age

"Any age can be viewed as "the wrong age" for a woman, allowing her capacity to be questioned and her fitness for leadership challenged. But we can stop stigmatizing a woman's age--benefitting not just women, but the whole organization."

"As we move toward creating a society within which we can each flourish, ageism is another distortion of relationship which interferes without vision. By ignoring the past, we are encouraged to repeat its mistakes. The “generation gap” is an important social tool for any repressive society. If the younger members of a community view the older members as contemptible or suspect or excess, they will never be able to join hands and examine the living memories of the community, nor ask the all important question, “Why?” This gives rise to a historical amnesia that keeps us working to invent the wheel every time we have to go to the store for bread. We find ourselves having to repeat and relearn the same old lessons over and over that our mothers did because we do not pass on what we have learned, or because we are unable to listen."

"They married in record numbers and gave birth to another distinct generation, the Baby Boomers. They stayed true to their values of personal responsibility, duty, honor and faith."

"We owe the Greatest Generation a debt which we can never fully repay."

"When I was researching my book The ABC of XYZ: Understanding the Global Generations (published in 2009) it became apparent that a new generation was about to commence and there was no name for them. So I conducted a survey (we're researchers after all) to find out what people think the generation after Z should be called and while many names emerged, and Generation A was the most mentioned, Generation Alpha got some mentions too and so I settled on that for the title of the chapter Beyond Z: Meet Generation Alpha. It just made sense as it is in keeping with scientific nomenclature of using the Greek alphabet in lieu of the Latin and it didn't make sense to go back to A, after all they are the first generation wholly born in the 21st Century and so they are the start of something new not a return to the old."

"We were that generation called silent, but we were silent neither, as some thought, because we shared the period's official optimism, nor as others thought, because we feared its official repression. We were silent because the exhilaration of social action seemed to many of us just one more way of escaping the personal."

"I don't believe in any greatest generation. I believe in great events. They sweep ordinary people up, expose to extremes of human behavior, and unimaginable tests of integrity and courage."

"It is, I believe, the greatest generation that any society has ever produced."

"I see kids who are complete cynics. They're not dreaming. They're out there with high-powered weapons, smoking crack behind the 7-Eleven. They've seen it all. These kids are going to take us into 2000 and beyond. That's scary, man. I wouldn't say I'm pessimistic or optimistic. I'm more realistic, I guess. But not cynical. I look. I watch."

"What of the pandemic's impacts on the generational imbalances that had grown so intolerable in many societies by 2020? Was COVID-19 sent by Freya, the goddess of youth, to emancipate millennials and Generation Z from bearing the fiscal burden of an excessive number of elderly people? It is tempting to marvel at this ageist virus. No previous pandemic was so discriminating against the elderly and in favor of the young. But in truth, the impact of COVID-19 in terms of excess mortality will probably not be great enough to balance the intergenerational accounts. In the short run, the majority of old people will remain retired; relatively few will die prematurely―hardly any in the most elderly of countries, Japan. The young, meanwhile, will be the ones struggling to find jobs (other than Amazon) and struggling almost as much to have fun. An economy without crowds is not a "new normal." It may be more like the new anomie, to borrow Émile Durkheim's term for the sense of disconnectedness he associated with modernity. For most young people, the word "fun" is almost synonymous with "crowd." The era of distancing will be a time of depression in the psychological as well as the economic sense. The gloom will be especially deep for Generation Z, whose university social lives―half the point of college, if not more―have been wrecked. They will spend yet more time on electronic devices―perhaps an hour a day more than before the pandemic. It will not make them happier."

"Generation Z, they cleaned up their own mess."

"History is complicated and Gen Z reasoning is not. They think that they are pure, but they are really just simplistic."

"Promise Yourself"

"To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind."

"Vision Optimist International will be recognized worldwide as the premier volunteer organization that values all children and helps them develop to their full potential."

"To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile."

"To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future."

"“Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind." So begins the Optimist Creed of Optimist International that members recite at club meetings worldwide. Begun in 1919, Optimist International celebrates its 100th anniversary during 2019. What a great creed to reflect on in today’s tumultuous world! ...the Optimist Clubs sponsor several recognition events including Youth Appreciation Recognition, Achievement in Education Awards, Respect for Law and Friend of Youth Awards. Optimist Club members volunteer for Salvation Army bell ringing, support a youth golf tournament for area golfers who can advance to district and national tournaments and support programs and events for kids with cancer and their families."

