I Believe That The Flag Of The Confederate States Of America Is A Painful Symbol And Reminder Of Racial Injustice And Slavery Which Abraham Lincoln Denounced From Here Over 150 Years Ago.

-Howard Dean

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I Believe That The

Howard Dean

I Believe That The Flag Of The Confederate States Of America Is A Painful Symbol And Reminder Of Racial Injustice And Slavery Which Abraham Lincoln Denounced From Here Over 150 Years Ago.

Topic

Believe

America

Years

More From Howard Dean

I Still Want To Be The Candidate For Guys With Confederate Flags In Their Pickup Trucks.

Guy

Flags

Want

From A Religious Point Of View, If God Had Thought Homosexuality Is A Sin, He Would Not Have Created Gay People.

Religious

Gay

Views

My View Of Christianity Is That The Hallmark Of Being A Christian Is To Reach Out To People Who Have Been Left Behind. So I Think There Was A Religious Aspect To My Decision To Support Civil Unions.

Christian

Religious

Thinking

Most Christmas Carols Have No Obvious Religious Content, Or At Least That's Noticeable To Most People. I Mean, It Is Almost By Definition, A Cultural Phenomenon, All These Songs, Even Though They Point To This Very Religious Holiday. They're Not Religious Songs In Effect Anymore.

Song

Religious

Holiday

I'm Not Against The Hanukkah Songs. I Like Hanukkah Songs. I Grew Up With Hanukkah Songs. I'm Not Opposed To Hanukkah Or The Songs That Accompany It, At All.

Song

Hanukkah

Grew Up

You Think People Can Work All Day And Then Pick Up Their Kids At Child Care Or Wherever, And Get Home, And Then Still Manage To Sandwich In An Eight-hour Vote? Well, Republicans, I Guess, Can Do That, Because A Lot Of Them Have Never Made An Honest Living In Their Lives.

Children

Home

Kids

There Are Definitely Some People Who Cheat, But How Come We're Only Focusing On People Who Are On Welfare Who Cheat, And Not The Bank Presidents Who Cheat?

People

President

Welfare

The Path To A Better Future Goes Directly Through Our Public Schools. I Have Nothing Against Private Schools, Parochial Schools And Home Schooling, And I Think That Parents With The Means And Inclination Should Choose Whatever They Believe Is Best For Their Children. But Those Choices Cannot Compete, And Cannot Come At The Expense Of What Has Been -- And What Must Always Be -- The Great Equalizer In Our Society, A Free And Equal Public Education.

Children

Believe

Home

This Is A Struggle Between Good And Evil And We're The Good?

Struggle

Evil

Good And Evil

We Have To Say What We Believe... Whether It's Popular Or Not.

Believe

We've Not Had One Republican President In 34 Years Balance The Budget. You Can't Trust Right-wing Republicans With Your Money. You Ought To Hire Somebody Who Has Balanced A Budget. I'm Much More Conservative With Money Than George Bush Is.

Years

Wings

Balance

The Status Quo Helps Liberals. We're Going To Change The Country.

Country

Helping

Status Quo

I've Resisted Pronouncing A Sentence Before Guilt Is Found. I Will Have This Old-fashioned Notion That Even With People Like Osama, Who Is Very Likely To Be Found Guilty, We Should Do Our Best Not To, In Positions Of Executive Power, Not To Prejudge Jury Trials.

People

Guilt

Executive Power

I Think The Recovery Hasn't Been Stronger Because The Hole That Was Dug For President Obama By The Bush Administration Was Far Worse Than Anybody Could Imagine, First Of All.

Recovery

Thinking

Usa

I Think The Media Is Very Much Like The Inside-the-beltway Crowd. They're Not Average Americans Themselves. They're Under A Lot Of Pressure From Editors And Publishers.

Thinking

The French Will Always Do Exactly The Opposite On What The United States Wants Regardless Of What Happens, So We're Never Going To Have A Consistent Policy.

Opposites

United States

Want

What I Want To Do More Than Anything As President Of The United States Is To Restore The Honor And Dignity And Respect That This Country Is Owed Around The World.

Country

Honor

President

The Iraqi Prime Minister Is An Anti-semite. We Don't Need To Spend $200 And $300 And $500 Billion Dollars Bringing Democracy To Iraq To Turn It Over To People Who Believe That Israel Doesn't Have A Right To Defend Itself And Who Refuse To Condemn Hezbollah.

