was to make light of what I perceive as a silly comment - not to in any way undermine your post as a whole, or even your decision to use this quote in particular.

You probably(hopefully)haven't thought twice about this, but I just wanted to clarify, in case you were offended at all.

My quote contribution for the day:
The road to hell is paved with good intentions-Proverb

No I realized what you were saying. It is a pretty naive statement from Lincoln. I posted it because I thought it was funny.

[Sawney Beane]

"Politicians and nappies need to be changed every now and again.And for the same reason" - Anonymous

[Nabila]

" Men occasionally stumble upon the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." - Winston Churchill

" The universe is full of magical things, waiting for our wits to grow sharper. " - Eden Philpotts

[K HjLL]

"One of the greatest feelings in life is running out of ink in your pen. "- AM

[doowopgirl]

I am not sure where these quotes came from but they are some of my favorites.Old enough to know better, young enough not to care. XXXX them if they can't take a joke. Getting older is better than the alternative. Better to be smarter than you look than to look smarter than you are. And my favorite SK quote is from The Stand The only cro magnon in a herd of thundering neanderthals.

[JackTheRipper]

"He's a jackass." - President Obama about Kanye interrupting Taylor Swift at the VMAs

[Sugar Marie]

My daughter and I have been going through a book she brought home from school about Leonardo da Vinci, and I found these while searchin' for info about him on the net:

"For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

and

"The function of muscle is to pull and not to push, except in the case of the genitals and the tongue."

Don't exactly know what the point of that second observation is...but I do believe that is the earliest reference to genitalia I've ever come across(there may be a pun in there somewhere that wasn't intended, but am just delighted to have made )

[ConstantRdr]

My Favorite SK Quote is from the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" or the Novella "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" "Get busy living, or get busy dying". ~Morgan Freeman

My other fav quote was said by Death in the movie the Hogfather by Terry Pratchett "Human beings make life so interesting. Do you know, that in a universe so full of wonders, they have managed to invent- boredom? ~ Death