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Kurt Vonnegut Quotes

All Quotes Accidents Age Alcohol Apologizing Army Art Atheism Atheist Belief Bitterness Business Chaos Character Chemistry Children Christ Church College Communication Community Compassion Competition Country Creativity Culture Curiosity Dancing Democracy Design Dignity Doubt Dying Earth Evil Evolution Expectations Feelings Fighting Food Forgiveness Frustration Fun Funny Giving God Happiness Hard Work Hate Heart Heaven Hell Hiroshima Home Humanity Hurt Ignorance Imagination Inspirational Jazz Jesus Laughter Life Literature Loneliness Love Luck Lying Making Love Management Maturity Meaning Of Life Military Mountain Music Nature Opportunity Pain Past Philosophy Politics Progress Purpose Reading Reality Religion Revenge Running Safety School Science Science Fiction Shame Sleep Smoking Socialism Son Soul Students Stupidity Style Survival Teaching Technology Time Today Trade Tragedy Train Universe Waiting Wall War Water Wife Work Writing

Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be

Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.

Good Night, Positive Thinking, Anxiety

That is the first thing I know for sure: (1.) If the questions don't make sense, neither will the answers.

Answers, Firsts, Make Sense

Kurt Vonnegut (1988). “The Sirens of Titan: An Original Novel”, Laurel

Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what's inside you, to make your soul grow.

Motivational, Art, Work

"Kurt Vonnegut Once Sent This Amazing Letter To A High School" by Emily Thomas, www.huffingtonpost.com. October 6, 2014.

It's a terrible waste to be happy and not notice it.

Waste, Terrible

True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.

Funny, Running, Country

Kurt Vonnegut (2013). “If This Isn't Nice, What Is?: Advice for the Young”, p.88, RosettaBooks

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.

Life, Happiness, Wisdom

Kurt Vonnegut (2009). “Mother Night: A Novel”, p.5, Dial Press

You meet saints everywhere. They can be anywhere. They are people behaving decently in an indecent society.

People, Saint

"May Peace Be with You, Kurt Vonnegut" by Harvey Wasserman, www.huffingtonpost.com. April 13, 2007.

Take life seriously but none of the people in it.

People

"Kurt Vonnegut: Letters". Book by Kurt Vonnegut, www.huffingtonpost.com. October 30, 2012.

We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different.

Hipster, Religion, Different

"A Man Without a Country: A Memoir Of Life In George W Bush's America". Book by Kurt Vonnegut, September 15, 2005.

For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes (Matthew 5). But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course, that's Moses, not Jesus. I haven't heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere. "Blessed are the merciful" in a courtroom? "Blessed are the peacemakers" in the Pentagon? Give me a break!

Christian, Jesus, Blessed

Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.

Writing, Stories, Radio

Kurt Vonnegut (2011). “A Man Without a Country”, p.24, Seven Stories Press

Moderate giftedness has been made worthless by the printing press and radio and television and satellites and all that. A moderately gifted person who would have been a community treasure a thousand years ago has to give up, has to go into some other line of work, since modern communications put him or her into daily competition with nothing but world's champions.

Encouragement, Giving Up, Communication

Kurt Vonnegut (2010). “Bluebeard”, p.34, Random House

As stupid and vicious as men are, this is a lovely day.

Stupid, Men, Lovely

Kurt Vonnegut (2009). “Cat's Cradle: A Novel”, p.256, Dial Press

I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can't see from the center.

Want, Kind, Standing On The Edge

FaceBook post by Kurt Vonnegut from Oct 01, 2012

Music is, to me, proof of the existence of God.

God, Proof, Existence

Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand.

Funny, Sarcastic, Witty

Kurt Vonnegut (2016). “If This Isn't Nice What Is? (Much) Expanded Second Edition: The Graduation Speeches and Other Words to Live By”, p.131, RosettaBooks

A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.

Love, Life, Inspiring

FaceBook post by Kurt Vonnegut from Nov 05, 2014

And a step backward, after making a wrong turn, is a step in the right direction.

Responsibility, Steps, Turns

Kurt Vonnegut (2009). “Player Piano”, p.312, Dial Press

Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.

Exercise, Laughing, Jogging

Music is, to me, proof of the existence of God. It is so extraordinarily full of magic, and in tough times of my life I can listen to music and it makes such a difference.

Differences, Tough Times, Magic

Nietzsche had a little one-liner on how to choose a wife. He said, ''Are you willing to have a conversation with this woman for the next forty years?'' That's how to pick a wife.

Years, Wife, Littles

Kurt Vonnegut (2011). “Kurt Vonnegut: The Last Interview: And Other Conversations”, p.104, Melville House

We're terrible animals. I think that the Earth's immune system is trying to get rid of us, as well it should.

Animal, Thinking, Environmental

Interview with Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show", September 13, 2005.

Unannounced changes in life's itinerary are like dancing lessons from God.

Life Changing, Dancing, Lessons

And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, 'If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.

Love, Inspirational, Life

Kurt Vonnegut (2017). “A Man Without a Country”, p.132, Dial Press

So, in the interests of survival, they trained themselves to be agreeing machines instead of thinking machines. All their minds had to do was to discover what other people were thinking, and then they thought that, too.

Thinking, People, Survival

Kurt Vonnegut (1973). “Breakfast of champions: or, Goodbye blue Monday!”, Dell

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