The poorest people are the sweetest people.

The capitalist system is about taking from the Earth and from the other great commodity, labour. What’s happening with this system is that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, and the only way out of it is supposed to be growth. But growth is debt. It’s going to make the situation worse.

We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness, not by each other’s misery.

Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity.

Slavery is a weed that grows on every soil.

No good is ever done to society by the pictorial representation of its diseases.

The Lord commonly gives riches to foolish people, to whom he gives nothing else.

America is never wholly herself unless she is engaged in high moral principle. We as a people have such a purpose today. It is to make kinder the face of the nation and gentler the face of the world.

The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.

Don’t throw stones at your neighbors if your own windows are glass.

It is another’s fault if he be ungrateful, but it is mine if I do not give. To find one thankful man, I will oblige a great many that are not so.

The world at large is less inequitable today than at any time in history. Number of people in abject poverty, as a percentage, is at all-time low.

Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked for little; by these three steps thou wilt go near the gods.

For a tear is quickly dried, especially when shed for the misfortunes of others.

The only way to get love is to be lovable. It’s very irritating if you have a lot of money. You’d like to think you could write a check: ‚I’ll buy a million dollars‘ worth of love.‘ But it doesn’t work that way. The more you give love away, the more you get.

I believe in using words, not fists. I believe in my outrage knowing people are living in boxes on the street. I believe in honesty. I believe in a good time. I believe in good food. I believe in sex.

The first decade of the twentieth century was not a great time to be born black and poor and female in St. Louis, Missouri, but Vivian Baxter was born black and poor, to black and poor parents. Later she would grow up and be called beautiful. As a grown woman she would be known as the butter-colored lady with the blowback hair.

God has given us two hands – one to receive with and the other to give with. We are not cisterns made for hoarding; we are channels made for sharing.

Love grows by giving. The love we give away is the only love we keep. The only way to retain love is to give it away.

Racism and sexism, misogyny and homophobia, they’re so visible. They’re out in the open. When they’re visible, it’s a lot easier to deal with them.

Having been poor is no shame, but being ashamed of it, is.

If people continue to feel like Democrats are looking after poor folks and Republicans are looking after rich folks and nobody is looking after me, then we don’t get a lot of stuff done. And the trend lines evidence the fact that folks have gotten squeezed. And obviously, 2007, 2008 really ripped open for people how vulnerable they were.

There is a rollicking kindness that looks like malice.

This administration here and now declares unconditional war on poverty.

You give before you get.

In order to have friends, you must first be one.

Many men have been capable of doing a wise thing, more a cunning thing, but very few a generous thing.

Today we affirm a new commitment to live out our nation’s promise through civility, courage, compassion and character.

The biggest and most deadly ‚tax‘ rate on the poor comes from a loss of various welfare state benefits – food stamps, housing subsidies and the like – if their income goes up.

All my adult life people have been helping me.

T stands for being nice. T stands for manners. T stands for being polite.

There are techniques of Buddhism, such as meditation, that anyone can adopt. And, of course, there are Christian monks and nuns who already use Buddhist methods in order to develop their devotion, compassion, and ability to forgive.

Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow-men.

No one is pro-abortion.

You know that your happiness and suffering depend on the happiness and suffering of others. That insight helps you not to do wrong things that will bring suffering to yourself and to other people.

I grew up with the sea, and poverty for me was sumptuous; then I lost the sea and found all luxuries gray and poverty unbearable.

We have observed that, in society and the world in which we live, selfishness has increased more than love for others, and that men of good will must work, each with his own strengths and expertise, to ensure that love for others increases until it is equal and possibly exceeds love for oneself.

A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.

You lose your individuality a huge amount when you have no money, and I certainly had that experience.

We were poor, but we smiled.

Respect the burden.

Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.

To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our troubled past I extend my sincere thoughts and deep sympathy. With the benefit of historical hindsight we can all see things which we would wish had been done differently or not at all.

There never was any heart truly great and generous, that was not also tender and compassionate.

A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog.

We cannot always oblige; but we can always speak obligingly.

The trend of opinion among eugenists is that we must make marriage more difficult. Certainly no one who is not a desirable parent should be permitted to produce progeny.

Experience praises the most happy the one who made the most people happy.

Every time I see documentaries or infomercials about little kids with cancer, I just freak out. It affects me on the highest emotional level… Anytime I think about it, it makes me sadder than anything I can think of.

He who cannot give anything away cannot feel anything either.

For the people who ostensibly wish me well or are worried about my immortal soul, I say I take it kindly.

I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.

Great teachers emanate out of knowledge, passion and compassion.

You may be rich, but there is one thing you can’t afford – that is, if you are a good sort – you can’t afford to spend money on your own luxuries while there are people around you wanting the necessaries of life.

Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.

I have spoken about inflation, unemployment, farmers‘ problems, security, etc. I keep talking about these issues. I seek answers from the Indian government.

It’s a disgrace that we have millions of people who are uninsured.

We still have many neighborhoods that are racially identified. We still have many schools that even though the days of state-enforced segregation are gone, segregation because of geographical boundaries remains.

It’s amazing if you just listen to people. They tell you all the time things that you can do for them, without even realizing what they’re doing. I’ve learned to take notice of those things and if it’s something that I feel God wants me to do, then I try to do that to add joy to their life.

I have a heart of gold, but I’m really a marshmallow in my heart.