Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It’s unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don’t have to try.
Peggy Noonan (b. 1950) American writer
(Attributed)
Quotations by:
Noonan, Peggy
One odd thing about foreign-policy professionals is that for all their sophistication, they tend to think the way to communicate with allies and potential allies is to compliment and sooth, compliment and soothe. But that isn’t polite, it’s patronizing, and to patronize is to insult. Candor is a compliment; it implies equality. It’s how true friends talk.
A speech is poetry: cadence, rhythm, imagery, sweep! A speech reminds us that words, like children, have the power to make dance the dullest beanbag of a heart.
Peggy Noonan (b. 1950) American writer
What I Saw at the Revolution, ch. 5 (1990)
Humor is the shock absorber of life; it helps us take the blows.
Peggy Noonan (b. 1950) American writer
What I Saw at the Revolution, ch. 8 (1990)