Modern Values Quotes

Flexibility has become a modern day value that everyone wants. But flexibility comes with a cost. ~ Maynard Webb

Modernity: we created youth without heroism, age without wisdom, and life without grandeur ~ Nassim Nicholas Taleb

People are making careful, comely, dignified work of the essential tasks defined by modern values as "drudgery." And because they have thought of the well-being of all the people, all are busy. There is a use for everyone. The Amish do not have the abandoned children, cast-off old people, criminals, indigents, and vagrants whom we have "freed from drudgery." And ~ Wendell Berry

On the one hand the world is getting more integrated and we should not dismiss social values as "Western" when they are actually modern values. On the other hand, individual countries have their own history and their own evolution. Trade unions, for example, don't play the same role in China as they do in Europe or the US. ~ Zhang Xin

People focus on role models; it is more effective to find antimodels - people you don't want to resemble when you grow up ~ Nassim Nicholas Taleb

How can so many (white, male) writers narratively justify restricting the agency of their female characters on the grounds of sexism = authenticity while simultaneously writing male characters with conveniently modern values?

The habit of authors writing Sexism Without Sexists in genre novels is seemingly pathological. Women are stuffed in the fridge under cover of "authenticity" by secondary characters and villains because too many authors flinch from the "authenticity" of sexist male protagonists. Which means the yardstick for "authenticity" in such novels almost always ends up being "how much do the women suffer", instead of - as might also be the case - "how sexist are the heroes".

And this bugs me; because if authors can stretch their imaginations far enough to envisage the presence of modern-minded men in the fake Middle Ages, then why can't they stretch them that little bit further to put in modern-minded women, or modern-minded social values? It strikes me as being extremely convenient that the one universally permitted exception to this species of "authenticity" is one that makes the male heroes look noble while still mandating that the women be downtrodden and in need of rescuing.

-Comment at Staffer's Book Review 4/18/2012 to "Michael J. Sullivan on Character Agency ~ Foz Meadows

Snobbery is not merely a silly human weakness but something basic in the mentality of modern man-a symptom which reflects the general sickness, the dislocation of social and cultural values in contemporary civilization. ~ Arthur Koestler

The classical man's worst fear was inglorious death; the modern man's worst fear is just death ~ Nassim Nicholas Taleb

This book is my response to these developments: It is an appreciation of the flourishing that was the humanistic treasure of the modern era. It is also a plea to restore what has been lost and not to reject out of hand the modern values that inspired the broad prosperity of modern societies. ~ Edmund S. Phelps

They will envy you for your success, your wealth, for your intelligence, for your looks, for your status - but rarely for your wisdom. ~ Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Erotic attraction often serves as the catalyst for an intimate connection between two people, but it is not a sign of love. Exciting, pleasurable sex can take place between two people who do not even know each other. Yet the vast majority of males in our society are convinced that their erotic longing indicates who they should, and can, love. Led by their penis, seduced by erotic desire, they often end up in relationships with partners with whom they share no common interests of values. ~ Bell Hooks

Vanity is a mortgage that must be deducted from the value of a man. ~ Otto Von Bismarck

If we're willing to give up our values in pursuit of the things we want we're willing to give the things we want more value than we are willing to give ourselves. ~ Anthony P. Mauro, Sr.

War is an evil thing; but to submit to the dictation of other states is worse ... Freedom, if we hold fast to it, will ultimately restore our losses, but submission will mean permanent loss of all that we value ... To you who call yourselves men of peace, I say: You are not safe unless you have men of action on your side. ~ Thucydides

If you want to study the social and political history of modern nations, study hell. ~ Thomas Merton

We do hear perhaps too many accolades generally aimed at people like Steve Jobs. We have to remember that there are other classic things in life that we undervalue and take them for granted. If you think of the classic lines of the modern jet aircraft, it's really been there since early World War II. ~ Ian Anderson

Be that as it may, Leibnitz was never able to explain the principles of his calculus clearly, and this shows that there was something in it that was beyond him, something that was as it were imposed upon him without his being conscious of it; had he taken this into account, he most certainly would not have engaged in any dispute over 'priority' with Newton. Besides, these sorts of disputes are always completely vain, for ideas, insofar as they are true, are not the property of anyone, despite what modern 'individualism' might have to say; it is only error that can properly be attributed to human individuals. ~ Rene Guenon

An unprejudiced mind is probably the rarest thing in the world; to nonprejudice I attach the greatest value. ~ Andre Gide

I turn the tables and challenge our people, our scouts, and they respond. We had a meeting with our scouts this week and told them [we] will use and value their opinions. That perks them up. ~ Doug Melvin

Perhaps the strangest manifestation of the Eurocentric approach to the history of military technology is ... the attempt to discern fundamental cultural roots in the distant past that have resulted in the perceived current Western dominance of the world. This essentialism attempts to contrast ancient Greek logic and philosophy with the less rationally minded philosophies of the non-West. Modern science and technology, in this view, is a simple jump from ancient Greece to early modern Europe. ~ Peter A. Lorge

