Thursday, March 24, 2011

Thoughts on Thursday, Vol. 12

Well, as you're reading this, my dad and I are making our way toward Washington, DC for my Uncle Kelly's big retirement party tomorrow. I'm super excited--mostly to get to see my family, but also to get to be in DC again! I really want to work it out sometime in the future to actually take a vacation there so I can explore DC the right way. Just a dream for now, though...

Anyway, today is our day for some great and profound thoughts, so let's get rolling.

In the spirit of this weekend, I'd like to post some quotes on various patriotic themes today. Let's start with freedom.

"Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die." ~Dwight D. Eisenhower

"Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide." ~Napoleon Bonaparte

"Here is my advice as we begin the century that will lead to 2081. First, guard the freedom of ideas at all costs. Be alert that dictators have always played on the natural human tendency to blame others and to oversimplify. And don't regard yourself as a guardian of freedom unless you respect and preserve the rights of people you disagree with to free, public, unhampered expression." ~Gerard K. O'Neill, 2081

"There are two freedoms - the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought." ~Charles Kingsley

"Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have." ~Harry Emerson Fosdick

These are some thoughts from a topic heading "Memorial Day," but I love these because in my mind they're really just quotes about honoring those who have fought and died for our freedom.

"They fell, but o'er their glorious grave
Floats free the banner of the cause they died to save."
~Francis Marion Crawford

"The brave die never, though they sleep in dust:
Their courage nerves a thousand living men."
~Minot J. Savage

"Better than honor and glory, and History's iron pen,
Was the thought of duty done and the love of his fellow-men."
~Richard Watson Gilder

(I know these are tending to be poetry, but I'm finding those to be the most profound.)

"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself." ~Joseph Campbell

"Life hangs as nothing in the scale against dear Liberty!" ~Lucy Larcom

And in closing, some thoughts on gratitude.

"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say 'thank you'? ~William A. Ward

"The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you." ~John E. Southard

"If you have lived, take thankfully the past." ~John Dryden

"You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink." ~G.K. Chesteron

"If a fellow isn't thankful for what he's got, he isn't likely to be thankful what he's going to get." ~Frank A. Clark

There you have it, folks! Take time to say a prayer for all those folks serving our great country at home and abroad, and be appreciative of what their sacrifice means for us!

See you tomorrow for Friday Funnies!

♥ Marlee

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