Freedom fighters don’t always carry guns to make their way into the history books. Francois-Marie Arouet, better known in the literary world as Voltaire, was an advocate for people’s rights in 18th century France and his weapon of choice was a quill pen.

Voltaire used as many as 178 pen names to avoid being found and arrested by the authorities for his written criticisms of the French government that had been repressing freedom of speech and other human rights. Unfortunately for him, and despite his multiple fictitious identities, Voltaire was captured and sentenced to 11 months of imprisonment in the Bastille. His punishment, however, did not end his verbal assault against the government.

A few years after his incarceration, Voltaire wrote some of his best works, including a satirical novel titled “Candide” in which he mocked the absurdities of living during the time of the French Reign of Terror when the government executed 17,000 of its own people. After another brief prison stay, Voltaire continued writing his sharp criticism of the government. Again, he was found and arrested, but he negotiated his exile to Great Britain rather than being sentenced to another long term in the Bastille.

The literary world praises Voltaire was for his wit and his sarcasm. Many of his quotes are funny, yet truthful and very relevant to us today. I’ve addressed a few of my favorites in this column.

He wrote, “It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.” I’ve often wondered why we Americans don’t think it’s foolish to place the state of our happiness into the hands of the government. I have personally found that no matter who resides in the White House, and I’m old enough to remember Dwight D. Eisenhower, my happiness and fortune are my own responsibilities. Why do we worry so much about how this Republican or that Democrat will affect our lives? They have no say and no control over the love I have for my family and the great memories I make with my friends. If I’m a “fool” enough, as Voltaire suggests, to be angry and depressed about political propaganda and presidential elections, then I’m missing what really matters, and that has absolutely nothing to do with the price of gas or the prime interest rate.

Voltaire wrote, “The most important decision you make every day is to be in a good mood.” We all get into bad moods, but that simply means we‘re allowing circumstances beyond our control to control how we feel. I knew a man who had a bad day at work, a car accident on his drive home, and then he found out his income tax refund had to be spent on a new refrigerator instead of a vacation for him and his wife. At the end of the day, he smiled at me and said, “What’s there to complain about? I have my health, a woman who loves me, and I’ve been promised the sun will shine another day.” A good mood is a decision we can make despite what misfortunes all of us will experience simply because we are imperfectly human.

“The mirror is a worthless invention. The only way to truly see yourself is in the reflection of someone else’s eyes.” Social media junkies often post, “I don’t care what anyone else thinks about me.” Well, I think they do care about what others think, otherwise there would be no need to make this post or even be thinking about it. To be honest, how others perceive us is their truth about who we are to them. If I am known for lying to everyone, but try to convince them that I’m an honest person, well then, what is the real truth about me?

“Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.” This is my favorite quote from Voltaire. Asking questions means you have an open mind and you want to keep learning more about this thing we call life. If you know all the answers, you’re locked into a narrow-minded perception that you try to use to influence others.

“Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.” This quote goes hand in hand with making the decision to be in a good mood. I used to think that the happiest people are those who are living a life of good fortune. That certainly is not true. We try to survive the sinking ship with our job losses, frequent sicknesses, and broken hearts. We may struggle to lift ourselves out of bed every morning. Yet, as long as we’re still afloat in the life boat, we can find reasons to smile, to laugh, and to love.

Voltaire wrote, “The more a man knows, the less he talks.” Silence is golden. Enough said. “Prejudices,” said Voltaire, “are what fools use for reason.” Here again, if the truth be told, just look around at what’s happening in this country and tell me he’s wrong.

“Democracy is just a filler for textbooks,” he wrote. “Do you actually believe public opinion influences the government?”

“The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient until nature cures the disease.” I’ve taken enough antibiotics in my lifetime that doctors say have “cured” my illness in 14 days.

The irony about Voltaire is that he used 178 pen names to escape government persecution, but history identifies him with but one. I find something else ironic, too. A weapon that fires a deadly bullet can have a powerful impact in a fleeting moment in time, but the impact caused by the written word can last forever.

Rich Strack can be reached at richiesadie11@gmail.com.