Friends hold a mirror up to each other; through that mirror they can see each other in ways that would not otherwise be accessible to them, and it is this mirroring that helps them improve themselves as persons.
To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.
We can judge our progress by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers, our willingness to embrace what is true rather than what feels good.
"The Newspaper That Obstructs The Law On A Trivial Pretext, For Money's Sake, Is A Dangerous Enemy To The Public Weal. That Awful Power, The Public Opinion Of A Nation, Is Created In America By A Horde Of Ignorant, Self-complacent Simpletons Who Failed At Ditching And Shoemaking And Fetched Up In Journalism On Their Way To The Poorhouse."
Democracy is not something you believe in or a place to hang your hat, but it's something you do. You participate. If you stop doing it, democracy crumbles.
No matter how insignificant the thing you have to do, do it as well as you can, give it as much of your care and attention as you would give to the thing you regard as most important. For it will be by those small things that you shall be judged.