“If you hear how wonderful you are often enough, you begin to believe it, no matter how you try to resist it.”
                            
                             ―
                                Ben Carson
                            
                            
                            
                            
                            
             
                
                
                
            
         
                                
                            
                                
“It is unlikely that it was the intention of the founders to give any public official the ability to thwart the will of the people. Although they may have been concerned about mob rule and wanted a judicial system that would prevent that, they also recognized that in many other countries it was assumed that the ruling class always knew better than the people, and they wanted no part of such a system.”
                            
                             ―
                                Ben Carson
                            
                            
                            
                            
                            
             
                
                
                
            
         
                                
                            
                                
“As individuals, we can educate ourselves and our children, cultivate the art of compromise, pray for wisdom, and hold our representatives accountable. Each of us can positively affect our nation just by making ourselves (and those in our spheres of influence ) aware of the fact that we are being used as pawns by those who try to tell us what we should think as opposed to using our own common sense.”
                            
                             ―
                                Ben Carson
                            
                            
                            
                            
                            
             
                
                
                
            
         
                                
                            
                                
“Reading activates and exercises the mind.
Reading forces the mind to discriminate. From the beginning, readers have to recognize letters printed on the page, make them into words, the words into sentences, and the sentences into concepts.
Reading pushes us to use our imagination and makes us more creatively inclined.”
                            
                             ―
                                Ben Carson
                            
                            
                            
                            
                            
             
                
                
                
            
         
                                
                            
                                
“If you want to be relevant only in your household, then you only need to know the things that are important in your house, and if you want to be relevant in your neighborhood, you need to know what's important in your neighborhood. The same thing applies to your city, state, and country. And if you want to be relevant to the entire world, program that computer known as your brain with all kinds of information from everywhere in order to prepare yourself.”
                            
                             ―
                                Ben Carson
                            
                            
                            
                            
                            
             
                
                
                
            
         
                                
                            
                                
“The insidious nature of socialism, cloaked in a façade of compassion, makes it very dangerous to an uneducated and trusting populace. And as socialism creates dependency, it is well on its way to eliminating freedom of choice and incentives for high productivity and innovation.”
                            
                             ―
                                Ben Carson
                            
                            
                            
                            
                            
             
                
                
                
            
         
                                
                                
                            
                                
“What will maintain the pinnacle position of our nation in the world: the ability to shoot a 25-foot jump shot, or the ability to solve a quadratic equation?”
                            
                             ―
                                Ben Carson
                            
                            
                            
                            
                            
             
                
                
                
            
         
                                
                            
                                
“We also received food stamps and bus tokens. Even though she was not a welfare mom, my mother still very much appreciated the government assistance we did receive from time to time. Still, I had an inherent dislike for government assistance and was frankly quite embarrassed that we had to accept anything from them.”
                            
                             ―
                                Ben Carson
                            
                            
                            
                            
                            
             
                
                
                
            
         
                                
                            
                                
“made more than a century ago? Certain individuals feel that the United States cannot be forgiven for slavery until reparations are made to the descendants of slaves. This belief goes back to Mosaic laws requiring anyone who caused harm to someone else to make reparations to that individual or to the family if the”
                            
                             ―
                                Ben Carson
                            
                            
                            
                            
                            
             
                
                
                
            
         
                                
                            
                                
“It becomes somewhat absurd when some claim that the sight of a Bible or a cross causes them so much psychological distress that it impinges upon their freedom. It is important that we learn to be reasonable and tolerant of everyone's beliefs without going to such extremes that we compromise everyone's rights.”
                            
                             ―
                                Ben Carson
                            
                            
                            
                            
                            
             
                
                
                
            
         
                                
                            
                                
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free . . . it expects what never was and never will be.”
                            
                             ―
                                Ben Carson
                            
                            
                            
                            
                            
             
                
                
                
            
         
                                
                            
                                
“listening intently, as their minister told an exciting true story”
                            
                             ―
                                Ben Carson
                            
                            
                            
                            
                            
             
                
                
                
            
         
                                
                            
                                
“Some historical revisionists have also attempted to diminish the role of God and religion in our nation’s past. A careful examination of the records, however, makes it quite clear that religion was a very important factor in the development of our nation. In 1831 when Alexis de Tocqueville came to America to try to unravel the secrets to the success of a fledgling nation that was already competing with the powers of Europe on virtually every level, he discovered that we had a fantastic public educational system that rendered anyone who had finished the second grade completely literate. He was more astonished to discover that the Bible was an important tool used to teach moral principles in our public schools. No particular religious denomination was revered, but rather commonly accepted biblical truths became the backbone of our social structure.”
                            
                             ―
                                Ben Carson
                            
                            
                            
                            
                            
             
                
                
                
            
         
                                
                            
                                
“If you're good, you'll be recognized. Because people, even if they're prejudiced, are going to want the best. You just have to make being the best your goal in life.”
                            
                             ―
                                Ben Carson