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Harvey Fierstein's 12 Step Program to Change Your Life

  1. Never lie, and never let anyone cause you to lie. Truth, or the pursuit of it, is all we have.
  2. Never do anything you are ashamed of. If you're ashamed that means somewhere inside you think it's wrong; and if you think it's wrong, you shouldn't be doing it.
  3. Take full responsibility for yourself. You are the only one who can say what goes into or comes out of your body.
  4. Always admit when you're wrong. You'll save thousands in therapy later -- and a few friendships too.
  5. Change your mind as often as possible. Just because you thought something yesterday doesn't mean you have to think it today. Don't ever become a prisoner of your own opinion.
  6. Beware of anyone who says they know. Trust me, they don't, or they wouldn't have to say they did.
  7. Take care of yourself first, then your family, then your friends. And if you have anything left over, share it.
  8. Do something, anything, every day to change the world. It doesn't have to be big, it could be giving a dime to a street person, planting a flower, picking up litter. Anything will change the world.
  9. When you have nothing better to do, smile. You'll have to trust me on the miracle this step brings.
  10. Make a bit of time every day to be alone and think. Five or ten minutes is enough. It will keep you sane.
  11. Have all the sex you want -- safe sex. Get lust out of your way. It's the only way I know to make sure you fall in love for the right reasons. And I want you all to find true love.
  12. Learn something new every day. Read a newspaper article that you wouldn't normally read. Open a dictionary to a word you never heard, or never understood.
Taken from Harvey Fierstein's Commencement Address to the 1992 class at Bennington

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Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal.
- Albert Einstein


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