I have always maintained that the one important phenomenon presented by modern society is - the enormous prosperity of Fools. ~ Wilkie Collins

Now when I bore people at a party they think it's their fault. ~ Henry A. Kissinger

Stay committed to your mission, values, and the full self-expression of your inner leader even when people doubt you. When people say you'll fail or suggest you're not good enough, stand strong in your own skin and don't let them tear you down. Because leadership has a lot to do with believing in yourself when no one else believes in you. ~ Robin S. Sharma

Some people always know the price, but not the value ~ Oscar Wilde

I think that in our earlier history
the Gettysburg Address or something
there was the conscious sense that democracy was an achievement. It was not simply the most efficient modern system or something. It was something that people collectively made and they understood that they held it together by valuing it. ~ Marilynne Robinson

The importance of C.F. Gauss for the development of modern physical theory and especially for the mathematical fundament of the theory of relativity is overwhelming indeed; also his achievement of the system of absolute measurement in the field of electromagnetism. In my opinion it is impossible to achieve a coherent objective picture of the world on the basis of concepts which are taken more or less from inner psychological experience. ~ Albert Einstein

She hadn't ascribed to this modern notion of equality between the sexes. Woman were patently superior. ~ Laura Kinsale

Don't Let Him Know is a rich, evocative and brilliantly told tale of family, of loyalties, and of love that must stay secret. Sandip Roy has broken new ground in this tale of the modern Indian family. A lovely read ~ Abraham Verghese

The simultaneous decline of the European nation-state and growth of antisemitic movements, the coincident downfall of nationally organized Europe and the extermination of Jews, which was prepared for by the victory of antisemitism over all competing isms in the preceding struggle for persuasion of public opinion, have to be taken as a serious indication of the source of antisemitism. Modern ~ Hannah Arendt

Good values are like a magnet, they attract good people. ~ John Wooden

Modern records are all made with virtually identical gear, software plug-ins and everything. Everybody wants everything to sound like the last thing that was popular because they're chasing their tails. ~ Dweezil Zappa

I think if you look at the failure of journalism in the modern age, then I don't want to be called a journalist. ~ Shane Smith

The modern ignorance is in people's assumption that they can outsmart their own nature. It is in the arrogance that will believe nothing that cannot be proved, and respect nothing it cannot understand, and value nothing it cannot sell ... The next hard time is just as real to him as the last, and so is the next blessing. The new ignorance is the same as the old, only less aware that ignorance is the same as the old, only less aware that ignorance is what it is. It is less humble, more foolish and frivolous, more dangerous. A man, Old Jack thinks, has no choice but to be ignorant, but he does not have to be a fool. He can know his place, and he can stay in it and be faithful. ~ Wendell Berry

The modern mind, which regards itself as having transcended the domain of
the magical, is nonetheless still endlessly capable of "irrational" (read motivated)
reactions. We fall under the spell of experience whenever we attribute our frustration, aggression, devotion or lust to the person or situation that exists as the proximal "cause" of such agitation. We are not yet "objective," even in our most clear-headed moments (and thank God for that). ~ Jordan B. Peterson

I don't presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die. But I feel very strongly that whether the reward is in the here and now or in the hereafter, the aligning myself to my faith and my values is a good thing. ~ Barack Obama

Voting, the be all and end all of modern democratic politicians, has become a farce, if indeed it was ever anything else. By voting, the people decide only which of the oligarchs preselected for them as viable candidates will wield the whip used to flog them and will command the legion of willing accomplices and anointed lickspittles who perpetrate the countless violations of the people's natural rights. Meanwhile, the masters soothe the masses by assuring them night and day that they - the plundered and bullied multitudes who compose the electorate - are themselves the government. ~ Robert Higgs

We're gonna promote freedom. Usher in democratic values and ideals. And fight terror-loving terrorists. ~ Tina Fey

Now, every day I am offered the gift of living in such a way that I get a taste of what it means to need him. Resting fully dependent in the palm of his hand, I realize the safety of staying small. I get to embrace the full shock value of the kingdom of God, and that is a real blessing. I get to be knocked around by the fallout of belonging to a life where I am wildly ill equipped to meet its demands. I am honored to experience an existence marked by dependence, where I submit to God's will for my life, even and especially when it defies my put-on, middle-class values. ~ Shannan Martin

Ironically enough, the only people who can hold up indefinitely under the stress of modern war are psychotics. Individual insanity is immune to the consequences of collective insanity. ~ Aldous Huxley

The Santa myth is one of the most effective means ever devised for intimidating children, eroding their self- esteem, twisting their behavior, warping their values, and slowing their development of critical thinking skills. ~ Tom Flynn

