WIST Quotations

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WIST (“Wish I’d Said That!”) is my collection of quotations (wist.info) which I find meaningful, moving, amusing (intended or not), or well-phrased.

Despite the name, this is not just a collection of quotations whose sentiments I agree with (though that’s true for the majority of stuff I collect). In some cases there are ideas that I disagree with, firmly; in those cases, though, I’ve included the quote because I admire the way it’s phrased, or because it’s a classic statement of a particular sentiment, or else I thought it was so absurd that it made me smile just to read it. In short, "Quoting is not (necessarily) endorsing."

One thing I make an effort to do is research and properly cite each quotation I publish. Further sourcing information (and notes and translations) can be found on the WIST website.

This site will serve as a rich-text social media republishing of new and updated quotations from wist.info (since nobody actually goes to blogs any more). I welcome conversation about the quotes I post.

I was previously cross-posting at wist@my-space.social, WISTquote@zirk.us, and wist@diasp.org. More info on the background of my collection here: wist.info/about-wist/

Additional intro material: friendica.world/display/84b6ef…

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https://wist.info ✔

WIST Quotations

Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 10:07 PM

WIST Quotations
Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 10:07 PM

A quotation from Hannah Arendt

If everyone always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but that no one believes anything at all anymore — and rightly so, because lies, by their very nature, have to be changed, to be “re-lied,” so to speak. So a lying government which pursues different goals at different times has constantly to rewrite its own history. That means that the people are deprived not only of their capacity to act, but also of their capacity to think and to judge. And with such a people you can then do what you please.

Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Interview (1973-10) with Roger Errera, Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF)

More about this quote: wist.info/arendt-hannah/45162/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #hannaharendt #belief #confusion #control #deceit #disbelief #judgment #lies #lying #manipulation #power #propaganda #reality #skepticism #tyranny #uncertainty

Arendt, Hannah - Interview (1973-10) with Roger Errera, Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF) | WIST Quotations

If everyone always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but that no one believes anything at all anymore -- and rightly so, because lies, by their very nature, have to be changed, to be "re-lied," so to speak.

^{WIST Quotations}