Heinlein, was:[NCLUG] Sigs, was:Re: NCLUG LinkedIn Group

[Chad Perrin]

On Fri, Oct 12, 2007 at 01:52:47PM -0600, Brian Wood wrote:
> Chad Perrin wrote:
> 
> > A close runner-up is:
> > 
> >   An armed society is a polite society.
> > 
> > Sadly, that last one is very commonly misunderstood as evoking a sort of
> > population of Dirty Harry types you're afraid to offend, when the obvious
> > meaning of it to one who takes the time to consider the matter is more
> > related to the personal responsibility and discipline that comes from
> > taking on the burden of self defense as a matter of maturity.  In other
> > words, it was more a comment on the infantilizing power of the State than
> > a humorous reference to the danger of calling an armed man a murderer for
> > carrying a firearm.
> > 
> > Of course, there's always the humor of the irony in that.  If he really
> > *was* a murderer at heart, he'd have the means to prove it -- and if you
> > call him such when he's armed, you obviously don't actually believe that
> > of him, unless you have a death wish.
> > 
> 
> I believe Owen Wister put that quite succinctly:
> 
> "When you call me that, smile"
> 
> And one of my favorites (from Prof's mouth of course):
> 
> "But if you *really* believe that your neighbors must have laws for
> their own good, why shouldn't *you* pay for it?"
> 
> and
> 
> "There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does
> not want merely because *you* think it would be good for him".

Those are most excellent, as quotes go.  I admit part of the reason the
three I cited as my favorites made that list is that I remember them,
word for word, whereas others like these I do not.

-- 
CCD CopyWrite Chad Perrin [ http://ccd.apotheon.org ]
Brian K. Reid: "In computer science, we stand on each other's feet."