Believe

Israel

Iraq

Donald Trump Has Used Lawsuits As A Weapon Throughout His Entire Business Career, And Whether They`re Frivolous Or Not Has Nothing To Do With Any Of It. What He Knows Is If He Can Sue Somebody For $10 Million, That Somebody, Especially If It`s A Consultant Is Not Likely To Have The Money To Defend It. So, Then It Goes Away As Long As He Signs A Non-disclosure Act Agreement And So On And So Forth.

Long

We're Going To Use Terri Schiavo Later On. This Is Going To Be An Issue In 2006 And It's Going To Be An Issue In 2008, Because We're Going To Have An Ad With A Picture Of Tom Delay Saying, "do You Want This Guy To Decide Whether You Die Or Not, Or Is That Going To Be Up To Your Loved Ones?

Issues

Guy

Use

The Idea That The United States Is Going To Win The War In Iraq Is Just Plain Wrong.

War

Winning

Ideas

I Don't Mind Being Called A Liberal. I Just Don't Really Think It's True.

Thinking

Mind

Tom Delay Himself Has Never Been The Issue. Delay Is A Symptom Of A Larger Disease?a Sick Republican Culture Of Corruption That Touches Everyone Who Took His Dirty Money, Voted For His Corrupt Leadership, Or Sat Silently While Their Party Has Sold Our Government To The Highest Bidder.

Party

Dirty

Government

Early Withdrawal From Iraq Would Result In Unarguably, Defeat And Humiliation For The United States. There's No Question. We Would Be Defeated By Definition. We Would Be Humiliated In That Defeat.

Iraq

United States

Would Be

We Are The Great Grassroots Campaign Of The Modern Era, Built From Mousepads, Shoe Leather And Hope.

Shoes

Campaigns

Eras

I Supported The War In Afghanistan Because 3000 Of Our People Were Murdered And I Thought We Had A Right To Defend The People Of The United States.

War

People

United States

I Believe That The Flag Of The Confederate States Of America Is A Painful Symbol And Reminder Of Racial Injustice And Slavery Which Abraham Lincoln Denounced From Here Over 150 Years Ago.

Believe

America

Years

Tom Delay Ought To Go Back To Houston Where He Can Serve His Jail Sentence.

Jail

Delay

Houston

There Are No Ideas In The Republican Party Right Now In The Congress. They're The Party Of No. They Desperately Need Some Intellectual Leadership. And Whatever You Think Of Newt Gingrich, He Can Supply Intellectual Leadership. So I Hope He Does Run.

Running

Party

Thinking

We Owe Something To The Government To Grow Up In This Great Country. I'm Tired Of Hearing People In The Private Sector Talk Like They Don't Owe The Government Anything. We Do. This Is A Great Country Because We All Pay Into It. It's About Time We All Pay Into It. ... If We Paid The Same Amount Of Taxes We Paid When Bill Clinton Was President, I Would Be A Happy Guy, And The Budget Would Be Closer To Balanced. You Cannot Give Away Money, Whether You Give It To Rich Or Poor People. That's What George Bush Did -- Excuse Me, Trillions Of Dollars. You Can't Do That.

Country

Growing Up

Tired

I Think In General The Ends Do Not Justify The Means.

Mean

Thinking

Ends

What I Want To Know Is Why In The World The Democratic Party Leadership Is Supporting The President's Unilateral Attack On Iraq?

Iraq

President

World

Real Democrats Don't Make Promises They Can't Keep.

Real

Promise

Democrat

We Won When We Toppled Saddam. That Was The Only Clear Goal Of This War, To Topple The Iraqi Government. It Took About 10 Minutes.

War

Clear Goals

Government

We Will Ultimately Be Judged By How We React In Times Of Trouble And How We Care For The Least Among Us.

Care

Trouble

Times Of Trouble

What I Usually Do Is Tell Funny Stories From The Road, Many Of Which Are, Of Course, Unprintable. But I Don't Actually Have A Joke. I Don't Tell Jokes Much. I Tell Little Stories.

Stories

Littles

Funny Story

You Know, To Listen To Senator Lieberman, Senator Kerry, Representative Gephardt, I'm Anti-israel, I'm Anti-trade, I'm Anti-medicare And I'm Anti-social Security. I Wonder How I Ended Up In The Democratic Party. I'm Not A New Entrant To The Democratic Party. I've Been Here A Long Time.

