I am a quote collector. One reason is because I have always shared a ‘quote of the day’ on my board or digital agenda in my classroom throughout my career. Another reason is because I love a good quote. Indeed, one can’t get enough wisdom, so collecting quotes and using an app like Readwise to periodically resurface them is a no-brainer for me. Finally, collecting and categorizing quotes feeds my inner digital packrat.

The last quote I added to my collection came from a surprising source: George W. Bush. Indeed, good quotes from surprising sources iss part of the fun of hunting them down. The Bush quote came from a short review of Bush’s new book of portraits (he has taken to painting as an ex-president). The quote struck me for two reasons.

For one, it is striking to me that I long for a traditional Republican president. When Bush was POTUS, I loathed him. I still think he was a horrible president who set our country on its dramatic decline (allowing 9-11 to happen then over-reacting and invading Iraq, not to mention the irresponsible tax cuts and devastating Great Recession that started on his watch). However, he wasn’t pathological. He had a semblance of a moral compass. He wasn’t a racist narcissist.

Another reason why the quote struck me is because it is clear that he is, in his own way, rebuking the current Republican administration. That is worth noting. I also happen to believe in the sentiment. If you are lucky enough to live in freedom, you have a moral obligation to help others experience the same thing. That means treating immigrants with families and two feet in this country with decency and respect.

I’ll let the other quotes I’ve recently collected speak for themselves.

Quote #1 (collected today)

“…we who live in liberty have a duty to stand with those who do not.” ~ George W. Bush

Quote #2 (collected on September 11th)

“Never give up your right to do the next right thing. This is how we find our way home.” ~ Matthew McConaughey (as read in his recent book of poetry Poems and Prayers)

Quote #3 (collected on September 5th)

“I have read my books by many lights, hoarding their beauty, their wit or wisdom against the dark days when I would have no book, nor a place to read. I have known hunger of the belly kind many times over, but I have known a worse hunger: the need to know and to learn.” ~ Louis L’Amour

Quote #4 (collected on September 4th)

“However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you think. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, difficult as it is…You must live in the present. Launch yourself on every wave. Find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.” ~ Henry David Thoureau

Quote #5 (collected on September 3rd)

“Being ready is a myth. You start. You suck. You figure it out. You get better.” ~ Anonymous