Facts Are Stubborn Things: famous quotes

Showing posts with label famous quotes. Show all posts

Friday, February 6, 2009

Happy Birthday to Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911.

One of my favorite quotes is from the speech he gave at the Republican National Convention on October 27, 1964:

We have so many people who can't see a fat man standing beside a thin one without coming to the conclusion that the fat man got that way by taking advantage of the thin one.

Facts Are Stubborn Things...

In 1770, respected Boston attorney, John Adams agreed to represent the British soldiers accused of murdering Boston civilians on March 5, in a tragic incident that came to be known as "The Boston Massacre". Despite the risk of permanently damaging his reputation, Adams agreed to defend the soldiers. His brilliant closing argument at the trial contained a universal truth :
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence; nor is the law less stable than the fact..."
Adams statement, like all wisdom, has relevancy to present times.
Adams example of standing up for justice and truth to risk universal scorn, is to be admired and followed.