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Anti-Spiral: How can this be? Where are you drawing all of this power from?
Simon: We evolve beyond the person we were a minute before! Little by little, we advance a bit further with each turn. That's how a drill works!
Simon: We evolve beyond the person we were a minute before! Little by little, we advance a bit further with each turn. That's how a drill works!
— Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Episode 27.
"Like you said, we humans are weak. We die easily. But no matter how weak we are, even if we're being chopped to bits or stabbed to death, we still want to live. I'm gonna give you a little taste of what it feels like!"
— Guts to the Snake Baron, Berserk
"I don't believe in humanity...But I believe in the potential of humanity."
— Sora to Jibril, No Game No Life
Comic Books
"I suppose you're wondering why I called you here this evening. Well, you see, I'm not entirely satisfied with your performance lately... I'm afraid your work's been slipping, and... And I'm afraid we've been thinking about letting you go. Oh, I know, I know. You've been with the company a long time now. Almost... let me see. Almost ten thousand years! my word, doesn't time fly? It seems like only yesterday... I remember the day you commenced your employment, swinging down from the trees, fresh-faced and nervous, a bone clasped in your bristling fist... "Where do I start, sir?" You asked, plaintively." I recall my exact words: "there's a pile of dinosaur eggs over there, youngster." I said, smiling paternally the while. "Get sucking." Well, we've certainly come a long way since then, haven't we? And yes, yes, you're right, in all that time you haven't missed a day. Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Also, please don't think I've forgotten about your outstanding service record, or about all the invaluable contributions you've made to the company... Fire, the wheel, agriculture... It's an impressive list, old timer. A jolly impressive list. Don't get me wrong. But... Well, to be frank, we've had our problems, too. There's no getting away from it. Do you know what I think a lot of it stems from? I'll tell you... It's your basic unwillingness to get on with the company. You don't seem to want to face up to any real responsibility, or to be your own boss. Lord knows, you've been given plenty of opportunities... We've offered you promotion time and time again, and each time you've turned us down. "I couldn't handle the work, guv'nor," you wheedled. "I know my place." To be frank, you're not trying, are you? You see, you've been standing still for far too long, and it's starting to show in your work... And I might add, in your general standard of behaviour. The constant bickering on the factory floor has not escaped my attention... Nor the recent bouts of rowdiness in the staff canteen. Then of course there's... Hmm. Well, I really didn't want to have to bring this up, but... Well, you see, I've been hearing some disturbing rumours about your personal life. No, never you mind who told me. No names, no pack drills... I understand that you are unable to get on with your spouse. I hear that you argue. I am told that you shout. Violence has been mentioned. I am reliably informed that you always hurt the one you love... The one you shouldn't hurt at all. And what about the children? It's always the children who suffer, as you're well aware. Poor little mites, what are they to make of it? What are they to make of your bullying, your despair, your cowardice and all your fondly nurtured bigotries? Really, it's not good enough, is it? And it's no good blaming the drop in work standards upon bad management, either... Though, to be sure, the management is very bad. In fact, let us not mince words... The management is terrible! We've had a string of embezzlers, frauds, liars and lunatics making a string of catastrophic decisions. This is plain fact. But who elected them? It was you! You who appointed these people! You who gave them the power to make your decisions for you! While I'll admit that anyone can make a mistake once, to go on making the same lethal errors century after century seems to me nothing short of deliberate. You have encouraged these malicious incompetents, who have made your working life a shambles. You have accepted without question their senseless orders. You have allowed them to fill your workspace with dangerous and unproven machines. You could have stopped them. All you had to say was NO! You have no spine. You have no pride. You are no longer an asset to the company. I will, however, be generous. You will be granted two years to show me some improvement in your work. If at the end of that time you are still unwilling to make a go of it... You're fired. That will be all. You may return to your labours."
— V, V for Vendetta
"Incidentally, I spoke to Commissioner Gordon before I came in here. He's fine. Despite all your sick, vicious little games, he's as sane as he ever was. So maybe ordinary people don't always crack. Maybe there isn't any need to crawl under a rock with all the other slimy things when trouble hits... Maybe it was just you, all the time."
— Batman, The Killing Joke
Film - Live Action
Colossus: Wade! Four or five moments.
Deadpool: I'm sorry?
Colossus: Four or five moments - that's all it takes.
Deadpool: To...?
Colossus: Be a hero. Everyone thinks it's a full-time job. Wake up a hero. Brush your teeth a hero. Go to work a hero. Not true. Over a lifetime, there are only four or five moments that really matter. Moments when you're offered a choice - to make a sacrifice, conquer a flaw, save a friend, spare an enemy. In these moments, everything else falls away. The way the world sees us. The way we...
