Michael Portillo Quotes

My life is not unlike Truman's. I can't go anywhere.

When you have no freedom, then your life becomes the life of an animal.

When you spend a lot of time, like I do, just standing around and waiting, or being moved from place to place, every minute gets consumed by something someone else has set up for you. And it's not like I'm always in a beautiful place wearing something gorgeous.

I don't want to live like a prisoner.

I don't get to go out but an hour a day.

The billable hours is a classic case of restricted autonomy. I mean, you're working on - I mean, sometimes on these six-minute increments. So you're not focused on doing a good job. You're focused on hitting your numbers. It's one reason why lawyers typically are so unhappy. And I want a world of happy lawyers.

Get in the race car do what I do then go home. We don't have freedom to do anything anymore.

If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom.

Where I come from you're not raised to think on your own. It's not that you're pushed to read the Bible. The Bible is read to you.

Who loseth his freedom, he loseth all.

The only time you can be completely free from risk is when you're in prison.

You are a free woman, and then you become a prisoner, and you receive all kinds of orders. Sit here, stand there. That's it. You just, you don't have the possibility of even moving to take your bag without asking for permission.

I don't like feeling like it's not up to me when I'm working and when I'm not. Not feeling complete freedom... that's frustrating.

In captivity, one loses every way of acting over little details which satisfy the essentials of life. Everything has to be asked for: permission to go to the toilet, permission to ask a guard something, permission to talk to another hostage - to brush your teeth, use toilet paper, everything is a negotiation.

It was really tough being in jail. It doesn't get much lower. You're in a filthy room. The food is terrible, and you're surrounded by people who have done all types of crazy crimes. You have nothing that belongs to you, not even your own underwear. It's just terrible.

I value my independence a lot, and the thought of having to lose that due to age or any other reason terrifies me.

Being in a five-by-seven every day for 365 days a year is more than what the average man could stand. You weren't built to be in a cage that long.

Folks in Washington have it all figured out - they are going to make your choices and run your life.

In prison, you have to forget about the world on the outside. You have no Internet, no communications, and you're cut off from the whole world. Everything is given to you. You have shelter; you have food, a shower, water. You don't need to spend a dime. You don't have to worry about bills.

Conformity is dangerous.

I hate feeling like a prisoner. I show up somewhere, and I can't explore the city because there's, like, 6,000 to 10,000 people on the lookout for me.

You will in due season find your property is less valuable, and your freedom less complete.

I think that is the ultimate cowardice, when someone makes your choices for you in an institutional way. And you just say, "Well, I have no other option."

The worst of prison life, he thought, was not being able to close his door.

When you lose your freedom, you lose, first and foremost, the opportunity to choose the company you keep.