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.
Solitude is the place where we can connect with profound bonds that are deeper than the emergency bonds of fear and anger.
It's not differences that divide us. It's our judgments about each other that do.
Whoever debases others is debasing himself.
Things happen to us in unpredictable ways, but the effect that that has on the kind of people who we become actually is not only open to chance - we can influence it in pretty profound ways.
A common danger tends to concord. Communism is the exploitation of the strong by the weak. In Communism, inequality comes from placing mediocrity on a level with excellence.
Every little bit, every atom inside the universe, is in a constant state of change and motion, but the universe as a whole is unchangeable, because motion or change is a relative thing; we can only think of something in motion in comparison with something which is not moving.
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