If you have a good quote you want to post on social media, but you’re not sure who said it, you should follow these rules:
1. Attribute the quote to Abraham Lincoln if it has anything to do with politics or government. Ronald Reagan will also do nicely if you’re conservative.
2. Any spiritual quote should be credited to C.S. Lewis unless it has to do with poor people, in which case, trust me, Mother Teresa said it.
3. Quotes about writing may alternate randomly between Anne Lamott and Ernest Hemingway.
4. Any quote containing words like “thou” or “wouldst” may be safely attributed either to Shakespeare or the Bible, your choice.
5. If it doesn’t really matter who said it but you just like the quote because it is particularly clever, please use the name “Joseph Bentz.”
6. As for “context,” not your problem.
I hope this is helpful. As Lincoln himself put it, “If you’re not for the people, you can’t buy the people.”
Comments 10
Marvelous!!
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Thanks, Liz!
I like #5!!!!
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Thanks, Deb!
Very helpful!
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Thanks, Tom. I hope to see you follow these rules in your scholarly work also.
I will, Joe. It should really change things around for me with peer reviewed journals.
Yes! Love it.
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Thanks, Allison!
Look for more quotes attributed to Joe Bentz in the future!