“The tendencies we have mentioned are something new for America. They arose when, under the influence of the two World Wars and the consequent concentration of all forces on a military goal, a predominantly military mentality developed, which with the almost sudden victory became even more accentuated. The characteristic feature of this mentality is that people place the importance of what Bertrand Russell so tellingly terms “naked power” far above all other factors which affect the relations between peoples. The Germans, misled by Bismarck’s successes in particular, underwent just such a transformation of their mentality—in consequence of which they were entirely ruined in less than a hundred years. I must frankly confess that the foreign policy of the United States since the termination of hostilities has reminded me, sometimes irresistibly, of the attitude of Germany under Kaiser Wilhelm II, and I know that, independent of me, this analogy has most painfully occurred to others as well. It is characteristic of the military mentality that non-human factors (atom bombs, strategic bases, weapons of all sorts, the possession of raw materials, etc.) are held essential, while the human being, his desires and thoughts—in short, the psychological factors—are considered as unimportant and secondary. Herein lies a certain resemblance to Marxism, at least insofar as its theoretical side alone is kept in view. The individual is degraded to a mere instrument; he becomes “human materiel.” The normal ends of human aspiration vanish with such a viewpoint. Instead, the military mentality raises “naked power” as a goal in itself—one of the strangest illusions to which men can succumb.”

“When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat.”

“My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

“Prayer is not our using of God; it more often puts us in the position where God can use us.”

“God smiles when I trust him.”

“I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music.”

“How often you impress people when you have nothing and how often you oppress them when you have everything is what defines your real character!”

“We’re never so outraged as when a cabbie drives past us or the woman in the elevator clutches her purse, not so much because we’re bothered by the fact that such indignities are what less fortunate coloreds have to put up with every single day of their lives—although that’s what we tell ourselves—but because we’re wearing a Brooks Brothers suit and speak impeccable English and yet have somehow been mistaken for an ordinary nigger.”

“Reading God’s Word and meditating on its truth will have a purifying effect upon your mind and heart, and will be demonstrated in your life. Let nothing take the place of this daily privilege.”

“The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.”

“If you are serious about changing your life, you are going to have to get into the Bible.”

“Think continually about what you want, not about the things you fear.”

“The Steadfast Love of the Lord is not Seasonal; His Mercies do not have winter or summer days... They are new every now and then.”

“Si el hombre no ha descubierto nada por lo que morir, no es digno de vivir.”

“If you don’t know how to add to others, then you probably subtract by default.”