# December 5

Quotes of the day from previous years:

## 2004

    To be a catalyst is the ambition most appropriate for those who see the world as being in constant change, and who, without thinking that they can control it, wish to influence its direction. ~ Theodore Zeldin
   * selected by Kalki

## 2005

    If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse. ~ Walt Disney (born 5 December 1901)
   * proposed by UDScott

## 2006

    What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning. ~ Werner Heisenberg (born 5 December 1901)
   * proposed by Fys

## 2007

    Leadership means that a group, large or small, is willing to entrust authority to a person who has shown judgement, wisdom, personal appeal, and proven competence. ~ Walt Disney
   * proposed by UDScott

## 2008

    Fantasy, if it's really convincing, can't become dated, for the simple reason that it represents a flight into a dimension that lies beyond the reach of time. ~ Walt Disney
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2009

    Faith I have, in myself, in humanity, in the worthwhileness of the pursuits in entertainment for the masses. But wide awake, not blind faith, moves me. My operations are based on experience, thoughtful observation and warm fellowship with my neighbors at home and around the world. ~ Walt Disney
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2010

    Whenever we proceed from the known into the unknown we may hope to understand, but we may have to learn at the same time a new meaning of the word "understanding." ~ Werner Heisenberg
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2011

    Once a man has tasted freedom he will never be content to be a slave. That is why I believe that this frightfulness we see everywhere today is only temporary. Tomorrow will be better for as long as America keeps alive the ideals of freedom and a better life. ~ Walt Disney
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2012

* The existing scientific concepts cover always only a very limited part of reality, and the other part that has not yet been understood is infinite.
* ~ Werner Heisenberg ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2013

* We're not trying to entertain the critics … I'll take my chances with the public.
* ~ Walt Disney ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2014

* Courage is the main quality of leadership, in my opinion, no matter where it is exercised. Usually it implies some risk — especially in new undertakings. Courage to initiate something and to keep it going, pioneering an adventurous spirit to blaze new ways, often, in our land of opportunity.
* ~ Walt Disney ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2015

* I don't believe in playing down to children, either in life or in motion pictures. I didn't treat my own youngsters like fragile flowers, and I think no parent should. Children are people, and they should have to reach to learn about things, to understand things, just as adults have to reach if they want to grow in mental stature. Life is composed of lights and shadows, and we would be untruthful, insincere, and saccharine if we tried to pretend there were no shadows. Most things are good, and they are the strongest things; but there are evil things too, and you are not doing a child a favor by trying to shield him from reality. The important thing is to teach a child that good can always triumph over evil, and that is what our pictures attempt to do.
* ~ Walt Disney ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2016

* There is a fundamental error in separating the parts from the whole, the mistake of atomizing what should not be atomized. Unity and complementarity constitute reality.
* ~ Werner Heisenberg ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2017

* Deeds rather than words express my concept of the part religion should play in everyday life. I have watched constantly that in our movie work the highest moral and spiritual standards are upheld, whether it deals with fable or with stories of living action.
* ~ Walt Disney ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2018

* I do not mistrust the future; I do not fear what is ahead. For our problems are large, but our heart is larger. Our challenges are great, but our will is greater. And if our flaws are endless, God's love is truly boundless. Some see leadership as high drama, and the sound of trumpets calling, and sometimes it is that. But I see history as a book with many pages, and each day we fill a page with acts of hopefulness and meaning. The new breeze blows, a page turns, the story unfolds. And so today a chapter begins, a small and stately story of unity, diversity, and generosity — shared, and written, together.
* ~ George H. W. Bush ~
   * proposed by Kalki, for the 2018 national day of mourning for the 41st US President.

