Bits of Wisdom:

What it means to be free
“Freedom ultimately means the right of other people to do things that you do not approve of. Nazis were free to be Nazis under Hitler. It is only when you are able to do things that other people don't approve that you are free.”
- Thomas Sowell, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, writing the The Las Vegas Review Journal (12-5-08)

Importance of Parental Acceptance
“A child needs to see a parent in the most positive light possible, even if you have to cushion the blows - just because you know better. ...Every child wants – needs - to feel loved by both parents; that is the way a human being comes to know that he is lovable, worthy of inhaling and exhaling, of walking the face of the Earth.”
- Hara Estroff Marano, responding to a letter about why a child would continually seek the affection and attention of an abusive and neglectful mother, in Psychology Today (April 2008)

Letting your guard down
“When a situation feels dangerous to you, it's probably more safe than you know; when a situation feels safe, that is precisely when you should feel on guard.”
- Tom Vanderbilt in ‘Traffic: Why we Drive the Way We Do’

Cell Phones & Driving
“In 2004, a young woman, distracted by her cellphone, ran a red light and killed my 12-year-old son, Joe. The driver, a good person, was on the phone with her church, where she volunteered with kids Joe's age. I am convinced if she knew of the danger, or if there was a law in place, she would not have been using her phone while driving and my son would be alive today."
-David Teater, writing in USA Today (7-29-09)

Marital Partnership
“We expect one person to give us what an entire community used to-family life and stability and economic support and be a trusted confidant and a passionate lover and experience adventure with the same person.”
- Esther Perel, a couples and family therapist in New York City, writing on unrealistic ideals that get many couples into trouble, in USA Today (7-1-08)