Never trust Hollywood
Oct. 21st, 2009 09:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pjthompsonRandom quote of the day:
"When you look for the bad in mankind, expecting to find it, you surely will."
—David Swift, screenwriter on the 1960 Pollyanna, who attributed the quote to Abraham Lincoln and didn't admit it was his until the DVD came out
And here's another one, much beloved by peace activists:
“There’s no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war except its ending.”
This quote came from the Star Trek episode, “The Savage Curtain,” featuring a reanimated Abraham Lincoln, who at one point delivers this thought. Trouble is, this bit of dialogue came from the teleplay writers, Gene Roddenberry and Arthur Heinemann. Abraham Lincoln never said—at least, not in this universe.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's a beautiful sentiment and should be widely used by peace activists. For me, it loses nothing because Honest Abe didn't originate it. However, if you're someone who likes to Argue from Authority, you might think that the quote loses something without some big gun having spouted it.
(Oh Pam, you ruin everything that's good and fine!)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
"When you look for the bad in mankind, expecting to find it, you surely will."
—David Swift, screenwriter on the 1960 Pollyanna, who attributed the quote to Abraham Lincoln and didn't admit it was his until the DVD came out
And here's another one, much beloved by peace activists:
“There’s no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war except its ending.”
This quote came from the Star Trek episode, “The Savage Curtain,” featuring a reanimated Abraham Lincoln, who at one point delivers this thought. Trouble is, this bit of dialogue came from the teleplay writers, Gene Roddenberry and Arthur Heinemann. Abraham Lincoln never said—at least, not in this universe.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's a beautiful sentiment and should be widely used by peace activists. For me, it loses nothing because Honest Abe didn't originate it. However, if you're someone who likes to Argue from Authority, you might think that the quote loses something without some big gun having spouted it.
(Oh Pam, you ruin everything that's good and fine!)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-21 04:33 pm (UTC)Do you know, there's another, little-known quote from Abe Lincoln and it goes like this:
"If you remember one thing about my presidency, remember thusly, that which I hold more important than all else; give your worldly valuables to the evil geniuses among you."
Swear to GOD he said that.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-21 05:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-21 08:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-21 09:53 pm (UTC)