Now remember, when things look bad and it looks like you’re not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. ‘Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That’s just the way it is. — The Outlaw Josey Wales

You know that red tunnel you see when you get furious?  I’ve always found that looking down that tunnel makes me more precise.  So long as I can keep control, my hands do as I say, my thoughts stay where they need to be, and my eyes never leave the task.  Of course, I’m not very gentle when I do it, but you can’t have everything.

Knowing how and when to bear down and get the job done, even if you have to show your teeth to do it, will make things easier in the long run.

The Theatuh, the Theatuh – what book of rules says the Theater exists only within some ugly buildings crowded into one square mile of New York City? Or London, Paris or Vienna? Listen, junior. And learn. Want to know what the Theater is? A flea circus. Also opera. Also rodeos, carnivals, ballets, Indian tribal dances, Punch and Judy, a one-man band – all Theater. Wherever there’s magic and make-believe and an audience – there’s Theater. Donald Duck, Ibsen, and The Lone Ranger, Sarah Bernhardt, Poodles Hanneford, Lunt and Fontanne, Betty Grable, Rex and Wild, and Eleanora Duse. You don’t understand them all, you don’t like them all, why should you? The Theater’s for everybody – you included, but not exclusively – so don’t approve or disapprove. It may not be your Theater, but it’s Theater of somebody, somewhere. — All About Eve

Last night, I saw people from almost all walks of life, of various economic and social status, come together to support something they all believe in.  The pro-gun rights movement is not a monolithic entity.  It is composed of men and women, rich and poor, black and white.  My barber shared a table with a doctor.  A wealthy man walked away with two guns, but so did the female owner of a small business.

This is why, even though it is sometimes a slog, we will eventually win this fight.  It’s not just rednecks from the South that support our rights.  Rather, it’s a broad swath of our society that believes that responsible people ought to be left alone when it comes to firearms, if not every other aspect of their lives.  Yes, we still have a long way to go in outreach to women and other demographics, but we have come a long way already.

So long as we keep our eye on the prize and explain why it’s important in terms that all can understand, we will win.

Second Spy: What do we do now?
First Spy: Start swimming!
Second Spy: I can’t swim!
First Spy: Then start drowning!

— Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Something is going to happen.  You’re going to do something.  What you do can either be what you choose to do, or it can be what you are forced to do.  It’s usually better and easier to ride the top of the wave than to be washed over by it.

Nicky Holiday: Miss Piggy… You’re a very different looking woman. I’m so tired of the same type, those tall thin creatures with the long legs, the aquiline noses, the teeth like pearls, soft skin… — The Great Muppet Caper

Ladies, you are beautiful.  Let me say that again, with feeling:  Ladies, you are the ideal of human beauty.  It’s not the figure, or the hair, or the eyes, or whatever else that makes us fall in love with you.  It’s the way you smile when you see us.  It’s getting up at 3 AM to get the baby because we have to be up at 5 to go to work.  It’s the gentle hand on the shoulder when we are sitting at the kitchen table wondering how we’re going to get all of the bills paid this month.

In short, it’s you that we find beautiful, not what you put on your body, or worse, do to it, in order to change your appearance.  If a man isn’t captivated by the way you look when you first wake up in the morning, or how you look after 8 hours of labor, or how you look when you’re dirty as day old sin and smell like it too, then he doesn’t love you.  At best, he’s captivated by the illusion.  Beauty is truly more than skin deep, and so is love.

Ask yourself, why do you seek the Cup of Christ? Is it for His glory, or for yours? — Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Today, I was reminded that Christ came in humility, not in glory.  Admitting that you are flawed, that you have wronged those whom you should have been kind to, and admitting those faults is the path we are supposed to walk.  I’m not sure where this path is going to lead me, but a lot rides on me being the man I should have been decades ago.  It’s time to man up and admit that I have erred, then to try to do better.

Scientists have always been pawns of the military. — Star Trek II:  The Wrath of Khan

I’ve been hearing my whole life about how we should beat our swords into plowshares.  I’ve been called militaristic for pointing out that those swords keep the wolf at bay, keep the barbarian beyond the limits of our land.  Yes, it’s an admirable goal to have a world where weapons and war aren’t necessary, but we’re far from that goal.  The lion may lie down with the lamb, but right now, he only does it because he wants to get close to his food.

When a free man dies, he loses the pleasure of life. A slave loses his pain. Death is the only freedom a slave knows. That’s why he’s not afraid of it. That’s why we’ll win. — Spartacus

Fighting when you have nothing left to lose, and even losing might be an improvement, is not a good place to be.

You also need to figure out what those who oppose you are willing to lose in order to win, or if they even care about losing.  “Some men just want to watch the world burn” could also say “Some men just don’t see any alternative to burning the world down.”

Ratigan, no one can have a higher opinion of you than I have, and I think you’re a slimy, contemptible sewer rat! — The Great Mouse Detective

It never hurts to be honest.  If someone knows just how much you detest them, but can still be professional in your dealings, it will make things smoother.  He may be a son of a bitch, but he might be your kind of son of a bitch, and you can work with your own kind of folks.

If you find a mate in life, you should be loyal. In your case, grateful. — Ice Age

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t remind myself of how lucky I am to have Irish Woman as my wife.  Yeah, we’re both rugged individualists who seem to revel in making the other crazy, but we compliment each other, and it works.  What made a successful, free, beautiful woman want to saddle herself with me and my hellions is a mystery, but I will never forget how fortunate I am that she did.

He was smiling… That’s right. You know, that, that Luke smile of his. He had it on his face right to the very end. Hell, if they didn’t know it ‘fore, they could tell right then that they weren’t a-gonna beat him. —  Cool Hand Luke

You can’t defeat a free person.  All you can do is kill them.  So long as you keep resisting, you are still free.