From fanaticism to barbarism – Denis Diderot
“From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step.”
Denis Diderot
Author Archive for: Jan
Entries by Jan
Bärbel Bohley Quotes: The Shocking Warning About Stasi Tactics Today!
“All these investigations, the thorough research into the Stasi structures, the methods with which they worked and still work, all this will fall into the wrong hands. One will examine these structures in detail – in order to then take them over. They will be adapted a little to fit a free Western society. They won’t necessarily arrest the troublemakers either. There are more subtle ways to disarm someone. But the secret bans, the watching, the suspicion, the fear, the isolation and exclusion, the branding and muzzling of those who don’t conform – that will come back, believe me. Institutions will be created that will work much more effectively, much more finely than the Stasi. The constant lying will also come back, the disinformation, the fog in which everything loses its contour.”
Bärbel Bohley
True Listening and Understanding – Quote by Alan Alda
“I realize this is a radical statement, but to me it is true. I believe I don’t really listen unless there is some truth in what the other person is telling me. Not just on the surface, but underneath. What drives them? Why do they say that? What are they trying to understand? Perhaps there is something positive in them that could change me for the better. I should always look out for something that positively changes me. But I find that when I listen more mindfully, I ask myself: What is behind it?
Recently, I had a conversation, or rather, I listened to a conversation on YouTube. Someone claimed that it is possible that the Earth is flat. If I had spoken with this person, I would hopefully say: “Well, how did you come to this belief? Where does this idea come from?” Because there is something good about their trying to understand how nature works. Is the Earth round or flat? What is going on here? Behind it lies something useful that I can identify with. We don’t have to shout at each other all the time.”
Alan Alda
Alice Bailey Quotes: Unveiling the Hidden Power of Freemasonry!
“”The Masonic Movement when it can be divorced from politics and social ends and from its present paralyzing condition of inertia, will meet the need of those who can, and should, wield power. It is the custodian of the law; it is the home of the Mysteries and the seat of initiation. It holds in its symbolism the ritual of Deity, and the way of salvation is pictorially preserved in its work. The methods of Deity are demonstrated in its Temples, and under the All-seeing Eye the work can go forward. It is a far more occult organization than can be realized, and is intended to be the training school for the coming advanced occultists. In its ceremonials lies hid the wielding of the forces connected with the growth and life of the kingdoms of nature and the unfoldment of the divine aspects in man. In the comprehension of its symbolism will come the power to cooperate with the divine plan. It meets the need of those who work on the first Ray of Will or Power.””
Alice Bailey
Lao Tzu Quotes: Gain Freedom – Why You Shouldn’t Care What Others Think
“Care about what other people think, and you will always be their prisoner”
Lao Tzu
Harald Schmidt on Media Consumption: How Informed Am I Really!
“I buy the FAZ on paper – and read NZZ, Spiegel and Bild online before the paywall. But I am just as informed as if I had subscribed to it. When I see the headline and the author, I already know what the text says. I also know who among the authors is currently behind with their alimony payments and therefore has to write in a certain direction.”
Harald Schmidt
The Illusion of Eradicating Microbial Diseases – René Jules Dubos
“Eradication of microbial disease is a will-o’-the-wisp; pursuing it leads into a morass of hazy biological concepts and half truths.”
René Jules Dubos
Recognizing Truth Through Selflessness – Harry Gordon Frankfurt
“Recognizing truth requires selflessness. You have to leave yourself out of it so you can find out the way things are in themselves, not the way they look to you or how you feel about them or how you would like them to be.”
Harry Gordon Frankfurt
Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann Quote: How Public Opinion Is About Power, Not Truth
“The process of struggling for public opinion has nothing to do with truth, but with domination.”
Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann
George Bernard Shaw Quotes: Master of Irony and Sharp Wit
“I am known for my irony. But the idea of erecting a Statue of Liberty in the harbor of New York hadn’t even occurred to me.”
George Bernard Shaw