If you file your waste-paper basket for fifty years, you have a public library. Tony Benn More Quotes by Tony Benn More Quotes From Tony Benn I'm interested in language. We used to call it the War Office. Then it became the Ministry of Defence. We used to talk about the hydrogen bomb, now we talk about a deterrent. And the language is very cleverly constructed to give the impression that it's not what it is. Tony Benn office giving war Nelson Mandela was a terrorist. And then he wins the world peace prize and becomes president of South Africa. That's how change happens. It's very important not to differentiate protest from the democratic process. Tony Benn important president winning Through talk, we tamed kings, restrained tyrants, averted revolution Tony Benn tyrants politics kings No medieval monarch in the whole of British history ever had such power as every modern British Prime Minister has in his or her hands. Nor does any American President have power approaching this Tony Benn president doe hands We have been in recess since July, and during that time there has been a fuel crisis, a Danish no vote, the collapse of the euro and a war in the middle east, but what is our business tomorrow? The Insolvency Bill [Lords]. It ought to be called the Bankruptcy Bill [Commons], because we play no role. Tony Benn july play war When you think of the number of men in the world who hate each other, why, when two men love each other, does the church split? Tony Benn hate men thinking If I rescued a child from drowning, the press would no doubt headline the story: 'Benn grabs child Tony Benn humor funny children There is no connection between imperialism and democracy. I mean when we ran an Empire which we did when I was born, there was no democracy anywhere. Tony Benn imperialism democracy mean The Internet is only the street corner meeting on a big scale Tony Benn scales internet bigs The Marxist analysis has got nothing to do with what happened in Stalin's Russia: it's like blaming Jesus Christ for the Inquisition in Spain. Tony Benn spain russia jesus Most things in life are moments of pleasure and a lifetime of embarrassment; photography is a moment of embarrassment and a lifetime of pleasure. Tony Benn things-in-life photography inspirational I try not to make political arguments personal. It doesn't help and it switches a lot of people off. The real questions: Will we have peace? Will we have justice? Will we have pensions? Will we have free education? Will we have public services? .... those are the sort of things which interest me. I don't think that having a go at individuals really helps get your point across apart from anything else. Tony Benn real people thinking Mandela didn't end Apartheid in South Africa, the poor guy was in jail for 27 years, it was the African people that ended it but he was a symbol of their struggle. Or Gandhi in India, Gandhi was a great believer in non-violence and he was in and out of jail, but India became free. I think it's better to look at what people can do collectively and that's why it's so important to encourage them. Tony Benn struggle people thinking An educated, healthy and confident nation is harder to govern. Tony Benn harder educated healthy Experience is the only real teacher and if you keep a diary you get three bites at educating yourself - when it happens, when you write it down, and when you reread it and realise you were wrong. Making mistakes is part of life. The only things I would feel ashamed of would be if I had said things I hadn't believed in order to get on. Some politicians do do that. Tony Benn real mistake teacher A faith is something you die for; a doctrine is something you kill for; there is all the difference in the world. Tony Benn doctrine differences world Thanks to the tabloid campaigns I have many death threats and I was very pleased to get another one the other day. Tony Benn thanks tabloids campaigns The House of Lords is the British Outer Mongolia for retired politicians. Tony Benn politician politics house Britain today is suffering from galloping obsolescence. Tony Benn obsolescence suffering today It's lovely to be old. I've got age, experience and zero personal ambition. No body could corrupt me by anything: possibly a job in the government, a peerage, a quango, I don't want any of it. Tony Benn lovely ambition age
