Virtue is better and cheaper than wine, but virtue is not free.

Whenever you find yourself confused by a mass of conflicting Machiavellian political trade-offs, the best strategy is to stop reasoning by cold calculation and rise above it. Lock your mind in a guilt-free political vacuum, do the right thing, and pray. How would you vote if this was your last day on earth? Your body will pass, but your vote will live forever.

Chess is combat by competitive cold calculation. Morality is cooperative. You can’t get to morality by cold calculation. Never play poker with a chess player, and never play chess with God.