Ours is a culture and a time immensely rich in trash as it is in treasures.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the abundance of both valuable and worthless things in our culture.
Ray Bradbury highlights the duality present in modern culture, where amidst a wealth of information, ideas, and creativity ('treasures'), there also exists a significant amount of superficiality and meaningless content ('trash'). It encourages individuals to discern between what is valuable and what is not, ultimately advocating for an appreciation of deeper, richer cultural experiences.
In practice
In a speech about consumerism, you might reference this quote to highlight the dual nature of modern culture.
I've written about 2,000 short stories; I've only published 300 and I feel I'm still learning. Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he'll eventually make some kind of career for himself as a writer. Ray Bradbury, 1967 interview (Doing the Math - that means for every story he sold, he wrote six "un-publishable" ones. Keep typing!)
I never went to college, so I went to the library.
There must be something in books, something we canβt imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You donβt stay for nothing.
I think the sun is a flower, That blooms for just one hour.
The first thing a writer should be is - excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it'd be better for his health.
You can't try to do things; you simply must do them.
It's crazy; in the States, people think the black power movement drew inspiration from Africa. All these Americans come over here looking for awareness. They don't realize they're the ones who've got it over there.
That's all an angel is....an idea of God.
The definition of 'morbid' is an unhealthy preoccupation with death. Unfortunately, there's no word to mean the perfectly healthy preoccupation with death, which is what I have.
Consciousness surely does not depend on language. Babies, many animals, and patients robbed of speech by brain damage are not insensate robots; they have reactions like ours that indicate that someone's home.
People like eccentrics. Therefore they will leave me alone, saying that I am a mad clown.
by making himself a priest made himself a demon.
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