[Deadpool gets bored and shoots Ajax in the head, killing him]
Colossus: [pukes in shock and disgust at Ajax's death] WHY?!!
Deadpool: You were droning on. Sure, I may be stuck looking like a pepperoni flatbread, but at least fuckface won't heal from that. If wearing superhero tights means sparing psychopaths, then maybe I wasn't meant to wear 'em. Not everyone monitors a hall like you.
Colossus: [threateningly] You just promise—
Deadpool: Yeah, yeah, I'll be on the lookout for the next four moments...
Deadpool: I'm sorry?
Colossus: Four or five moments - that's all it takes.
Deadpool: To...?
Colossus: Be a hero. Everyone thinks it's a full-time job. Wake up a hero. Brush your teeth a hero. Go to work a hero. Not true. Over a lifetime, there are only four or five moments that really matter. Moments when you're offered a choice - to make a sacrifice, conquer a flaw, save a friend, spare an enemy. In these moments, everything else falls away. The way the world sees us. The way we...
[Deadpool gets bored and shoots Ajax in the head, killing him]
Colossus: [pukes in shock and disgust at Ajax's death] WHY?!!
Deadpool: You were droning on. Sure, I may be stuck looking like a pepperoni flatbread, but at least fuckface won't heal from that. If wearing superhero tights means sparing psychopaths, then maybe I wasn't meant to wear 'em. Not everyone monitors a hall like you.
Colossus: [threateningly] You just promise—
Deadpool: Yeah, yeah, I'll be on the lookout for the next four moments...
"It is clear that we are just an advanced breed of primates on a minor planet orbiting around a very average star, in the outer suburb of one among a hundred billion galaxies. But, ever since the dawn of civilization, people have craved for an understanding of the underlying order of the world. There ought to be something very special about the boundary conditions of the universe. And what can be more special than that there is no boundary? And there should be no boundary to human endeavor. We are all different. However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there is life, there is hope."
— Stephen Hawking, The Theory of Everything
Literature
Wesley Crusher: Did you give a speech? I miss hearing those.
Jean-Luc Picard: There wasn't time. And besides, I think this is a moment where everyone involved knows the stakes. Nothing more needed to be said.
Wesley Crusher: True enough.
Jean-Luc Picard: There wasn't time. And besides, I think this is a moment where everyone involved knows the stakes. Nothing more needed to be said.
Wesley Crusher: True enough.
— Star Trek: Coda: The Ashes of Tomorrow
Live Action TV
"Our remote descendants, safely arrayed on many worlds through the solar system, and beyond, will be unified. By their common heritage, by their regard for their home planet, and by the knowledge that whatever other life may be, all the humans in the entire Universe come from Earth. They will gaze up, and strain to find the blue dot in their skies. They will marvel at how vulnerable the repository of all our potential once was, how perilous our infancy, how humble our beginnings... how many rivers we had to cross, before we found our way."
— Carl Sagan, excerpt
from Cosmos
from Cosmos Look at these people, these human beings. Consider their potential! From the day they arrive on the planet, and blinking, step into the sun; there is more to see than can ever be seen... more to do than— No, hold on... [Beat] Sorry, that's The Lion King. But the point still stands! Leave them alone!
— Tenth Doctor, Doctor Who
The Doctor: For all we know that's a brand-new lifeform over there, and if it's come inside to discover us then what's it found? This little bunch of humans. What do you amount to? Murder? 'Cause this is where you decide, you decide who you are. Could you actually murder her? Any of you? Really? Or are you better than that?
[pause]
The Hostess: I'd do it.
Mr. Cane: So would I.
Mrs. Cane: And me.
Dee Dee: I think we should.
— "Midnight", Doctor Who
"Aren't you proud? 'Cause you helped! Do you know how many people are watching this live on the telly? Half a billion—and that's nothing, because the human race will spread out among the stars. You just watch them fly. Billions and billions of them for billions and billions of years and every single one of them, at some point in their lives, will look back at this man taking that very first step and they will never ever forget it."
— Eleventh Doctor to the Silence, "Day of the Moon"
"I'm not going to swear an oath I can't uphold. Talk about my father if you want, tell me that's the attitude that got him killed. But when enough people make false promises, words stop meaning anything. Then there are no more answers, only better and better lies. And lies won't help us in this fight."
— Jon Snow, Game of Thrones, "The Dragon and the Wolf"
"Jean-Luc... sometimes I think the only reason I come here is to listen to these wonderful speeches of yours."
