Any scientist who can't explain to an eight-year-old what he is doing is a charlatan. Kurt Vonnegut More Quotes by Kurt Vonnegut More Quotes From Kurt Vonnegut How nice -- to feel nothing, and still get full credit for being alive. Kurt Vonnegut numbnessnicelife Be patient, Ophelia. Love, Hamlet Kurt Vonnegut opheliabe-patientpatient Ideas on earth were badges of friendship or enimity. Their content did not matter. Friends agreed with friends, in order to express friendliness. Enemies disagreed with enemies, in order to express enimity. Kurt Vonnegut orderenemyideas The best jokes are dangerous, and dangerous because they are in some way truthful. Kurt Vonnegut truthfulhumorway I don't know about you, but I practice a disorganized religion. I belong to an unholy disorder. We call ourselves "Our Lady of Perpetual Astonishment." Kurt Vonnegut astonishmentdisorderpractice And a step backward, after making a wrong turn, is a step in the right direction. Kurt Vonnegut turnsresponsibilitysteps One thing I found out was that we need extended families. We need gangs. And, of course, if they're tribes and clans and so forth have been dispersed by the industrial revolution by people looking for work wherever they can find it. And a nuclear family, a man, a woman and kids and a dog and cat is no survival scheme at all. Horribly vulnerable. Kurt Vonnegut catdogkids Perhaps some people really are born unhappy. I surely hope not. Speaking for my sister and myself: We were born with the capacity and determination to be utterly happy all the time. Perhaps even in this we were freaks. Hi ho. Kurt Vonnegut determinationunhappypeople Socialism is, in fact, a form of Christianity, people wishing to imitate Christ. Kurt Vonnegut wishfactspeople Luck is not the hand of God.... Luck is the way the wind swirls and the dust settles eons after God has passed by. Kurt Vonnegut dustwindhands Never have I risked my life, or even my comfort, in the service of mankind. Shame on me. Kurt Vonnegut shame-on-meshamecomfort If you want to break the rules of grammar, first learn the rules of grammar. Kurt Vonnegut breakwantfirsts You want to know something? We are still in the Dark Ages. The Dark Ages--they haven't ended yet. Kurt Vonnegut agedarkwant I have this disease late at night sometimes, involving alcohol and the telephone. Kurt Vonnegut slaughterhouse-fivealcoholnight My country is in ruins. So I'm a fish in a poisoned fishbowl. I'm mostly just heartsick about this. There should have been hope. This should have been a great country. But we are despised all over the world now. I was hoping to build a country and add to its literature. That's why I served in World War II, and that's why I wrote books. Kurt Vonnegut warcountrybook Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter could be said to remedy anything. Kurt Vonnegut growing-updisappointmenthappiness Any man who would change the World in a significant way must have showmanship, a genial willingness to shed other people's blood, and a plausible new religion to introduce during the brief period of repentance and horror that usually follows bloodshed. Kurt Vonnegut menbloodpeople The Population Reference Bureau predicts that the world's total population will double to 7,000,000,000 before the year 2000. I suppose they will all want dignity, I said. Kurt Vonnegut slaughterhouse-fivepopulationyears There is no beginning, no middle, no end, no suspense, no moral, no causes, no effects. What we love in our books are the depths of many marvelous moments seen all at one time. Kurt Vonnegut slaughterhouse-fivecausesbook There is no reason why good cannot triumph as often as evil. The triumph of anything is a matter of organization. If there are such things as angels, I hope that they are organized along the lines of the Mafia. Kurt Vonnegut angelmemorablewriting
