Three-Ring Circuses + Words Of Wisdom

Newsletter + On This Day

Clint Collide

Nov 13, 2024

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It’s a wild, wild world out there, y’all. It’s like a never-ending parade of carnival barkers and clown-car pileups.

Every time I think it’s safe to check the “news” again, I’m hit by the stench of so-called billionaire “geniuses” making billions more while the rest of us are struggling to make ends meet.

POST-ELECTION RALLY BOOSTS WEALTH FOR TOP BILLIONAIRES

Unsurprisingly, Trump’s biggest fanboy, Elon Musk, is leading the billionaire pack—at least on paper—as he capitalizes on the financial “windfall” of this election.

Most of Trump’s billionaire “frenemies” have grown richer post-election too, with French billionaire Bernard Arnault—currently in a legal battle with Musk—among the only notable “losers.”

The cycle is all too familiar: another culture war, another list of ultra-rich culture war profiteers. And here we are, watching the world’s socioeconomic divide deepen as those at the top consolidate their power, status, and wealth.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Instead of letting the headlines make me bitter—that ship sailed a long time ago, y’all—I’m trying to find solace in some words of wisdom from men who spoke on and wrote about greed, integrity, and the cycles of self-interest in the distant and recent past.

Here’s a bit of counter-programming: A collection of words of wisdom that remind me there’s more to life than having more dollars than sense. Character was, is, and always will be worth more than cash.

The following quotes are my attempt to rise above billionaire bullshit and remember what truly matters to me.

(Note: Like everything on the Internet, quotes—and their attributions—should be taken with a grain of salt. Accuracy—and search results—may vary.)

“There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed.”
Mahatma Gandhi

“The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.”
Confucius

“If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free; if our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed.”
Edmund Burke

“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them.”
Albert Einstein

“I stand here before you not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you, the people.”
Nelson Mandela

“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."
Abraham Lincoln

“There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey.”
John Ruskin

“Politeness and civility are the best capital ever invested in business. Large stores, gilt signs, flaming advertisements, will all prove unavailing if you or your employees treat your patrons abruptly. The truth is, the more kind and liberal a man is, the more generous will be the patronage bestowed upon him.”
P. T. Barnum

Here’s my invitation (and recommendation): If the “news” has you feeling down too, try turning to words of wisdom that have endured. Unlike today’s headlines, they can help explain some of life’s bigger questions.

The voices from the past can also help remind us of the values worth holding onto, especially when the world feels so upside down, so full of rich, scary clowns at a circus you never wanted to attend and wish would just go away.

Thanks for reading,
Clint

P.S. Feel free to share some of your favorite quotes. Comments are on for all.

NEWS + VIEWS

‘All Those Feelings Rushed In’: Jessica Walsh, Shepard Fairey, And The Initial Art Response To Trump’s Win (Fast Company)
Trump announces Musk, Ramaswamy will lead newly-created Department of Government Efficiency (CBS News) seems efficient…not
Bernard Arnault vs. Elon Musk's X: Why Are Two Of The World's Richest Men Battling It Out In Court? (International Business Times)

ON THIS DAY = NOVEMBER 13

BIRTHDAYS

1850 = Robert Louis Stevenson = Scottish writer (Treasure Island)
1932 = Richard Mulligan = American actor
1934 = Garry Marshall = American actor, director, and producer
1941 = Dack Rambo = American actor 🌈
1947 = Joe Mantegna = American actor
1954 = Chris Noth = American actor
1955 = Whoopi Goldberg = American actor, comedian, and tv host
1960 = Neil Flynn = American actor
1967 = Jimmy Kimmel = American comedian, actor, and tv host
1967 = Steve Zahn = American actor and singer
1969 = Gerard Butler = Scottish actor
1988 = Paulie Calafiore = American tv personality and model 🌈

CELEBRATIONS

EVENTS

1789 = In a letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy, Benjamin Franklin writes "in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
1927 = The Holland Tunnel opens to traffic as the first Hudson River vehicle tunnel linking New Jersey to New York City.
1940 = Walt Disney's animated musical film Fantasia is first released at New York's Broadway Theatre, on the first night of a roadshow.
1947 = The Soviet Union completes development of the AK-47, one of the first proper assault rifles.
1956 = The Supreme Court of the United States declares Alabama laws requiring segregated buses illegal, thus ending the Montgomery bus boycott.
1985 = Margaret Roff is elected mayor of Manchester, becoming the first openly lesbian mayor in the United Kingdom.
2008 = The NOH8 Campaign begins.
2013 = Hawaii legalizes same-sex marriage.
2020 = Kylie Minogue becomes the first woman to top the UK album chart over five consecutive decades with Disco.