"You know, your species [humans] has the most amazing capacity for self-deception, matched only by its ingenuity in trying to destroy itself."

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First, what does truth require? It requires us to face the facts as they are, not to involve ourselves in self-deception; to refuse to think merely in slogans. If we are to work for the future of the city, let us deal with the realities as they actually are, not as they might have been, and not as we wish they were.

— John F. Kennedy