Party

Israel

Long

I Was Hoping To Get A Reception Like This, I'd Just Hoped That It Would Be On Thursday Night Instead Of Tuesday Night.

Night

Tuesday

Would Be

I Hate The Republicans And Everything They Stand For...

Hate

Politics

Republican

I Will Use Whatever Position I Have In Order To Root Out Hypocrisy. Democrats Have Strong Moral Values. Frankly, My Moral Values Are Offended By Some Of The Things I Hear On Programs Like "rush Limbaugh," And We Don't Have To Put Up With That.

Strong

Roots

Order

And People In America Are Very Practical People Across The Political Spectrum. Very Conservative Women Want Their Kids, Their Daughters Taking Birth Control.

Daughter

Kids

America

I Intend To Talk About Race During This Election In The South Because The Republicans Have Been Talking About It Since 1968 In Order To Divide Us. And I'm Going To Bring Us Together. Because You Know What? You Know What? White Folks In The South Who Drive Pickup Trucks With Confederate Flag Decals In The Back Ought To Be Voting With Us And Not Them, Because Their Kids Don't Have Health Insurance Either And Their Kids Need Better Schools Too.

School

Kids

Race

If You're Really Worried About The Effect Of "silent Night" On The Kids, You Need A Hobby Or Something, And I'm Glad You're Pointing That Out.

Kids

Night

Hobbies

I Think Most People... Would Be Glad To Pay The Same Taxes They Paid When Bill Clinton Was President, If Only They Could Have The Same Economy They Had When Bill Clinton Was President.

Thinking

People

President

Not Only Are We Going To New Hampshire ... We're Going To South Carolina And Oklahoma And Arizona And North Dakota And New Mexico, And We're Going To California And Texas And New York! And We're Going To South Dakota And Oregon And Washington And Michigan. And Then We're Going To Washington, D.c. To Take Back The White House, Yeeeeeaaaaaargh!

New York

Oklahoma

Texas

The State Of The Union May Look Rosy From The White House Balcony Or The Suites Of George Bush's Wealthiest Donors. But Hardworking Americans Will See Through This President's Efforts To Wrap His Radical Agenda With A Compassionate Ribbon.

White

House

Effort

That's One Of The Things About The Tea Party People. They Think Corporations Have Too Much Influence In American Life And They Do.

Party

Thinking

People

I Don't Hate Republicans As Individuals. But I Hate What The Republicans Are Doing To This Country. I Really Do.

Country

Hate

Republican

The Real Truth Is, There's No Such Thing As A Red State Or A Blue State, They're All Purple. Some Are More Purple Than Others And Our Job Is To Get Them All Deep Purple And Then Blue. And We Can Do That.

Jobs

Real

Blue

I Wish That There Was A Unified Democratic Position On The War In Iraq. I Was That There Was A Unified American Position And Everybody Agreed With Me That We Ought To Be Out Of There Yesterday. But They Don't, And That's The Fact. I Mean, He's Stating A Fact About What's Going On.

War

Mean

Iraq

The Democratic Party, All The Candidates From Washington, They All Know Each Other, They All Move In The Same Circles, And What I'm Doing Is Breaking Into The Country Club.

Country

Party

Moving

The Issue Is Not Abortion. The Issue Is Whether Women Can Make Up Their Own Mind Instead Of Some Right-wing Pastor, Some Right-wing Politician Telling Them What To Do.

Wings

Issues

Abortion

The President And His Right-wing Supreme Court Think It Is 'okay' To Have The Government Take Your House If They Feel Like Putting A Hotel Where Your House Is.

Thinking

Government

Wings

I Like John Kerry. I Think He's Intellectually Curious And Very Thoughtful. I Think He's Deeply Committed On Issues Like The Environment. I Think He's An Internationalist, Which I Am.

Thoughtful

Thinking

Issues

The Fact That The President Was Willing To Reveal Classified Information For Political Gain And Put The Interests Of His Political Party Ahead Of America's Security Shows That He Can No Longer Be Trusted To Keep America Safe.

Party

America

Political

Prison Is An Important Part Of Life. We Can't Have Violent People Running Around In The Streets. (3 Out Of 4 Federal Prisoners Are Serving Time For Non-violent Crimes.) Most Competent And Qualified Kindergarden Teachers Can Tell You Who The 5 Kids Are In His Or Her Class Likely To Wind Up In Prison 15 - 20 Years From Now.