— Q, Star Trek: The Next Generation, "True Q"
Music
Some of you young folks been saying to me, "Hey, Pops! What you mean, 'What a Wonderful World'? How about all them wars all over the place? You call them wonderful? And how about hunger and pollution? They ain't so wonderful either!" Well, how about listenin' to old Pops for a minute?
Seems to me, it ain't the world that's so bad, but what we're doing to it. And all I'm saying is, "See what a wonderful world it would be, if only we'd give it a chance." Love, baby, love: That's the secret. Yeeaahhh! If lots more of us loved each other, we'd solve lots more problems. And, man, this world would be a gasser! That's why old Pops keeps saying,
Seems to me, it ain't the world that's so bad, but what we're doing to it. And all I'm saying is, "See what a wonderful world it would be, if only we'd give it a chance." Love, baby, love: That's the secret. Yeeaahhh! If lots more of us loved each other, we'd solve lots more problems. And, man, this world would be a gasser! That's why old Pops keeps saying,
I see trees of green...
Louis Armstrong, spoken-word preface to his obscure second recording of "What a Wonderful World"
Well, that's cool, I think we generally choose right over wrong
I just helped Tubman spit-roast Stalin with a big rubber dong
And I was the first human being to get cheat codes to your game
But I think most people in my shoes would still do the same
Look, I know we're all selfish and we argue and fight
But even if people are wrong they're usually trying to do right
I just helped Tubman spit-roast Stalin with a big rubber dong
And I was the first human being to get cheat codes to your game
But I think most people in my shoes would still do the same
Look, I know we're all selfish and we argue and fight
But even if people are wrong they're usually trying to do right
Trevor Moore, "My Computer Just Became Self Aware", Trevor Moore: The Story of Our Times
Stand-up Comedy
"Folks, it's time to evolve. That's why we're troubled. You know why our institutions are failing us, the church, the state, everything's failing? It's because, um – they're no longer relevant. We're supposed to keep evolving. Evolution did not end with us growing opposable thumbs. You do know that, right? There's another 90 percent of our brains that we have to illuminate."
— Bill Hicks, Filling Up the Hump
Video Games
Lambda: How could you make such an offer? You could destroy me and end your troubles. So then why?
Asbel: ...I have something to prove. I want you to know that humans have potential. I'll help you to understand how terrible it would be to end this world. It's not worth it. You still have so much left to learn. Now. Take my hand.
Lambda: And if I refuse?
Asbel: Then I guess I'll take your hand.
Asbel: ...I have something to prove. I want you to know that humans have potential. I'll help you to understand how terrible it would be to end this world. It's not worth it. You still have so much left to learn. Now. Take my hand.
Lambda: And if I refuse?
Asbel: Then I guess I'll take your hand.
Orphan: You overreach yourselves.
Lightning: No, we overreach you.
Orphan: Is that so?
Lightning: You don't believe in anything. You gave up on life before you were even born. Sat poisoning Cocoon from the inside, waiting for someone to come and destroy you. Sure, you think the end of the world is salvation. All you care about is death's release, so take it and leave the rest of us alone. We don't think like that. When we think there's no hope left, we keep looking until we find some. Maybe Cocoon is past saving, but it's our home. And we'll protect it or die trying! We live to make the impossible possible! That is our Focus!
Lightning: No, we overreach you.
Orphan: Is that so?
Lightning: You don't believe in anything. You gave up on life before you were even born. Sat poisoning Cocoon from the inside, waiting for someone to come and destroy you. Sure, you think the end of the world is salvation. All you care about is death's release, so take it and leave the rest of us alone. We don't think like that. When we think there's no hope left, we keep looking until we find some. Maybe Cocoon is past saving, but it's our home. And we'll protect it or die trying! We live to make the impossible possible! That is our Focus!
Web Comics
Ye told me b'fore tha ye are who ye are on tha worst day o' yer life. An' tha's true. Tha's 100% true. But ye know who else ye are? Ye are who ye are on tha next day. Tha day ye wake up an' haf ta decide: are ye gonna make this the new worst day o' yer life, or na? An' ye are who ye are on the day after tha, which can also be yer new worst... or na. Ye are who ye are on all o' yer days. All o' em. Includin' tha best an' tha worst. Ev'ry single one counts. All tha way ta tha end. An' when ye haf a new worst day, ye can get stuck thar, lookin' back on it an' worryin'. An' tha's normal. But sooner or later, ye gotta take all tha pain an' do sumthin' wit it. Try ta make sumthin' better outta it.
