Idée d’jour

We have met the enemy and he is us.
— Walt Kelly, born this date in 1913; died Oct. 18, 1973

This phrase is timeless. Mr. Kelly originally wrote it in 1953 at the height of the McCarthy era. He later repeated it in 1972, as a comment on the problem of pollution.

It could also be seen as a comment on our current time.

Speaking of timeless quotes, here's another. This is Chuang Tzu, writing around 4 BCE, as rendered by Thomas Merton:

The invention
Of weights and measures
Makes robbery easier.
Signing contracts, setting seals,
Makes robbery more sure.
Teaching love and duty
Provides a fitting language
With which to prove that robbery
Is really for the general good.
A poor man must swing
For stealing a belt buckle
But if a rich man steals a whole state
He is acclaimed
As stateman of the year.
***
By ethical argument
And moral principle
The greatest crimes are eventually shown
To have been necessary, and, in fact,
A signal benefit
To mankind.