Man has no moral instinct. He is not born with moral sense. You were not born with it, I was not - and a puppy has none. We acquire moral sense, when we do, through training, experience, and hard sweat of the mind. Robert A. Heinlein More Quotes by Robert A. Heinlein More Quotes From Robert A. Heinlein How anybody expects a man to stay in business with every two-bit wowser in the country claiming a veto over what we can say and can't say and what we can show and what we can't show - it's enough to make you throw up. The whole principle is wrong; it's like demanding that grown men live on skim milk because the baby can't eat steak. Robert A. Heinlein babymencountry Love your country, but never trust its government. Robert A. Heinlein governmentlove-youcountry Secrecy is the beginning of tyranny Robert A. Heinlein secrecytrusttyranny There are no dangerous weapons; there are only dangerous men. Robert A. Heinlein dangerous-mangunmen Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. Robert A. Heinlein inspirationallovefunny Democracy is four wolves and a sheep voting on dinner. Robert A. Heinlein freedomtruthknowledge There is no such thing as luck; there is only adequate or inadequate preparation to cope with a statistical universe. Robert A. Heinlein badasspreparationluck Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. Never underestimate the power of human stupidity. Robert A. Heinlein attributesunderestimatestupidity The most ridiculous concept ever perpetrated by Homo Sapiens is that the Lord God of Creation, Shaper and Ruler of the Universes, wants the saccharine adoration of his creations, that he can be persuaded by their prayers, and becomes petulant if he does not receive this flattery. Yet this ridiculous notion, without one real shred of evidence to bolster it, has gone on to found one of the oldest, largest and least productive industries in history. Robert A. Heinlein realreligiousprayer What are the facts? Again and again and again – what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what “the stars foretell,†avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable “verdict of history†– what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue. Get the facts! Robert A. Heinlein starstruththinking The greatest fallacy of democracy is that everyone's opinion is worth the same. Robert A. Heinlein democracyopinionfreedom What is supposed to happen in a democracy is that each sovereign citizen will always vote in the public interest for the safety and welfare of all. But what does happen is that he votes his own self-interest as he sees it... which for the majority translates as 'Bread and Circuses'. Robert A. Heinlein safetydemocracyself Mighty little force is needed to control a man whose mind has been hoodwinked; contrariwise, no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything - you can't conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him. Robert A. Heinlein bombsmindmen Ignorance is curable, stupid is forever. Robert A. Heinlein ignorancestupidforever Progress isn't made by early risers. It's made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do something. Robert A. Heinlein motivationallifefunny The lessons of history teach us - if the lessons of history teach us anything - that nobody learns the lessons that history teaches us. Robert A. Heinlein teachlessonsifs 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 dyinglossculture On two subjects the overwhelming majority of people regarded their own opinions as Absolute Truth, and sincerely believed that anyone who disagreed with them was immoral, outrageous, sinful, sacrilegious, offensive, intolerable, stupid, illogical, treasonable, actionable, against the public interest, ridiculous, and obscene. The two subjects were (of course) sex and religion. Robert A. Heinlein stupidtwosex If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There may be no candidates and no measures you want to vote for ... but there are certain to be ones you want to vote against. In case of doubt, vote against. By this rule you will rarely go wrong. Robert A. Heinlein doubtwantmay Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig. Robert A. Heinlein leadershipinspirationalfunny
