Always Strive To Excel, But Only On

Nowadays, To Say That We Are Clever Animals Is Not To Say Something Philosophical And Pessimistic But Something Political And Hopeful - Namely, If We Can Work Together, We Can Make Ourselves Into Whatever We Are Clever And Courageous Enough To Imagine Ourselves Becoming. This Is To Set Aside Kant's Question "what Is Man?" And To Substitute The Question "what Sort Of World Can We Prepare For Our Great Grandchildren?

The Usual Picture Of Socrates Is Of An Ugly Little Plebeian Who Inspired A Handsome Young Nobleman To Write Long Dialogues On Large Topics.

There Are Credentials For Admission To Our Democratic Society [...]. You Have To Be Educated In Order To Be A Participant In Our Conversation So We Are Going To Go Right On Trying To Discredit You In The Eyes Of Your Children, Trying To Strip Your Fundamentalist Religious Community Of Dignity, Trying To Make Your Views Seem Silly Rather Than Discussable. We Are Not So Inclusivist As To Tolerate Intolerance Such As Yours.

Had There Been No Plato, The Christians Would Have Had A Harder Time Selling The Idea That All God Really Wanted From Us Was Fraternal Love.

If I Had To Lay Bets, My Bet Would Be That Everything Is Going To Go To Hell, But, You Know, What Else Have We Got Except Hope?