I'd rather have two good friends, than 500,000 admirers.
E. E. CummingsRead
America makes prodigious mistakes, America has colossal faults, but one thing cannot be denied: America is always on the move. She may be going to Hell, of course, but at least she isn't standing still.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on America's flaws but praises its constant progress.
E. E. Cummings acknowledges the significant mistakes and shortcomings of America throughout history, suggesting that despite its faults, the nation is characterized by its relentless forward movement. This implies a dynamic spirit in the face of challenges, highlighting that constant change is better than stagnation, even if that movement may lead to undesirable outcomes.
In practice
In a speech about resilience, I might reference this quote to illustrate the importance of moving forward despite challenges.
I'd rather have two good friends, than 500,000 admirers.
I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach ten thousand stars how not to dance.
It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.
When god decided to invent everything he took one reath bigger than a circustent and everything began
The Artist is no other than he who unlearns what he has learned, in order to know himself.
Nobody else can be alive for you; nor can you be alive for anybody else.
This awful concept of underclass is really horrifying. You're not lower class, you are excluded - outside.
Originality is being different from oneself, not others.
God, so atrocious in the Old Testament, so attractive in the New--the Jekyl and Hyde of sacred romance.
For 179 years [The Book of Mormon] has been examined and attacked, denied and deconstructed, targeted and torn apart like perhaps no other religious history – perhaps like no other book in any religious history- and still, it stands.
Perhaps it is this specter that most haunts working men and women: the planned obsolescence of people that is of a piece with the planned obsolescence of the things they make. Or sell.
People are mostly layers of violence and tenderness wrapped like bulbs, and it is difficult to say what makes them onions or hyacinths.
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