Customs tell a man who he is, where he belongs, what he must do. Better illogical customs than none; men cannot live together without them. Robert A. Heinlein More Quotes by Robert A. Heinlein More Quotes From Robert A. Heinlein [T]here seems to have been an actual decline in rational thinking. The United States had become a place where entertainers and professional athletes were mistaken for people of importance. They were idolized and treated as leaders; their opinions were sought on everything and they took themselves just as seriously-after all, if an athlete is paid a million or more a year, he knows he is important ... so his opinions of foreign affairs and domestic policies must be important, too, even though he proves himself to be ignorant and subliterate every time he opens his mouth. Robert A. Heinlein media athlete thinking You can sway a thousand men by appealing to their prejudices quicker than you can convince one man by logic. Robert A. Heinlein prejudice political men Happiness lies in being privileged to work hard for long hours in doing whatever you think is worth doing. One man may find happiness in supporting a wife and children. Another may find it in robbing banks. Still another may labor mightily for years in pursuing pure research with no discernible result. Note the individual and subjective nature of each case. No two are alike and there is no reason to expect them to be. Each man or woman must find for himself or herself that occupation in which hard work and long hours make him or her happy. Robert A. Heinlein happiness lying children Political tags - such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth - are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire. Robert A. Heinlein political race people Remember though, your best weapon is between your ears and under your scalp -provided it's loaded. Robert A. Heinlein weapons ears remember 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 freedom responsibility inspirational The United States has become a place where entertainers and professional athletes are mistaken for people of importance. Robert A. Heinlein united-states athlete people Obscurity is the refuge of incompetence. Robert A. Heinlein incompetence obscurity refuge It is a bad sign when the people of a country stop identifying themselves with the country and start identifying with a group. A racial group. Or a religion. Or a language. Anything, as long as it isn't the whole population. Robert A. Heinlein long country people Never underestimate the power of human stupidity. Robert A. Heinlein sad stupid silly Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. Robert A. Heinlein positive love life Sex should be friendly. Otherwise stick to mechanical toys; it's more sanitary. Robert A. Heinlein toys friendly sex Don't ever become a pessimist... a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun, and neither can stop the march of events. Robert A. Heinlein optimism fun happiness Secrecy is the keystone to all tyranny. Not force, but secrecy and censorship. When any government or church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, "This you may not read, this you must not know," the end result is tyranny and oppression, no matter how holy the motives. Mighty little force is needed to control a man who has been hoodwinked in this fashion; contrariwise, no amount of force can control a free man, whose mind is free. No, not the rack nor the atomic bomb, not anything. You can't conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him. Robert A. Heinlein fashion freedom atheist Democracy can survive anything except Democrats Robert A. Heinlein democrat democracy politics What a wonderful world it is that has girls in it! Robert A. Heinlein girl wonderful world Belief gets in the way of learning. Robert A. Heinlein creativity clever believe Money problems can always be solved by a man not frightened by them. Robert A. Heinlein money problem men A fool cannot be protected from his folly. If you attempt to do so, you will not only arouse his animosity but also you will be attempting to deprive him of whatever benefit he is capable of deriving from experience. Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig. Robert A. Heinlein benefits waste pigs An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life. Robert A. Heinlein society gun may
