Inspirational Quotes, Motivational Sayings, and Wise Words for Daily Inspiration

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I think we continually need to understand how important an event the war was - how defining, how central to who we are. Everything that came before it led up to it, and everything of importance to this country - at least up to 1940 - was a consequence of it. Even now there's an echo of the war, however faint, in almost everyone's life.

Ken Burns's Popular Quotes

The reason why you do history, and particularly why you do war, is that you want to make sure that in the next war, some lessons were learned. There'…

- Ken Burns

I subscribe to William Faulkner's' view that history is not just about what we were before but who we are now.

- Ken Burns

History isn't really about the past - settling old scores. It's about defining the present and who we are.

- Ken Burns

The genius of our country is improvisation, and jazz reflects that. It's our great contribution to the arts.

- Ken Burns

People tend to forget that the word "history" contains the word "story".

- Ken Burns

Do not lose your enthusiasm. In its Greek etymology, the word enthusiasm means, "God in us."

- Ken Burns

I think we too often make choices based on the safety of cynicism, and what we're lead to is a life not fully lived. Cynicism is fear, and it's worse…

- Ken Burns

There are no ordinary lives.

- Ken Burns

It is the great arrogance of the present to forget the intelligence of the past

- Ken Burns