## 2019

* I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.
* ~ Walt Disney ~
   * proposed by Zarbon

## 2020

* I believe firmly in the efficacy of religion, in its powerful influence on a person's whole life. It helps immeasurably to meet the storms and stress of life and keep you attuned to the Divine inspiration. Without inspiration, we would perish.
* ~ Walt Disney ~
   * proposed by Zarbon

## 2021

* All you've got to do is own up to your ignorance honestly, and you'll find people who are eager to fill your head with information.
* ~ Walt Disney ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2022

* In general, scientific progress calls for no more than the absorption and elaboration of new ideas — and this is a call most scientists are happy to heed.
* ~ Werner Heisenberg ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2023

* I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether we be six or sixty. Call the child "innocence". The worst of us is not without innocence, although buried deeply it might be. In my work I try to reach and speak to that innocence, showing it the fun and joy of living; showing it that laughter is healthy; showing it that the human species, although happily ridiculous at times, is still reaching for the stars.
* ~ Walt Disney ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2024

* Disneyland is often called a magic kingdom because it combines fantasy and history, adventure and learning, together with every variety of recreation and fun designed to appeal to everyone.
* ~ Walt Disney ~
   * proposed by Kalki

## 2025

    Rank or add further suggestions…
The Quote of the Day (QOTD) is a prominent feature of the Wikiquote Main Page. Thank you for submitting, reviewing, and ranking suggestions!

   ## Ranking system

    4 : Excellent – should definitely be used. (This is the utmost ranking and should be used by any editor for only one quote at a time for each date.)
    3 : Very Good – strong desire to see it used.
    2 : Good – some desire to see it used.
    1 : Acceptable – but with no particular desire to see it used.
    0 : Not acceptable – not appropriate for use as a quote of the day.
    An averaging of the rankings provided to each suggestion produces it’s general ranking in considerations for selection of Quote of the Day. The selections made are usually chosen from the top ranked options existing on the page, but the provision of highly ranked late additions, especially in regard to special events (most commonly in regard to the deaths of famous people, or other major social or physical occurrences), always remain an option for final selections.
    Thank you for participating!

