Victory in defeat, there is none higher. She didn't give up, Ben; she's still trying to lift that stone after it has crushed her. She's a father working while cancer eats away his insides, to bring home one more pay check. She's a twelve-year-old trying to mother her brothers and sisters because mama had to go to Heaven. She's a switchboard operator sticking to her post while smoke chokes her and fire cuts off her escape. She's all the unsung heroes who couldn't make it but never quit.
Robert A. HeinleinCome Judgment Day, we may find that Mumbo Jumbo the God of the Congo was the Big Boss all along.
Robert A. HeinleinWhen you vote, you are exercising political authority, you're using force. And force, my friends, is violence. The supreme authority from which all other authorities are derived.
Robert A. HeinleinOur behavior is different. How often have you seen a headline like this?--TWO DIE ATTEMPTING RESCUE OF DROWNING CHILD. If a man gets lost in the mountains, hundreds will search and often two or three searchers are killed. But the next time somebody gets lost just as many volunteers turn out. Poor arithmetic, but very human. It runs through all our folklore, all human religions, all our literature--a racial conviction that when one human needs rescue, others should not count the price.
Robert A. HeinleinAny government will work if authority and responsibility are equal and coordinate. This does not insure โgoodโ government, it simply insures that it will work. But such governments are rare โ most people want to run things, but want no part of the blame. This used to be called the โbackseat driverโ syndrome.
Robert A. Heinlein