A man screaming is not a dancing bear. Life is not a spectacle.
Aime CesaireRead
I have a different idea of a universal. It is of a universal rich with all that is particular, rich with all the particulars there are, the deepening of each particular, the coexistence of them all.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of individuality and diversity within a universal context.
Aime Cesaire suggests that true universality does not erase particularities or individual differences, but rather embraces and enriches them. He advocates for a perspective that celebrates the coexistence and depth of diverse experiences, highlighting how these specifics contribute to a more profound understanding of the universal.
In practice
In a speech about cultural inclusion, one might refer to this quote to highlight the value of diverse backgrounds.
A man screaming is not a dancing bear. Life is not a spectacle.
Africa, help me to go home, carry me like an aged child in your arms. Undress me and wash me. Strip me of all of these garments, strip me as a man strips off dreams when the dawn comes. . . .
It is no use painting the foot of the tree white, the strength of the bark cries out from beneath the paint.
I am talking about societies drained of their essence, cultures trampled underfoot, institutions undermined, lands confiscated, religions smashed, magnificent artistic creations destroyed, extraordinary possibilities wiped out.
We musn't forget old people with their rotten bodies, old people who are so close to death, something that young people don't want to think about. We musn't forget that our bodies decline, friends die, everyone forgets about us, and the end is solitude. Nor must we forget that these old people were young once, that a lifespan is pathetically short, that one day you're twenty and the next day you're eighty.
He saw something that makes a man doubtful of the constancy of the realities outside himself. It was the shocking discovery that makes a man wonder if I've missed this, what else have I failed to see?
Freedom is the recognition of necessity.
When we accept all of life's contradictions, when we can comfortably flow between the banks of pleasure and pain, experiencing them both while getting stuck in neither, then we are free.
We were good boys, good Presbyterian boys, and loyal and all that; anyway, we were good Presbyterian boys when the weather was doubtful; when it was fair, we did wander a little from the fold.
But when a man’s religion becomes really frantic; when it is a positive torment to him; and in fine, makes this earth of ours an uncomfortable inn to lodge in; then I think it high time to take that individual aside and argue the point with him.
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