— Durkon Thundershield, The Order of the Stick
Web Original
"So it's actually not about seducing and nailing disabled girls. The girls happen to have disabilities but the more you get to know them, the more you come to realise that they are girls just like any other. They are humans with hopes and dreams, and messy, f*cked up insecurities about being alive and happy. They are not strange people - they are regular ordinary human beings who feel the way they feel not because they are disabled, but because they are ordinary. They are the universal allegory for humanity; the archetypal human; the mess you become when you feel sad and alone and unworthy. They are the girl next door, the prom queen, the bookworm, the tomboy, and all the baggage that comes with that - nothing more or less.
They resonate with you because you recognise your flaws and needs and desires and triumphs and victories, and those of the loved ones you know and care about. You want to make them happy, because you want them to be happy, because you know them and are them, and in some way you believe everyone you love deserves to be happy.
You are not alone, and you are not strange. You are you, and everyone has damage. Be the better person.
They resonate with you because you recognise your flaws and needs and desires and triumphs and victories, and those of the loved ones you know and care about. You want to make them happy, because you want them to be happy, because you know them and are them, and in some way you believe everyone you love deserves to be happy.
You are not alone, and you are not strange. You are you, and everyone has damage. Be the better person.
— A message from the Anonymous of /v/◊, after playing Katawa Shoujo
◊, after playing Katawa Shoujo"We’re swelling in number, and where there used to be only points of light in the midst of the night-time, small candle flames and hearthfires, our nights are bright now. They have less shadows to lurk in. We’ve grown to a population of billions, and the rules put in place by one brilliant man with an eye to the future have made it so that they can’t really stop us. They kill hundreds, but we grow in terms of thousands in that same span of time, and then we send our practitioners to deal with the most problematic ones. They have less fertile ground to grow from, as we put superstition and fear behind us and move on with blind, stupid confidence."
Web Video
Percival de Rolo: How long do you live?
Keyleth: If I complete my journey, it could be upwards of a thousand years or more.
Percy: How long do you think I live?
Keyleth: Less than a hundred, if you're lucky?
Percy: No.
Keyleth: How long?
Percy: I am Percival Frederickstein von Musel Klossowski III. My ancestry dates back thousands of years, and will continue for thousands more, unless Whitestone falls. I live as long as Whitestone lives. This place is... the human soul. This is what we have built with our tiny moments. To lose a place like this... we don't feel it immediately, but it would ruin us all. In small ways. [...] This is good we do here. This is great good. And it's not about idolizing ourselves, it's about a very long story which we are— even you— a tiny part of.
Keyleth: If I complete my journey, it could be upwards of a thousand years or more.
Percy: How long do you think I live?
Keyleth: Less than a hundred, if you're lucky?
Percy: No.
Keyleth: How long?
Percy: I am Percival Frederickstein von Musel Klossowski III. My ancestry dates back thousands of years, and will continue for thousands more, unless Whitestone falls. I live as long as Whitestone lives. This place is... the human soul. This is what we have built with our tiny moments. To lose a place like this... we don't feel it immediately, but it would ruin us all. In small ways. [...] This is good we do here. This is great good. And it's not about idolizing ourselves, it's about a very long story which we are— even you— a tiny part of.
—Critical Role, Campaign 1, Episode 56 ("Hope")
Sephiroth: Why do you continue to fight? The cruelty of humans needs to be extinguished.
Cloud: You're right. Humans are cruel. But humans are capable of more than that. They’re capable of compassion.
Tifa: Change.
Barret: Protecting.
Yuffie: Learning.
Red XIII: Teaching.
Cait Sith: Helping!
Vincent: Forgiving.
Cid: Dreaming.
Cloud: Humans... are capable of good!
Sephiroth: If that's what you truly believe, then let that be your... final fantasy.
Cloud: You're right. Humans are cruel. But humans are capable of more than that. They’re capable of compassion.
Tifa: Change.
Barret: Protecting.
Yuffie: Learning.
Red XIII: Teaching.
Cait Sith: Helping!
Vincent: Forgiving.
Cid: Dreaming.
Cloud: Humans... are capable of good!
Sephiroth: If that's what you truly believe, then let that be your... final fantasy.
Real Life
"The Victorian Age, for all its humbug, was a period of rapid progress, because men were dominated by hope rather than fear. If we are again to have progress, we must again be dominated by hope."
"I believe that this hairless embryo with the aching, oversize brain case and the opposable thumb, this animal barely up from the apes, will endure —will endure longer than his home planet, will spread out to the other planets, to the stars, and beyond, carrying with him his honesty, his insatiable curiosity, his unlimited courage —and his noble essential decency."
— Robert A. Heinlein, This, I Believe
"To get people to do needed things is the perennial hard task of government, not to mention of religion and philosophy. That it is right to help someone less fortunate is an idea which has figured in most systems of conduct since the beginning of the race."