"To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others."

"To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own."

"To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble."

"To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet."

"Mission By providing hope and positive vision, Optimists bring out the best in youth, our communities, and ourselves."

"Purposes To develop optimism as a philosophy of life utilizing the tenets of the Optimist Creed; to promote an active interest in good government and civic affairs; to inspire respect for the law; to promote patriotism and work for international accord and friendship among all people; to aid and encourage the development of youth, in the belief that the giving of one’s self in service to others will advance the well-being of humankind, community life and the world."

"To make all your friends feel that there is something in them."

"In a world where we are exposed daily to global problems that need to be solved as well as serious challenges in our own lives and communities, it is easy to get caught-up and feel overwhelmed. However, what if you had a creed that could help you feel grounded and maintain an optimistic approach despite the obstacles life throws at you? This magical creed was created 100 years ago and yet it is still very relevant today. Long before the concept of thriving was brought to the forefront of people’s conversations, the Optimist Creed by Optimist International existed. It has shaped generations of young leaders since 1919 by teaching them to look at optimism as a way of life through action, instead of an abstract idea... In your life, there will be obstacles along the way. You have a choice to find a lesson and value in every challenge you experience. My wish for you is that the Optimist Creed is a reminder to persevere and maintain a healthy perspective. Find your own creed or adopt this one if it speaks to you, because if we focus on optimism with purpose, the world will be a much better place."

"To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best."

"To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true."

"It And her immortal part with angels lives."

"I hold it ever, Virtue and cunning were endowments greater Than nobleness and riches: careless heirs May the two latter darken and expend; But immortality attends the former, Making a man a god."

"And now I think about it, I never really wanted to live forever. I just want to live well."

"Death must be an evil—and the gods agree; for why else would they live for ever?"

"“That’s the problem with immortality,” mused Jack. “You never live long enough to get there.”"

"Look, here's the warrant, Claudio, for thy death: 'Tis now dead midnight, and by eight tomorrow Thou must be made immortal."

"All ends in one eclipse, Sunshine or snows, We gain a grave, and afterwards—God knows."

"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal."

"Without a belief in personal immortality, religion surely is like an arch resting on one pillar, like a bridge ending in an abyss."

"If what I assume is true, it is still excellent to be convinced of it, but if there is nothing after death, I will at least during the time before my death be less burdensome to my companions because of complaints, and furthermore this folly of mine will not last long—for that would indeed be an evil—but in a short time will vanish."

"They eat, they drink, and in communion sweet Quaff immortality and joy."

"The fame of the brave outlives him; his portion is immortality. What more flattering homage could we pay to the manes of Paul Jones, than to swear on his tomb to live or to die free? It is the vow, it is the watch-word of every Frenchman."

"For spirits that live throughout Vital in every part, not as frail man, In entrails, heart or head, liver or reins, Cannot but by annihilating die."

"Whatever is always in motion is immortal."

"There is no immortality that is not built on friendship and work done with care."

"I long to believe in immortality. I shall never be able to bid you an entire farewell. If I am destined to be happy with you here — how short is the longest life. I wish to believe in immortality — I wish to live with you forever."

"He ne'er is crowned with immortality Who fears to follow where airy voices lead."

"Most men live in order to make a living; when they have that, they live in order to make a good living; when they have that, they die. … This comment can be developed into a demonstration of human immortality. This demonstration could be stated as follows: It is the destiny of every human being to make a good living. If he dies before he does that, he has not fulfilled his destiny. … But if he makes a good living, then he has achieved his destiny, but the destiny of making a good living cannot be that he is supposed to die, but, on the contrary, that he is supposed to live well on his good living—ergo, man is immortal."

"'Tis this which makes The best assurance of our promised heaven: This triumph intellect has over death— Our words yet live on others' lips; our thoughts Actuate others. Can that man be dead Whose spiritual influence is upon his kind?"

"And in the wreck of noble lives Something immortal still survives."

"For who would lose, Though full of pain, this intellectual being, Those thoughts that wander through eternity, To perish rather, swallow'd up and lost In the wide womb of uncreated night, Devoid of sense and motion?"

"Why was I born if it wasn't forever?"