The only part of the conduct of any one, for which he is amenable to society, is that which concerns others. In the part which merely concerns himself, his independence is, of right, absolute. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign. – John Stuart Mill

The twentieth century seems afflicted by a gigantic… power failure. Powerlessness and the sense of powerlessness may be the environmental disease of the age. – Russell Baker, New York Times, 1 May 1969

In these times you have to be an optimist to open your eyes when you awake in the morning. – Carl Sandburg, New York Post, 9 September 1960