Life Quotes by P. J. O'Rourke

41 Life quotes by P. J. O'Rourke

The quotes say that too much complexity is a trick. They poke fun at politicians who avoid work they don’t understand and at a world ruled by majority rule. They also remind us to balance work, family, and fun, and to keep government small.

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Woodstock had a tremendous impact on American artistic life.

P. J. O'Rourke

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It's hard to be serious in life.

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To blame the existence of al Qaeda on poverty like Egypt's is a slur on the poor.

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The very existence of the bicycle is an offense to reason and wisdom.

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If I give up drinking, smoking, and fatty foods, I can add ten years to my life. Trouble is, I'll add it…

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I've decided that my motto in life is "Get off my lawn." It's the right answer to everything.

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A hat should be taken off when you greet a lady and left off for the rest of your life. Nothing looks…

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No industry in living memory has collapsed faster than daily print journalism.

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Some people are worried about the difference between right and wrong. I'm worried about the difference between wrong and fun.

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Soccer matches should be something special, something people eagerly look forward to, something that brightens life.

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Everything that's fun in life is dangerous. And everything that isn't fun is dangerous too. It's impossible to be alive and safe.

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The purpose of a funeral service is to comfort the living. It is important at a funeral to display excessive grief. This…

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When a government controls both the economic power of individuals and the coercive power of the state ... this violates a fundamental…

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Conservatives really don't believe in politics as the primary instrument of getting along in life and therefore don't tend to put their…

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A deadly sins addendum is long overdue. Life has changed since Pope Gregory the Great scribbled his initial list in the sixth…

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If there are three words that need to be used more in American journalism, commentary, politics, personal life... it's the magic words…

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One nice thing about the Third World, you don't have to fasten your seat belt. (Or stop smoking. Or cut down on…

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The car provided Americans with an enviable standard of living. You could not get a steady job with high wages and health…

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Our democracy, our culture, our whole way of life is a spectacular triumph of the blah. Why not have a political convention…

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Positive rights are the right to shelter, the right to education, the right to health care, the right to a living wage.…

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I realised the bohemian life was not for me. I would look around at my friends, living like starving artists, and wonder,…

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There is a simple rule here, a rule of legislation, a rule of business, a rule of life: beyond a certain point,…

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The government is huge, stupid, greedy and makes nosy, officious and dangerous intrusions into the smallest corners of life - this much…

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If I do, I say so. That's the only way out of that. If there are three words that need to be…

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I'd like to end the book a lot of ways. Except I don't have any answers. Use your common sense. Be nice.…

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Bachelors know all about parties. In fact, a good bachelor is a living, breathing party all by himself. At least that is…

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Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine.

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It is very hard now to shock people into thinking about government regulation and the extent of government involvement in life.

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A little government and a little luck are necessary in life, but only a fool trusts either of them.

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A person has got to balance work and life and family in order to be a balanced person.

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Politicians are wonderful people as longa as they stay away from things they don't understand, such as working for a living.

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My life would have gone along perfectly well, politically speaking, if it hadn't been for girls.

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The more aspects of life that can be moved from private reign to public realm, the better it is for politics.

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In Washington journalists can afford to live almost as well as people who work for a living.

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Infant mortality and life expectancy are reasonable indicators of general well-being in a society.

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We should never hesitate to listen to a fool about life because life is pretty foolish as far as I can tell.

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I have three children and three dogs. You put them in a Prius, you know? People who have a Prius obviously have…

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In general, life is better than it has ever been, and if you think that, in the past, there was some golden…

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Greatest generation came through some stuff that we can't even imagine - the Depression, World War I - and all they wanted…

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Everything that's fun in life is dangerous. Horse races, for instance, are very dangerous. But attempt to design a safe horse and…

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I'm fascinated by political enthusiasm.

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In comparative terms, there's no poverty in America by a long shot. Heritage Foundation political scientist Robert Rector has worked up figures showing that…

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The Democrats said, "We don't know what's wrong with America, but we can fix it." The Republicans said, "There's nothing wrong with America, and…

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At Epcot Center the Disney corporation has focused its attention on two things greatly in need of Disneyfication: the tedious future and the annoying…

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So-called Western Civilization, as practised in half of Europe, some of Asia and a few parts of North America, is better than anything else…

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My whole family can talk. They are all car salesmen. They are all funny.

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It was Ronald Reagan who used to say that the 10 most frightening words in the English language are, "I'm from the federal government,…

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Gun violence has cost us too many political leaders, and hardly ever the worst ones.

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Pete Seeger is a modest, unassuming, cheerful, and kind-natured man. He's a good folk singer, if you can stand folk singing. And he's such…

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Journalists are notoriously easy to kid. All you have to do is speak to a journalist in a very serious tone of voice, and…

P. J. O'Rourke

I like to think of my behavior in the sixties as a 'learning experience.' Then again, I like to think of anything stupid I've…

P. J. O'Rourke

I'll be 56 this year, I've got two kids, and I think it's probably time to go back to writing one-glove jokes.

P. J. O'Rourke

Something that comes to us, some gym shoe that comes to us as a result of child labor from a brutal dictatorship, where people…

P. J. O'Rourke

Russians not only vehemently despise blacks, they believe Africa begins at the Ukraine border.

P. J. O'Rourke

Now, do I think the baby boomers tend to be self-absorbed? I do.

P. J. O'Rourke