No onecan persuade another to change. Each of us guards a gate of change that canonly be opened from the inside. We cannot open the gate of another, either byargument or emotional appeal.
Conflictis the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. Itinstigates to invention. It shocks us out of sheeplikepassivity, and sets us at noting and contriving.
Themost intense conflicts, if overcome, leave behind a sense of security andcalm that is not easily disturbed. It is just these intense conflicts andtheir conflagration which are needed to produce valuable and lasting results.
It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's moretrue that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted byother things than power.