Here's a little story from Plato's most famous book, The Republic. Socrates is talking to a young follower of his named Glaucon, and is telling him this fable to illustrate what it's like to be a philosopher -- a lover of wisdom:

"Most people, including ourselves, live in a world of relative ignorance. We are even comfortable with that ignorance, because it is all we know. When we first start facing truth, the process may be frightening, and many people run back to their old lives. But if you continue to seek truth, you will eventually be able to handle it better. In fact, you want more! It's true that many people around you now may think you are weird or even a danger to society, but you don't care. Once you've tasted the truth, you won't ever want to go back to being ignorant!"

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. But the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."
-- Apple Computers, from "Think Different" Advertisement

"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murder is less to fear."
--Cicero Marcus Tullius - Born on January 3, 106 BC and was murdered on December 7, 43 BC

Here are a few of my favorites,

Reguarding the media and education: "Whenever any Government decides; this you can not see, this you may not hear, this you must not know. It is terany of the Worst sort no matter how benign the motives" Robert Heinlien from Time Enough For Love.

"Hurt me all you like. I can take it. Hurt those I care about and I will see to it you die the most horrable death that Your imagination can devise." Stephanie 1952 to Allen Baum just before I . . .

"A coward dies a thousand deaths, abrave man dies but one." Ernest Hemmingway in A Farewell To Arms

"We can't all be Washingtons, but we can all be patriots." ~Charles F. Browne

Patriotism... is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime ~Adlai Stevenson

"A man's country is not a certain land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle; and patriotism is loyalty to that principle." ~George William Curtis

And I will finish with,

When an American says he loves his country, he means not only that he loves the New England hills, the prairies glistening in the sun, the wide and rising plains, the great mountains and the sea. He means that he loves an inner air, an inner light where freedom lives and in which a man can draw the breath of self-respect." ~Adlai Stevenson

Big government crushes the air out of its citizens more cruelly than the bully sitting on the skinny asthmatic kid. dochudson 2012

An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.--Robert A. Heinlein

Don't handicap your children by making their lives easy.--Robert A. Heinlein

I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.--Robert A. Heinlein

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.--Robert A. Heinlein

A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks.--Thomas Jefferson

Commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto.--Thomas Jefferson

All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise, not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from the downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation.--John Adams

Democracy... while it lasts is more bloody than either aristocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide.--John Adams

Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people.--John Adams

When will we learn that "teaching someone a lesson" never teaches anything but resentment-- that it only inspires the recipient to greater acts of defiance.
Harry Browne

"To live outside of the law you must be Honest"
Bob Dylan

“If I were the devil, I wouldn’t be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree—Thee. So I’d set about however necessary to take over the United States. I’d subvert the churches first—I would begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: “Do as you please.” “Do as you please.” To the young, I would whisper, “The Bible is a myth.” I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around. I would confide that what is bad is good, and what is good is “square”. And the old, I would teach to pray. I would teach them to pray after me, ‘Our Father, which art in Washington…’

And then I’d get organized. I’d educate authors on how to lurid literature exciting, so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting. I’d threaten TV with dirtier movies and vice versa. I’d pedal narcotics to whom I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. I’d tranquilize the rest with pills.

If I were the devil I’d soon have families that war with themselves, churches that war that themselves, and nations that war with themselves; until each in its turn was consumed. And with promises of higher ratings I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flame. If I were the devil I would encourage schools to refine young intellects, and neglect to discipline emotions—just let those run wild, until before you knew it, you’d have to have drug sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door.

Within a decade I’d have prisons overflowing, I’d have judges promoting pornography—soon I could evict God from the courthouse, and then the schoolhouse, and then from the houses of Congress. And in His own churches I would substitute psychology for religion, and deify science. I would lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls, and church money. If I were the devil I’d make the symbols of Easter an egg and the symbol of Christmas a bottle."

Paul Harvey 1965

From Glenn Beck GBTV
http://www.glennbeck.com/2012/03/21/the-prophetic-words-of-paul-harvey-from-1965/

My friends love the quote I made one day,

"Thank God for stupid people, if not for them I'd need more ammo," Judge X