[MD] French ingredient in the soup of sentiments

[craigerb at comcast.net]

Platt,
My favorite quotes from RMP relevent to society/individuals:

"I think that if we are going to reform the world, and make it a better place to live in, the way to do it is not with talk about relationships of a political nature,
which are inevitably dualistic, full of subjects and objects and their relationship to one another; or with programs full of things for other people to do. I think that kind of approach starts at the end and presumes the end is the beginning. Programs of a political nature are important end products of social quality that can be effective only if the underlying structure of social values is right. The
social values are right only if the individual values are right. The place to improve the world is first in one’s own heart and head and hands, and then work outward from there. Other people can talk about how to expand the des­tiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think that what I have to say has more lasting value." (ZMM, pbk, p. 267)

"My personal feeling is that this is how any further I improvement of the world will be done: by individuals making Quality decisions and that’s all. God, I don’t want to have any more enthusiasm for big programs full of so­cial planning for big masses of people that leave individu­al Quality out. These can be left alone for a while. There’s a place for them but they’ve got to be built on a founda­tion of Quality within the individuals involved. We’ve had that individual Quality in the past, exploited it as a natural resource without knowing it, and now it’s just about de­pleted. Everyone’s just about out of gumption. And I think it’s about time to return to the rebuilding of this American resource—individual worth."
(ZMM, pbk, p. 323)

Craig