## Suggestions

Some things are so serious that one can only joke about them. ~ Werner Heisenberg.
* 4. Fys. &#147;Ta fys aym&#148;. 22:13, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
* 0 (for this date) Kalki 01:22, 29 November 2008 (UTC) This appears to be a misattribution, with at least one published citation indicating it was made by Niels Bohr; I would probably give it a 3 or 4 with better sourcing on a properly related date.
* 1 Zarbon 15:38, 26 April 2008 (UTC)
* 1 Lyle 21:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
Girls bored me — they still do. I love Mickey Mouse more than any woman I've ever known. ~ Walt Disney
* 2 because this quote is just plain...comical. I believe what he meant to say is that the image of Mickey Mouse entertained him moreso. But I like the comparison of a cartoon character to all females of the planet. We can see Disney's perspective is a cute one, assessing the difficulty women have most likely posed for him in his life, annoying him...and probably boring him as he stated. Zarbon 04:25, 1 May 2008 (UTC)
* 1 Kalki 01:22, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
* 1 Ningauble 18:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
* 2 Lyle 21:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
* 2 InvisibleSun 22:54, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
* 2 Antiquary 23:13, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
For every laugh, there should be a tear. ~ Walt Disney
* 2 because laughter is all fine and good, but a drama and tragedy does so much more...for me at least. Zarbon 04:25, 1 May 2008 (UTC)
* 2 Kalki 01:22, 29 November 2008 (UTC)
* 2 Ningauble 18:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
* 2 Lyle 21:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
* 2 InvisibleSun 22:54, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
* 2 Antiquary 23:13, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
To be defeated and not submit, is victory; to be victorious and rest on one's laurels, is defeat. ~ Józef Piłsudski (born December 5)
* 4 because this is the ideology which I believe in most of all. This is the grand soldier principle, more important than petty squabbles and emotional derelict conversation. There is, quite frankly, a beauty in defeat without submission. But to be a slave to another country willingly is a fate worse than death. This is why some of the greatest rulers in history committed suicide before being captured by their enemies. Magnificent charm in never surrendering to the enemy, taking one's own life in order to be spared the wrath of the enemy. This is most commonly referenced in the Roman Emperor deaths, whom cut their own veins while laying in the bathtub in order to escape the clutches of the oncoming enemy. The same can be said of previous and future military minds that I hold respect for, for sheer honor and admiration comes from the ferocity of this, to choose to die by one's own hand instead of face the enemy knocking on heaven's door. What a charming quote this is. Zarbon 05:52, 3 May 2008 (UTC)
* 1 Kalki (talk · contributions) 18:55, 2 December 2009 (UTC) * 2 Kalki 01:22, 29 November 2008 (UTC)though I do like this quote (though not what appears to me to be Zarbon's rather shallow perceptions of its significance), but am making a tactical reduction of my ranking to the advantage of one I favor far more strongly, by Walt Disney.
* 2 Ningauble 18:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
* 3 I like the quote, but I do not see it the way you do. To me, suicide is submission, or acceptance of defeat. Fighting till the end is victorious. Lyle 21:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
* 2 InvisibleSun 22:54, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
* 2 Antiquary 23:13, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them. ~ Walt Disney
* 3 Kalki 23:23, 3 December 2008 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
* 2 Zarbon 00:09, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
* 2 Ningauble 18:05, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
* 2 This is too much like the famous "If you can dream it, you can do it." Lyle 21:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
* 2 InvisibleSun 22:54, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
* 2 Antiquary 23:13, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
* I remember discussions with Bohr which went through many hours till very late at night and ended almost in despair; and when at the end of the discussion I went alone for a walk in the neighbouring park I repeated to myself again and again the question: Can nature possibly be so absurd as it seemed to us in these atomic experiments?
* ~ Werner Heisenberg ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:23, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
* The law of causality is no longer applied in quantum theory and the law of conservation of matter is no longer true for the elementary particles.
* ~ Werner Heisenberg ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:23, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
* The more precise the measurement of position, the more imprecise the measurement of momentum, and vice versa.
* ~ Werner Heisenberg ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:23, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
* Light and matter are both single entities, and the apparent duality arises in the limitations of our language.
* ~ Werner Heisenberg ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:23, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
* The physicist may be satisfied when he has the mathematical scheme and knows how to use for the interpretation of the experiments. But he has to speak about his results also to non-physicists who will not be satisfied unless some explanation is given in plain language. Even for the physicist the description in plain language will be the criterion of the degree of understanding that has been reached.
* ~ Werner Heisenberg ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:23, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
* The Greek philosophers thought of static forms and found them in the regular solids. Modern science, however, has from its beginning in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries started from the dynamic problem. The constant element in physics since Newton is not a configuration or a geometrical form, but a dynamic law.
* ~ Werner Heisenberg ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:23, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
* I had a brother who I really envied because he was a mailman. But he's the one that had all the fun. He had himself a trailer, and he used to go out and go fishing, and he didn't worry about payrolls and stories and picture grosses or anything. And he was the happy one. I always said, "He's the smart Disney."
* ~ Walt Disney ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:23, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
* It's a mistake not to give people a chance to learn to depend on themselves while they are young.
* ~ Walt Disney ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:23, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
* All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me … You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.
* ~ Walt Disney ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:23, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
* I suppose my formula might be: dream, diversify and never miss an angle.
* ~ Walt Disney ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:23, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
* Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.
* ~ Walt Disney ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:23, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
* Every child is born blessed with a vivid imagination. But just as a muscle grows flabby with disuse, so the bright imagination of a child pales in later years if he ceases to exercise it.
* ~ Walt Disney ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:23, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
* That's the real trouble with the world, too many people grow up. They forget. They don't remember what it's like to be twelve years old. They patronize; they treat children as inferiors. I won't do that. I'll temper a story, yes. But I won't play down, and I won't patronize.
* ~ Walt Disney ~
* 3 ♞☤☮♌︎Kalki ⚚⚓︎⊙☳☶⚡ 23:23, 4 December 2023 (UTC)