Memorable quotations from the twentieth century

[commandlinegamer]

There are many I can think of from various sources, Kennedy, Gandhi, Mohammed Ali. But one that consistently sticks in my head is this from Edward Grey, British Foreign Secretary at the start of the First World War:

The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.

It seems to perfectly encapsulate the gloom that the continent would descent into.

[joobz]

Show me the money.

Wazzz up!

[Sunray Breaker]

Two of my favorite quotes are my below signature right now...

But one of those two quotes is shorter than I'd like, so here's the full version:

There are times, however, and this is one of them, when even being right feels wrong. What do you say, for instance, about a generation that has been taught that rain is poison and sex is death? If making love might be fatal and if a cool spring breeze on any summer afternoon can turn a crystal blue lake into a puddle of black poison right in front of your eyes, there is not much left except TV and relentless masturbation.
- Hunter S. Thompson

[Gord_in_Toronto]

And I'll say this: Once a guy starts thinking, once a guy starts laughing at the things he once thought were very real, once he starts laughing at T.V. commercials, once he starts getting a boot out of movie trailers, once he begins to realize that just because a movie is wider or higher or longer doesn't make it a better movie, once a guy starts doing that, he's making the transition from "Day People" to "Night People." Jean Shepherd

[Ashles]

"I have in my hand a piece of paper"

and

"Peace in our time"

which, after a bit of Googling turns out that neither was actually said by Chamberlain (or not said exactly as usually quoted)

From Wiki:


Chamberlain landed at Heston Aerodrome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heston_Aerodrome) on 30 September 1938, and spoke to the crowds there:
"...the settlement of the Czechoslovakian problem, which has now been achieved is, in my view, only the prelude to a larger settlement in which all Europe may find peace. This morning I had another talk with the German Chancellor, Herr Hitler, and here is the paper which bears his name upon it as well as mine (waves paper to the crowd - receiving loud cheers and "Hear Hears"). Some of you, perhaps, have already heard what it contains but I would just like to read it to you (proceeds to read the agreement). [...] We regard the agreement signed last night and the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, as symbolic of the desire of our two peoples never to go to war with one another again."[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_for_our_time#cite_note-OxQuote-2)
Later that day he stood outside Number 10 Downing Street (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_10_Downing_Street) and again read from the document and concluded:
"My good friends, this is the second time in our history that there has come back from Germany to Downing Street peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time [emphasis added]. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And now I recommend you to go home and sleep quietly in your beds."[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_for_our_time#cite_note-OxQuote-2)

[paiute]

There are many I can think of from various sources, Kennedy, Gandhi, Mohammed Ali. But one that consistently sticks in my head is this from Edward Grey, British Foreign Secretary at the start of the First World War:

The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.

It seems to perfectly encapsulate the gloom that the continent would descent into.

“If anyone disagrees with anything I say, I am quite prepared not only to retract it, but also to deny under oath that I ever said it”
-Tom Lehrer

[Vic Vega]

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt

CITIZENSHIP IN A REPUBLIC
"The Man In The Arena"
Speech at the Sorbonne
Paris, France
April 23, 1910

[Fnord]

"In life, there is hope. In death, there is only regret."

(Me)

[The Painter]

I don't believe in a government that protects us from ourselves.

The federal government has taken too much tax money from the people, too much authority from the states, and too much liberty with the Constitution.

True dat.

[Verde]

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.

V.

[Simon39759]

Well, there always is:
Screw you guys; I'm going home!

[I Ratant]

"In life, there is hope. In death, there is only regret."

(Me)
.
Only for the survivors.
The dead don't care anymore.

[Elizabeth I]

"Nuts." - General Anthony McAuliffe

[gumboot]

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt

CITIZENSHIP IN A REPUBLIC
"The Man In The Arena"
Speech at the Sorbonne
Paris, France
April 23, 1910



This would definitely be on my top ten list.

Another that springs to mind for me:

"Here Men From The Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We Came in Peace For All Mankind."

In my opinion the event associated with this quote is the single most significant event in human history.

[Pinkymcfatfat]

From a man with enough hubris for us all:

"Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it. The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we can go home. The shortest way home is through Berlin and Tokyo. And when we get to Berlin, I am personally going to shoot that paper hanging son-of-a-b*tch Hitler. Just like I'd shoot a snake!"

- General George S. Patton, Jr
(addressing his troops before Operation Overlord, June 5, 1944)

[Ove]

This would definitely be on my top ten list.

Another that springs to mind for me:

"Here Men From The Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We Came in Peace For All Mankind."

In my opinion the event associated with this quote is the single most significant event in human history.

Well why not take a couple more from that event?


First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.

or my personal favourite:


We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.

[Pure Argent]

Well why not take a couple more from that event?


First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.

or my personal favourite:


We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.

What, no love for the small step?

[The Fallen Serpent]

"You don't use science to show that you are right, you use science to become right." - Randall Munroe.

Actually I am cheating, as this is a twenty-first century quote. From this week.

http://xkcd.com/701/

The quoted text is in the mouseover.

[yomero]

Quote:
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.
V.


"Mr. Reagan, stop interfering in El Salvador".



Nobody famous said that, only me. I think Reagan's phrase can only be memorable for its hypocrisy.

[gumboot]

What, no love for the small step?

Easily wins most misquoted statement of the 20th Century.

[Pure Argent]

Easily wins most misquoted statement of the 20th Century.

Still memorable.

[ve2vfd]

Where's the beef!?

http://img.youtube.com/vi/Ug75diEyiA0/0.jpg

:D

Pat

[UNLoVedRebel]

"I may like fornicating more than other people it's just who I am. I sacrfice so much of my life, can I at least get laid? You know what I mean, I've been robbed of most of my money can I least get a blowjob?"

~Mike Tyson

[GanipGnop]

"Be a thinker not a stinker" ~ Apollo Creed

[Bluto]

"Sometimes I sits and thinks,
sometimes I just sits"

Popeye

[Ove]

Easily wins most misquoted statement of the 20th Century.

Armstrong could have kicked himself when he heard it afterwards but nobody could tell if it was a clitch in the radio line or he forgot the "a". The quote off course SHOULD have been "It is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" but something went wrong, -and nobody cared, everybody knew what he ment.

Personally i like Pete Conrads remark better: "Whoopie! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me."......... :D