13+ James J. Kilpatrick Quotes On Education

James J. Kilpatrick was an American newspaper columnist, political commentator, and grammarian. He was best known for his syndicated column, "A Conservative View," which was published in newspapers across the United States from 1960 to 2000. Kilpatrick was also the author of several books, including The Writer's Art and The Sovereign States. Following is our collection on famous quotes by James J. Kilpatrick on leadership, education, love.

If you would write emotionally, be first unemotional. If you would move your readers to tears, do not let them see you cry. — James J. Kilpatrick

It wasn't the Supreme Court that expelled God from our public school classrooms. It was the textbook publishers. — James J. Kilpatrick

Good similes depend upon close observation. They depend upon brevity and wit....They have to fit in context. — James J. Kilpatrick

Style is important, but content comes first. — James J. Kilpatrick

The ...experts of the FDA have declared Laetrile to be worthless...quackery and fraud...These experts are the professional descendants of experts...confident that mental illness should be cured by drilling holes in the skull, the better to let the demons out. ...This is the Orwellian fashion in which the medical establishment throws its weight around. — James J. Kilpatrick

Five common traits of good writers: (1) They have something to say. (2) They read widely and have done so since childhood. (3) They possess what Isaac Asimov calls a "capacity for clear thought," able to go from point to point in an orderly sequence, an A to Z approach. (4) They're geniuses at putting their emotions into words. (5) They possess an insatiable curiosity, constantly asking Why and How. — James J. Kilpatrick

The chief difference between good writing and better writing may be measured by the number of imperceptible hesitations the reader experiences as he goes along. — James J. Kilpatrick

Louis Kelso's formula sounds like Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound. The whole theory sounds crazy. But, then, one may recall, they said all that of Copernicus too. — James J. Kilpatrick

Writers must rely more on the feel of a sentence than on the dictates of a rule book. — James J. Kilpatrick

Find out where the people want to go, then hustle yourself around in front of them. — James J. Kilpatrick

Baseball ought never be hurried. It is the only unhurried institution we have left, which is one reason, I think, we love it. — James J. Kilpatrick

Use familiar words-words that your readers will understand, and not words they will have to look up. No advice is more elementary, and no advice is more difficult to accept. When we feel an impulse to use a marvelously exotic word, let us lie down until the impulse goes away. — James J. Kilpatrick

Astrology is the sheerest hokum. This pseudoscience has been around since the day of the Chaldeans and Babylonians. It is as phony as numerology, phrenology, palmistry, alchemy, the reading of tea leaves, and the practice of divination by the entrails of a goat. No serious person will buy the notion that our lives are influenced individually by the movement of distant planets. This is the sawdust blarney of the carnival midway. — James J. Kilpatrick

Life Lessons by James J. Kilpatrick

1. James J. Kilpatrick taught the importance of being open-minded and willing to compromise in order to achieve progress. He also stressed the need for civility in political discourse and the importance of being willing to listen to opposing viewpoints.
2. Kilpatrick believed that the best way to solve problems was through respectful dialogue and compromise, rather than relying on absolutist positions. He also encouraged people to look beyond their own narrow interests and consider the needs of their community as a whole.
3. Kilpatrick's work demonstrated that a willingness to compromise and work together can lead to meaningful progress and a more civil society. His writings also highlighted the need to be open to different perspectives and to be willing to listen to opposing views.