““Freedom is not empowerment. Empowerment is what the Serbs have in Bosnia. Anybody can grab a gun and be empowered. It's not entitlement. An entitlement is what people on welfare get, and how free are they? It's not an endlessly expanding list of rights -- the "right" to education, the "right" to food and housing. That's not freedom, that's dependency. Those aren't rights, those are the rations of slavery -- hay and a barn for human cattle. There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.””

— P.J. O'Rourke

Tags: P. J. O’Rourke ∙ memes ∙ empowerment ∙ gun ∙ duty ∙ consequences ∙ rights ∙ education ∙ healthcare ∙ food ∙ housing ∙ freedom ∙ dependency ∙ rations ∙ slavery ∙ human cattle

““Duty is the essence of manhood.””
     — George Patton

Tags: George Patton ∙ duty ∙ manhood ∙ man

❝❝If someone has served honorably, then they should have whatever they want on their headstone up to and including Mickey Mouse. Government issue or not, it's not about what is “approved.” It's about honoring someone who chose to serve and fulfilled that duty.❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ honor ∙ headstone ∙ Mickey Mouse ∙ goverment ∙ duty