Running

Teacher

Kids

Second Of All, I Don't Think Wall Street Is Doing What It's Supposed To Be Doing, Even After The Shameful Performance Of The Last Two Years. They're Are Not Allocating Capital.

Wall

Thinking

Years

The Corporatization Of The Press Really Has Hurt The Press.

Hurt

Presses

Every Single American Has A Voice And ... It Ought To Be Heard In The Halls Of Power Every Day.

Voice

Heard

Halls

The Truth Is The President Of The United States Used The Same Device That Slobodan Milosevic Used In Serbia. When You Appeal To Homophobia, When You Appeal To Sexism, When You Appeal To Racism, That Is Extraordinarily Damaging To The Country.

Country

Racism

President

America Is A Conservative Country With A Small "c" - They Want Change, But They Don't Want Too Much Change Too Fast.

Country

America

Want

You Have The Power To Take Our Country Back.

Country

Our Country

There's No Question That Saddam Hussein Is A Threat To The United States And To Our Allies. If Saddam Persists In Thumbing His Nose At The Inspectors, Then We're Clearly Going To Have To Do Something About It.

Iraq

Allies

United States

I Don't Care What You Label Me As Long As You Call Me President.

Long

President

Labels

My Energy Level Is Very High ... How Ambitious It All Is Depends On Lots Of Different Things. But Pretty High Energy Level. I Take On A Lot Of Projects At The Same Time.

Ambitious

Energy

Different

I Think With A Lifetime Appointment To The Supreme Court, You Can't Play, You Know, Hide The Salami, Or Whatever It's Called.

Thinking

Play

Lifetime

The War In Iraq Was Unwinnable.

War

Iraq

What John Mccain Didn`t Realize Was That Sarah Palin Was His Demographic. He Thought He Was Appealing To Younger Women, And In Fact, Sarah Palin Appealed To People Who Were Like Mccain, Old White Guys, Who Thought She Was Sexy To Skin A Moose. That Was A Miscalculation, It Didn`t Work. They Didn`t Do The Vetting, They Didn`t Do The Polling.

Sexy

People

Guy

My View Is Fox News Is A Propaganda Outlet For The Republican Party And I Don't Comment On Fox News.

Party

Views

News

Stop Scapegoating Immigrants[stop Using] Outrageous Phrases Like 'illegal Aliens.'

Phrases

Aliens

Illegal

George Bush Calls His Biggest Fundraisers Rangers And Pioneers. But Today, We Stand Together, And We Call Ourselves, Simply, Americans.

Pioneers

Today

Rangers

This Country Was The Moral Leader Of The World Until George Bush Became President.

Country

Leader

President

Every Day It Becomes Clearer That This Was The Wrong War At The Wrong Time.

War

Wrong Time

I Think Democracy Fails Under A Variety Of Conditions And One Of The Conditions Occurs When People Don't Have The Ability To Get The Kind Of Information They Need To Make Up Their Mind. Ideologically, I Don't Care Much For Fox News. But The Truth Is That, As Long As There Are Countervailing Points Of View Available On The Spectrum, It Doesn't Matter.

Thinking

Views

Long

Is This So-called [republican Party] Hate Wing That Is So Angry At All The Things That Have - All The Changes That Have Happened In America, This Is What They Respond To.and I Think It`s Dangerous For The Country, I Also Think It`s Going To Be Incredibly Unsuccessful In The General Election.

Country

Hate

Party

I'm Not Attacking Liberals With A Broad Brush.

Broads

Attacking

Brushes

Dealing With Race Is About Educating White Folks.

Race

White

Folks

I Actually Spoke In An African-american Church Yesterday.

Yesterday

African American

Church

Look, I'm Not A Perfect Person. I Have My Warts. I Sometimes Say Things That Get Me In Trouble. I Wear Suits That Are Cheap. But I Say What I Think And I Believe What I Say, And I'm Willing To Say Things That Are Not Popular But Ordinary People Know Are Right.

Believe

Thinking

People

People Have Said I'm The Candidate Of Anger. Well, We Have A Right To Be Angry. We Lost 3 Million Jobs. We Lost Our Place As The Moral Leader Of The World.

