February 21

February 21 Quotes of the day from previous years:


 * 2004
 * Careful the things you say, children will listen. Guide them along the way, children will see and learn. Children may not obey, but children will look to you for which way to turn; to learn what to be! Careful before you say "Listen to Me." Children will listen. ~ Into the Woods (Sondheim/Lapine)
 * selected by IP 172.134.14.22


 * 2005
 * For the error bred in the bone Of each woman and each man Craves what it cannot have, Not universal love But to be loved alone. ~ W. H. Auden (born 21 February 1907)
 * selected by Kalki


 * 2006 : When others asked the truth of me, I was convinced it was not the truth they wanted, but an illusion they could bear to live with. ~ Anaïs Nin (born 21 February 1903)
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2007
 * Defenceless under the night Our world in stupor lies; Yet, dotted everywhere, Ironic points of light Flash out wherever the Just Exchange their messages: May I, composed like them Of Eros and of dust, Beleaguered by the same Negation and despair, Show an affirming flame. ~ W. H. Auden ~
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2008
 * Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death. ~ Anaïs Nin
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2009
 * Without Art, we should have no notion of the sacred; without Science, we should always worship false gods. ~ W. H. Auden
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2010
 * All I have is a voice To undo the folded lie, The romantic lie in the brain Of the sensual man-in-the-street And the lie of Authority Whose buildings grope the sky: There is no such thing as the State And no one exists alone; Hunger allows no choice To the citizen or the police; We must love one another or die. ~ W. H. Auden ~
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2011
 * We are beginning to see the influence of dream upon reality and reality upon dream. ~ Anaïs Nin
 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2012
 * I remember thinking how often we look, but never see … we listen, but never hear … we exist, but never feel. We take our relationships for granted. A house is only a place. It has no life of its own. It needs human voices, activity and laughter to come alive. ~ Erma Bombeck (born 21 February 1927)
 * proposed by bystander


 * 2013


 * proposed by InvisibleSun


 * 2014


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2015


 * proposed by Kalki

Erratum : This QOTD originally was presented with the statement "All writers have concealed more than they revealed" at the start of it. This is also quote of Anaïs Nin, but from a later portion of the same work, and after reviewing my notes, I believe its inclusion at the start of this statement was a transcription error entirely on my part, as I rather hurriedly gathered up ideas to use for QOTD in the brief time I had the day before yesterday. In over 11 years of QOTD work, I believe this is the first time I have made this type of error, and will be on guard against repeating it in the future. ~ ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:58, 22 February 2015 (UTC)


 * 2016


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2017


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2018


 * proposed by Jedi3


 * 2019


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2020


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2021


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2022


 * proposed by InvisibleSun


 * 2023


 * proposed by Kalki


 * 2024


 * proposed by InvisibleSun


 * 2025 : Rank or add further suggestions…

Quotes by people born this day, already used as QOTD:


 * Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born. ~ Anaïs Nin
 * Used 7 November 2003, selected by Kalki


 * There are very few human beings who receive the truth, complete and staggering, by instant illumination. Most of them acquire it fragment by fragment, on a small scale, by successive developments, cellularly, like a laborious mosaic. ~ Anaïs Nin
 * Used 8 May 2004, selected by Kalki


 * We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are. ~ Anaïs Nin
 * Used 14 September 2004, selected by Kalki [originally this was an unsourced quote, but is now a disputed one, with no definite source as yet found. ~ Kalki 18:58, 20 February 2008 (UTC)]

Suggestions
I believe in the brotherhood of man, all men, but I don't believe in brotherhood with anybody who doesn't want brotherhood with me. I believe in treating people right, but I'm not going to waste my time trying to treat somebody right who doesn't know how to return the treatment. ~ Malcolm X (Death Date)
 * Liquidice5 14:24, 15 February 2006 (UTC)
 * 2 Kalki 23:32, 20 February 2006 (UTC) (but might rank it higher on his birth-date)
 * 2 InvisibleSun 20:29, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 Zarbon 22:35, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

I believe in recognizing every human being as a human being, neither white, black, brown nor red. When you are dealing with humanity as one family, there's no question of integration or intermarriage. It's just one human being marrying another human being, or one human being living around and with another human being. ~ Malcolm X (Death Date)
 * Liquidice5 14:24, 15 February 2006 (UTC)
 * 3 Kalki 23:32, 20 February 2006 (UTC) (but even when there are very good quotes available, I generally prefer to use quotes on people's date of birth rather than their date of death).
 * 3 InvisibleSun 20:29, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 Zarbon 22:35, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

By mourning tongues The death of the poet was kept from his poems. ~ W. H. Auden
 * 3 InvisibleSun 20:29, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
 * 3 Kalki 20:35, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Zarbon 22:35, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

When I consider others I can easily believe that their bodies express their personalities and that the two are inseparable. But it is impossible for me not to feel that my body is other than I, that I inhabit it like a house, and that my face is a mask which, with or without my consent, conceals my real nature from others. ~ W. H. Auden
 * 3 InvisibleSun 20:29, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
 * 3 Kalki 20:35, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
 * 2 Zarbon 22:35, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

Our votes must go together with our guns. After all, any vote we shall have, shall have been the product of the gun. The gun which produces the vote should remain its security officer – its guarantor. The people's votes and the people's guns are always inseparable twins. ~ Robert Mugabe (born February 21)
 * 2 because artillery and weaponry is needed just as much as the people's votes, national unity and national protection go hand in hand. Zarbon 04:48, 27 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 Kalki 23:44, 19 February 2009 (UTC)
 * 1 InvisibleSun 23:01, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

It may be necessary to use methods other than constitutional ones. ~ Robert Mugabe (born February 21)
 * 2 because sometimes drastic situations may call for drastic measures. Zarbon 04:48, 27 April 2008 (UTC)
 * 1 Kalki 23:44, 19 February 2009 (UTC)
 * 1 InvisibleSun 23:01, 20 February 2009 (UTC)


 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 04:02, 18 February 2014 (UTC)


 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 04:02, 18 February 2014 (UTC)


 * 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 00:33, 21 February 2021 (UTC), with a lean toward 4.


 * 1 FPTI (talk) 18:56, 20 February 2024 (UTC)