Quote

Idiots are not responsible for what they do. The real guilt falls on rational people who sit on their hands while morons run wild. You can opt out if you want to. Play it safe. But if you do, don't complain when the roof comes down.

Jack McDevitt

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Jack McDevitt
Age: 89
Born: 1935
Born: April 14
Author
Novelist
Science Fiction Writer
Writer
Philadelphia
Pennsylvania
Morons
Hands
Wild
Moron
Play
Rational
Real
Guilt
Idiots
People
Responsible
Complain
Safe
Roof
Fall
Falls
Comes
Complaining
Running
Idiot

More quotes by Jack McDevitt

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If you want creative and successful children, resign yourself to jousting with rebels.
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Man has always seen himself the peak of creation. The part of the universe that thinks. The purpose for it all. It's no doubt a gratifying view, but the universe may have a different opinion.
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When things go wrong, the standard management strategy is to decide who takes the blame. This should be an underling, as far down the chain as possible, but preferably with some visibility so people know management means business.
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The problem is that too often the only people who can act don't want change. Power doesn't so much corrupt as it breeds conservatism.
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The Peacekeepers had a tradition that every problem had a solution. It was a nice slogan. Wasn't true, but it sounded good.
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Of course, they (i. e., demons) had always been observed with some regularity, but that could usually be ascribed to an overabundance of piety or wine or imagination. Take your pick.
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The uplifters are forever running around telling blockheads they would do better if they would believe in themselves. But they already do. That is why they are blockheads.
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Solitude is only a good idea if you have the right people along to share it.
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Intelligence is like pornography. I can't define it, but I know if when I see it.
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We could never know who we truly were until we heard the whispers of the stars.
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There's not much to be said for sightseeing. You go somewhere that has a waterfall. You have a beer, watch the water go over the edge, and move on. Tours are all the same. In the end, the only thing that matters is the beer.
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If you're right, and nobody really cares what's out there, I wonder whether we're even worth saving.
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Katie commented that Americans had lost the ability to enjoy themselves. We watch television, Dave said.
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Truth, beaten down, may well rise again. But there's a reason it gets beaten down. Usually, we don't like it very much.
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Faith is conviction without evidence, and sometimes even in the face of contrary evidence. In some quarters, this quality is perceived as a virtue.
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So long as men and women are free, no one is safe. People will be in danger because others can't operate vehicles responsibly or shoot straight. Because physicians are sometimes incompetent and lawyers dishonest. But most of all they will be in danger from ideas. It is the price we willingly pay to be free. Nor would we have it any other way.
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There are few professions whose primary objective is to advance the cause of humanity rather than simply to make money or accrue power. Among this limited group of humanitarians I would number teachers, nurses, bookstore owners, and bartenders.
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But, come to think of it, there was no need to wait. Time travelers don't have to wait for anybody.
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If you're paying attention to your wardrobe, Rudy believed, your mind isn't sufficiently occupied.
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There is no justice. There are occasional acts of vengeance, or regret, but there's no real justice. In the natural scheme of things, it is not possible.
Jack McDevitt