Read Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton on the trip, and enjoyed it — I found the first 1/3 somewhat boring as it was a lot of lists of people’s names and events, but after that it actually inspired me. Reminded me about the sacrifices public officials make (lower salary, long hours, constant scrutiny) and the potential nobility of their undertaking. Some notes from the book:
pg. 12 — “more than one opinion could live under the same roof”
“a person was not necessarily bad just because you did not agree with him, and that if you believed in something, you had better be prepared to defend it”
pg. 132 — “government could — and should — be a partner in creating opportunities for people who were willing to work hard and take responsibility”
pg. 160 — “something was missing from their lives — something critical … a little heart, a lot of brotherhood”
pg. 161 — “we need a new ethos of individual responsibility and caring”
pg. 237 — “if you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do matters very much.”
READ — Stephen Ambrose book “D Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II”
READ — Susan McDougall — “The Woman Who Wouldn’t Talk : Why I Refused to Testify Against the Clintons and What I Learned in Jail”
pg. 428 — John Wesley’s invocation, “Live every day doing as much good as you can, in every way that you can” … shortened from his poem/quote
“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
To al the people you can,
As long as you ever can,
Amen!”
READ — Taylor Branch “Parting the Waters” — Pulitzer Price winning book on Martin Luther King
pg. 463 — “One hundred and fifty years ago, the women at Seneca Falls were silenced by someone else. Today, women — we silence ourselves. We have a choice. We have a voice.”
pg. 463 — “I dipped into the well of inspiration that Harriet Tubman had handed down to us all and vowed to just keep on going.”
pg. 505 — “It is my opinion that on Judgment Day the first question God asks is not about the Ten Commandments (although He gets to them later!) but what He asks each of us is this: “WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THE TIME AND THE TALENTS I GAVE YOU?””