Jobs

Anger

People

America's Greatness Rests On Far More Than The Power Of Our Arms. Our Greatness Is Also Measured By Our Goodness, It's In The Capacity Of Our Minds, Of Our Hearts, And It's In The Strength Of Our Democracy.

Heart

Greatness

America

Barry Goldwater Once Said, "i'd Rather Be Right Than President." I Can't Tell You How Much I Disagree With That Barry Goldwater.

President

Said

I Can

As Governor, I Came To Believe That The Death Penalty Would Be A Just Punishment For Certain, Especially Heinous Crimes, Such As The Murder Of A Child Or The Murder Of A Police Officer. The Events Of September 11 Convinced Me That Terrorists Also Deserve The Ultimate Punishment.

Children

Believe

Punishment

As Commander In Chief Of The United States Military, I Will Never Send Our Sons And Daughters And Our Brothers And Sisters To Die In A Foreign Land Without Telling The Truth About Why They're Going There.

Daughter

Mother

Brother

I've Always Been Endorsed By The National Rifle Association.

Rifles

Association

World Affairs

I'm Just Deeply Disappointed That Once Again We May Have To Settle For The Lesser Of Two Evils.

Two

Evil

May

They Believe The Less Votes The Better. Republicans Like To Suppress Votes Because They Believe They Do Better In Small Turnouts. Characteristically, Democrats Would Rather Lose An Election With A Huge Turnout Than Win One With A Small Turnout Because We Think That The Values Of Democracy Have To Be Placed Above The Interests Of The Party. The Reason That Republicans Are Such Failures At Governing Is Because They Place The Interests Of Their Party Ahead Of The Interests Of The Country.

Country

Party

Believe

No Doctor Is Going To Do An Abortion On A Live Fetus. That Doesn't Happen. Doctors Don't Do That. If They Do, They'll Get Their License Pulled, As Well They Should.

Doctors

Abortion

Fetus

We've Gotten Rid Of (saddam Hussein), And I Suppose That's A Good Thing.

Hussein

Good Things

Saddam

The Capture Of Saddam Has Not Made America Safer.

America

Capture

Made

When You - When You - And This Is Still Going On Today - Are Making Your Money By Pushing Paper Around, When You Should Be Making Your Money By Investing Venture Capital In Various Job-creating Things, That Makes It Much Harder To Recover.

Jobs

Creating Things

Investing

If Money Is A Form Of Speech, As The Supreme Court Has Regrettably Found, Rich Donors Will Always Be The Loudest Speakers.

Speech

Rich

Form

Someone Earlier Made A Remark About Losing 500 Soldiers And 2,200 Wounded In Iraq. Those Soldiers Were Sent There By The Vote Of Sen. Lieberman, Sen. Edwards And Sen. Kerry. I Think That Is A Serious Matter.

Thinking

Iraq

Soldier

John Ashcroft Is Not A Patriot, John Ashcroft Is A Descendant Of Joseph Mccarthy.

Patriot

Joseph Mccarthy

Descendants

I May Be Controversial, But My Allegiance Is To People Outside The Beltway.

People

May

Controversial

I Think We Had Quite Enough Capitalism In The Last Eight Years; I Think We Need Some Regulation Now.

Thinking

Eight

Years

I've Waffled Before. I'll Waffle Again.

Waffles

At Every Turn When There Has Been An Imbalance Of Power, The Truth Questioned, Or Our Beliefs And Values Distorted, The Change Required To Restore Our Nation Has Always Come From The Bottom Up From Our People.

Change

People

Beliefs And Values

The Way To Balance The Budget Is For Congress To Cut Social Security, Move The Retirement Age To 70, Cut Defense, Medicare And Veterans Pensions, While The States Cut Almost Everything Else. It Would Be Tough But We Could Do It.

Retirement

Moving

Cutting

I Talked For A Long Time About That, What I Call The Hate Wing Of The Republican Party.and Often Been Criticized For Saying It. But There Is Such A Thing, And It Started In 1968 With The Southern Strategy Developed By Richard Nixon To Bring Southern Racists Out Of The Democratic Party And Into The Republican Party, Which They Succeeded In Doing.

Hate

Party

Wings

I Learned That The American People Are Pretty Great People. And They Are Just Poorly Served By Their Leadership, And Washington's Very Much Out Of Touch With The Struggles Of Ordinary Americans. My Hope Is That We'll Have A Democratic Administration, And Then We'll Hold Their Feet To The Fire So They Start Performing For People Who Put Them There.

