Self-Respect

"We are all alone, born alone, die alone, and--in spite of True Romance magazines--we shall all someday look back on our lives and see that, in spite of our company, we were alone the whole way. I do not say lonely--at least, not all the time--but essentially, and finally, alone. This is what makes your self-respect so important, and I don't see how you can respect yourself if you must look in the hearts and minds of others for your happiness."
--Hunter S. Thompson,
"The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967"