Galt's Gulch
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Some of the greatest wisdom I have ever found: Robert Heinlein

Posted by $ nickursis 7 years, 8 months ago to Culture
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Here is some of the best quotes that hit me as so clear, and common sense I could never quite see how people did not read and heed:

OK, folks, time for some of Robert Heinleins greatest observations:

“A dying culture invariably exhibits personal rudeness. Bad manners. Lack of consideration for others in minor matters. A loss of politeness, of gentle manners, is more significant than is a riot.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, Friday

“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.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

“You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once.”
― Robert A. Heinlein

“I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.”
― Robert A. Heinlein

“Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

“Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.”
― Robert A. Heinlein

And the best:
“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land

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    Posted by $ Starwagen 7 years, 7 months ago
    For the cumulative wisdom of a man who has lived for 2,000 years Google "The Notebooks of Lazarus Long" by Heinlein. Includes most of the above plus a lot more 'wisdom'. And for those that have not read it "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" can be considered "Atlas Shrugged" via Cliff Notes :)
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  • Posted by Itheliving 7 years, 7 months ago
    You left out TANSTAAFL
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    • Posted by $ nickursis 7 years, 7 months ago
      Well, I didn't really think that was a saying, it is more of a philosophy, way of life, but OK, I'm easy. I use it a lot for the youngsters who seem to think that the government should give them everything, and that Bernie is really a good guy for offering all this free stuff....

      "TANSTAAFL"!
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      • Posted by Itheliving 7 years, 7 months ago
        Been a line time since I read Heinlein. He talked about Randites. I believe TANSTAAFL is from Stranger in a Strange Land.
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        • Posted by $ johnrobert2 7 years, 7 months ago
          Sorry. TANSTAAFL is from "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress".
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          • Posted by Itheliving 7 years, 7 months ago
            Nothing to be sorry about. I have not real Heinlein for 45 years or more.
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            • Posted by $ nickursis 7 years, 7 months ago
              Heinlein wrote not only easy to read, enjoyable Sci Fi, he mixed in poltical and social commentary as well. Starship Troopers dealt with why you are a citizen, and what are your responsibilities, and privleges, Lazarus Long stories dealt with social relations including many variations on sex. He took a lott of heat for just showing that people were locked into a tight "approved" thought process only. I think both Heinlein and Rand tried to help people think their way through all the smoke and mirrors.
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              • Posted by $ johnrobert2 7 years, 7 months ago
                TMIAHM also dealt with political and social mores, in line with ST, but more to do with forms and motivations of government itself in relationship with the governed..
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                • Posted by $ nickursis 7 years, 7 months ago
                  Yes, I would also say it did delineate the responsibilities of government, the abilities of people to work around those when they fail, and the fact there are no "do-overs" once you have lost your moral authority. A lesson our current day leaders would do well to learn. Neither party has moral authority any more, which means they are doomed if enough people begin to figure it out.
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  • Posted by brucejc04 7 years, 7 months ago
    Years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Heinlein at an Arizona Libertarian party meeting. He was a real gentleman. Don't forget his 2nd Amendment quote. "An armed society is a polite society."
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  • Posted by dnr 7 years, 7 months ago
    "Beware of altruism. It is based on self-deception, the root of all evil." - The Notebooks of Lazarus Long. Heinlein and Rand together in spirit.
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  • Posted by Ed75 7 years, 7 months ago
    Time Enough for Love is one of Heinlein's most interesting novels. It also contains "The Notebooks of Lazarus Long" where in he produces a whole series of memorable quotes.
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  • Posted by $ johnrobert2 7 years, 7 months ago
    He also wrote a "treatise" titled "Take Back Your Government", written in 1946. His irreverent writing style was evident even then. I have it on Nook. You might be able to find a hard copy through Bookfinders or similar sites.
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    • Posted by $ nickursis 7 years, 7 months ago
      According to Wiki:
      Take Back Your Government!: A Practical Handbook for the Private Citizen Who Wants Democracy to Work was an early work by Robert A. Heinlein. It was published in 1992 after his death in 1988.

      Originally entitled How to Be a Politician, the book was written in 1946 but never found a publisher, perhaps due to excess candor. Like so many of Heinlein's works, he wrote what he knew. In this case, he based the work on his experience in California politics in the 1930s, particularly his efforts on behalf of Upton Sinclair's End Poverty in California (EPIC) movement and Sinclair's attempt to become the Democratic nominee for governor of California in 1934.

      The book contains annotations by Jerry Pournelle, who had little time to finish, polish, or fact-check, because the publishers demanded the work be available during Ross Perot's campaign for president.[citation needed]

      A new edition was published in 2012, with an introduction by Heinlein biographer William H. Patterson, Jr.

      2 Editions:

      August, 1992, Baen Books, paperback, 304pp, ISBN 0-671-72157-7
      January, 2012, Phoenix Pick, trade paperback, 246pp, ISBN 978-1-61242-061-5
      I have reserved one on Amazon as I try out my new found Kindle app on my phone...If RAH wrote it, it probably is useful...
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  • Posted by $ DriveTrain 7 years, 6 months ago
    I take strong exception to the vicious aspersions cast on the motives of cats. Not only do cats rule, cats are the ultimate individualists. Dogs, on the other hand, wrote the book on social promiscuity. And they generally reek and don't know how to clean up after themselves. Speciesism! I am microagressed! 'Gonna sue!
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  • Posted by LazarusLong 7 years, 7 months ago
    This is the man who gave us "Grok-ing". I was reading Heinlein when I was in Jr High for the adventure. As I got older the stories became philosophical observations on the human condition and the failures of society. His dystopian societies in the future history series were the precursors of today's Hunger Games and Divergent series.
    I also love Heinlein's outlook on individual freedoms and the rights of men to make their own decisions and determine their respective fates.
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