Struggle

People

Democratic

I Have Never Favored A Social Security Retirement Age Of 70 Nor Do I Favor One Of 68.

Retirement

Age

Favors

We Know That No One Person Can Succeed Unless Everybody Else Succeeds.

Dumb

Succeed

Stupid Liberal

The Republicans Are All About Suppressing Votes.

Vote

Republican

Suppressing

There Is A Party Of Fiscal Responsibility... Economic Responsibility... Social Responsibility... Civic Responsibility... Personal Responsibility... And Moral Responsibility. That Party Is The Democratic Party.

Party

Responsibility

Moral

Luckily, I'm A Governor - So I Get To Tell You What I've Already Done Not Just What I'm Going To Do.

Done

Governors

How Much Courage Does It Take For Dean To Throw Red Meat To The Party Faithful?

Party

Faithful

Meat

The Fact Is That We Wouldn't Be In Iraq If It Weren't For Democrats Like Senator Kerry.

Iraq

Facts

Democrat

This Guy Is Totally Unorthodox. Maybe He`s Flipping Coins Or Playing Three-card Monty To See Who He Wants To Pick. Donald Trump Is So Unorthodox That I Think It`s Almost Impossible To Have Any Reasonable Prediction About Who He`s Going To Pick For The Vice-president.

Thinking

Guy

Impossible

The Pitfall Of What's Happening In The Media Is If You're Under Thirty, You Get Your News From The Internet And The Daily Show, And There's Not Much Discrimination Between What They Find On The Front Page Of The New York Times And What They Find On The Internet. That's Not A Bad Thing, In The Sense That People Don't Get Spoon - Fed Anymore.

People

Discrimination

Internet

I'm A Committed Christian. I Worship In My Own Way. That's My Business. That's Not The Business Of The Pharisees Who Are Going To Preach To Me About What I Do And Then Do Something Else.

Christian

Mind Your Own Business

Pharisees

Hypocrisy Is A Value That I Think Has Been Embraced By The Republican Party. We Get Lectured By People All Day Long About Moral Values By People Who Have Their Own Moral Shortcomings.

Party

Thinking

Long

I'm Tired Of The Ayatollahs Of The Right Wing. We're Fighting For Freedom In Iraq. We're Going To Fight For Freedom In America.

Tired

Fighting

Wings

Touch-screen Voting Machines Absolutely Cannot Be Relied Upon. Our Recommendation Was Optiscan Ballots - Where You Actually Have Custody Of The Actual Ballots After The Ballots Have Been Passed Through The Computer. That's The Most Reliable System To Use. And People Should Not Use The Electronic Voting Machines. Even Electronic Voting Machines With Paper Trails Can Be Manipulated.

People

Voting

Computer

I'm Interested In Getting John Kerry Elected President. And Then I'm Interested In Doing Whatever I Can To See That Democrats Retain Democratic Values. And The Thing I'm Most Interested In Is Health Insurance For Everybody. We're The Only Country In The Industrialized World That Doesn't Have That, And We Need That.

Country

President

World

It Is True That There`s An Economic Argument And An Economic Feeling That Something Different Needs To Happen And Politicians Talking Out Of Both Sides Of Their Mouth And All That Kind Of Stuff.

Talking

Feelings

Different

So What We - All We Really Want, I Think, From The So-called Democratic Wing Of The Democratic Party Is Really To Stand Up For What We Believe In.

Party

Believe

Thinking

I Have A Great Sense Of Humor, But It Has An Ironic Twist To It.

Ironic

Twists

Sense Of Humor

You Can't Make Howard Dean A Straw Man. He Is What He Appears To Be. And That's The Beauty Of Howard Dean.

Men

Dean

Straws

There's Been More Than One Time When I've Said Something, And Sort Of The Middle Of What I've Said Is Not Said But Thought, And Therefore Assumed To Be Understood, Which Is A Ridiculous Assumption On My Part, But Sometimes Gets Me In Trouble.

Ridiculous

Assumption

Sometimes

Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.

2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.

2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.

2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.

3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.

3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.

3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.

4. Proper Usage of Quotes

4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.

4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.

4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.

5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.

5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.

6. Quotes in Different Contexts

6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.

6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.

6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.

7. Punctuation and Formatting

Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:

Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.

Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.

Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.

8. Ethical Considerations

Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes

Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.

Conclusion

Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.

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