The fact is that the Democratic Party in modern times has always had a conservative wing, one frequently as strong or stronger than its liberal wing, and as such, when progressives speak of the party as a vehicle that naturally belongs to them, as if by right - until conservatives stole it from them - they weaken progressivism. ~ Rick Perlstein

Justice demands that the good and hard-working be rewarded and the evil and the lazy be punished (if only by the withholding of the rewards of doing the right things). Modern Liberalism demands that the good and hardworking be punished as the recipients of an unfair advantage and the evil and the lazy be rewarded, their acts of evil and their failure all the proof the Modern Liberal needs that somehow they have been victimized by forces out of their control. ~ Evan Sayet

The secret of genius is to suffer no fiction to exist for us; to realize all that we know; in the high refinement of modern life,in arts, in sciences, in books, in men, to exact good faith, reality, and a purpose; and first, last, midst, and without end, to honor every truth by use. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The world is coloured rather than stained by such beliefs,and accepting another's values is far more Christian than falling to your knees every time you see a stained glass window. ~ Chris Harrison

I wouldn't call myself a modern Shakespeare, but Shakespeare was probably to his generation what I am to mine. ~ Zach Braff

An ungentlemanly war it will be,' he grumbled. 'Will I lead my men with a sword? Ah, but no! I will lead my men with a dirty revolver in my hand. Parbleu! Such is modern warfare! A machine could do the whole cursed thing better -- we shall all be nothing but machines in this war. ~ Radclyffe Hall

The national curriculum for the Swedish preschool is twenty pages long and goes on at length about things like fostering respect for one another, human rights, and democratic values, as well as a lifelong desire to learn. The document's word choices are a pretty good clue to what Swedish society wants and expects from toddlers and preschoolers. The curriculum features the word "play" thirteen times, "language" twelve times, "nature" six times, and "math" five times. But there is not a single mention of "literacy" or "writing." Instead, two of the most frequently used words are "learning" (with forty-eight appearances) and "development" (forty-seven).

The other Scandinavian countries have similar early childhood education traditions. In Finland, formal teaching of reading doesn't start until the child begins first grade, at age seven, and in the Finnish equivalent of kindergarten, which children enroll in the year they turn six, teachers will only teach reading if a child is showing an interest in it. Despite this lack of emphasis on early literacy, Finland is considered the most literate country in the world, with Norway coming in second, and Iceland, Denmark, and Sweden rounding out the top five, according to a 2016 study by Central Connecticut State University. John Miller, who conducted the study, noted that the five Nordic countries scored so well because "their monolithic culture values reading. ~ Linda Åkeson McGurk

Planners, architects of city design, and those they have led along with them in their beliefs are not consciously disdainful of the importance of knowing how things work. On the contrary, they have gone to great pains to learn what saints and sages of modern orthodox planning have said about how cities ought to work and what ought to be good for people and business in them. They take this with such devotion that when contradictory reality intrudes, threatening tho shatter their dearly won learning, they must shrug reality aside. ~ Jane Jacobs

In the nineteenth century, cholera struck the most modern, prosperous cities in the world, killing rich and poor alike, from Paris and London to New York City and New Orleans. In 1836, it felled King Charles X in Italy; in 1849, President James Polk in New Orleans; in 1893, the composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in St. Petersburg. ~ Sonia Shah

Christian values were important at home. Cleanliness. Don't steal. Don't lie. Those were the rules, and they were strictly enforced. Especially the stealing and lying. When you broke the rules, you got a beating. I always broke the rules a lot. ~ Jimmy Cliff

The modern rise of Alzheimer's Disease in the twentieth century is not a sign of failure. It's a sign of success. Success in living long enough to see that disease expressed. ~ S. Jay Olshansky

When once a certain class of people has been placed by the temporal and spiritual authorities outside the ranks of those whose life has value, then nothing comes more naturally to men than murder. ~ Simone Weil

When people undermine your values, they've strong reasons. For example, they mistaken your passion for excellence as perfectionism... ~ Assegid Habtewold

One goal of ethical inquiry might be to uncover strategies available for use when values conflict or when rules are incomplete. ~ Philip Kitcher

You'd think that Modern Science would have found a cure for the common hangover by now, but evidently Modern Science has been too busy doing things like figuring how to reconfigure DNA and creating artificial gravity. Modern Science doesn't get invited to a lot of parties. ~ Robert Kroese

In the modern world, tariffs and similar restrictions on trade have been one source of friction among nations. But a far more troublesome source has been the far-reaching intervention of the state into the economy in such collectivist states as Hitler's Germany, Mussolini's Italy, and Franco's Spain, and especially the communist countries, from Russia and its satellites to China. ~ Milton Friedman

My greatest hope is that we will see a day when Israel will stand tall as a symbol of belonging across the Jewish world, and when global citizens will look to Jerusalem as the vibrant, modern, inclusive capital of Israel. ~ Lynn Schusterman