WIST Quotations

Webster, Daniel -- Speech (1820-12-22), “First Settlement of New England,” Plymouth, Massachusetts

Dave — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 23:05:18 +0000

The freest government, if it could exist, would not be long acceptable, if the tendency of the laws were to create a rapid accumulation of property in few hands, and to render the great mass of the population dependent and penniless.

Daniel Webster (1782-1852) American statesman, lawyer, orator
Speech (1820-12-22), “First Settlement of New England,” Plymouth, Massachusetts
(Source)

On the bicentennial of the Pilgrims' landing in the New World.

Gladwell, Malcolm -- Outliers: The Story of Success, ch. 1 “The Matthew Effect,” sec. 5 (2008)

Dave — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 19:57:24 +0000

It is those who are successful, in other words, who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success. It’s the rich who get the biggest tax breaks. It’s the best students who get the best teaching and most attention. And it’s the biggest nine- and ten-year-olds who get the most coaching and practice. Success is the result of what sociologists like to call “accumulative advantage.”

Malcolm Gladwell (b. 1963) Anglo-Canadian journalist, author, public speaker
Outliers: The Story of Success, ch. 1 “The Matthew Effect,” sec. 5 (2008)
(Source)

Brault, Robert -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 14:31:08 +0000

Everything we possess that is not necessary for life or happiness becomes a burden, and scarcely a day passes that we do not add to it.

Robert Brault (b. c. 1945) American aphorist, programmer
(Attributed)

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1966-09-13), Signing a Bill Extending the Peace Corps Act, Georgetown University

Dave — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 15:27:13 +0000

Presidents quickly realize that while a single act might destroy the world they live in, no one single decision can make life suddenly better or can turn history around for the good.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Speech (1966-09-13), Signing a Bill Extending the Peace Corps Act, Georgetown University
(Source)

Broader context:

To hunger for use, and to go unused, is the worst hunger of all. [...] It is true that few men have the power by a single act of theirs or in a single lifetime to shape history for themselves. Presidents, for example, quickly realize that while a single act might destroy the world they live in, no one single decision can make life suddenly better or can turn history around all for the good. But Presidents do know that a nation is the sum total of what we all do together; that the deeds and desires of each citizen fashion our character and shape our world -- just as one tiny drop of water after another will ultimately make a mighty river.