Hugh Mackay quotes

Nothing is perfect. Life is messy. Relationships are complex. Outcomes are uncertain. People are irrational. (Hugh Mackay)
Although we love the idea of choice - our culture almost worships it - we seek refuge in the familiar and the comfortable. View quote
Hugh Mackay
Obviously, every child should be given the best possible opportunity to acquire literacy skills. View quote
Hugh Mackay
I suspect the secret of personal attraction is locked up in our unique imperfections, flaws and frailties. View quote
Hugh Mackay
Parents should be encouraged to read to their children, and teachers should be equipped with all available techniques for teaching literacy, so the varying needs and capacities of individual kids can be taken into account. View quote
Hugh Mackay
Actually, I can't imagine anything more tedious than a perfect person, especially if it was someone who also demanded perfection from me. View quote
Hugh Mackay
On average, Australians watch more than three hours of television a day, compared with 12 minutes a day spent by the average couple talking to each other. View quote
Hugh Mackay
One reason we resist making deliberate choices is that choice equals change and most of us, feeling the world is unpredictable enough, try to minimise the trauma of change in our personal lives. View quote
Hugh Mackay
So, if falling crime rates coincide with the rise of violent video games and increasing violence on TV and at the cinema, should we conclude that media violence is causing the drop in crime rates? View quote
Hugh Mackay
Some researchers sensibly suggest that rather than worrying too much about which programs our children are watching, we should concentrate on trying to reduce the total amount of time they spend in front of the screen. View quote
Hugh Mackay
Reading is a huge effort for many people, a bore for others, and, believe it or not, many people prefer watching TV. (Hugh Mackay)
The copycat effects of media violence, similar to those previously attributed to westerns, radio serials and comic books, are easy to exaggerate. View quote
Hugh Mackay
No one welcomes chaos, but why crave stability and predictability? View quote
Hugh Mackay
It seems inevitable that the magic of the written word will fade. View quote
Hugh Mackay
Still, most of those effects occur in the context of harmless play and it is patently obvious that children are not normally turned into aggressive little monsters by TV or video games, since most children do not become aggressive little monsters. View quote
Hugh Mackay
Is it possible that literacy standards are falling because young Australians are growing up in a culture in which they can be entertained and informed, and in which they can communicate effectively, without having to master any but the most rudimentary literacy skills? View quote
Hugh Mackay
Universal literacy was a 20th-century goal. Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people. View quote
Hugh Mackay
But the rule seems to be that the bigger and more life-changing the decision, the less it will seem like a decision at all. View quote
Hugh Mackay
It's Australian to do such things because, however uncivilised they may seem, it's human to do them. View quote
Hugh Mackay
Indeed, in the present climate of mistrust of institutions, many people who yearn for a more meaningful and fulfilling life would regard the church as an unlikely place to go for guidance. View quote
Hugh Mackay
A strangely reflective, even melancholy day. Is that because, unlike our cousins in the northern hemisphere, Easter is not associated with the energy and vitality of spring but with the more subdued spirit of autumn? (Hugh Mackay)
But many researchers operate as if it is their responsibility to demonstrate that video violence has a direct effect on the behaviour of young children, because that will help to explain why society is becoming more violent. View quote
Hugh Mackay
I'm in total sympathy with Dick Smith's sentiments; I only wish there were grounds for saying we Australians would never tolerate such appalling treatment of refugees being carried out in our name. View quote
Hugh Mackay
Perhaps it's the people whose lives have taken sudden new twists - people who have learned to embrace the creative possibilities of change - who stand the best chance of penetrating life's mysteries. View quote
Hugh Mackay
The question is, will we continue to fight what may be a rearguard action to defend universal literacy as a central goal of our education system, or are we bold enough to see what's actually happening to our culture? View quote
Hugh Mackay

Hugh Mackay

Hugh Mackay - Image
Photo: Mosman Library, CC BY 2.0
Occupation: Australian Scientist
Born: 1938
Quotes count: 28