The first thing to recognize not just about Afghanistan but about any poor undeveloped country is that as big as it looks on the map, it's much bigger when you're there.
Robert D. KaplanRead
What does the earth look like in the places where people commit atrocities? Is there a bad smell, a genius loci, something about the landscape that might incriminate?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote questions the relationship between human actions and the environment, particularly in the context of atrocity.
Robert D. Kaplan's quote invites us to reflect on the impact of human behavior, especially in acts of violence and atrocity, on the natural surroundings. It suggests that places where such actions occur carry an invisible weight or essence that could reveal the dark history and moral implications of those actions, posing a question about the connection between landscapes and human morality.
Themes
AtrocitiesLandscapeMoralityHuman BehaviorEnvironment
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the impact of war on ecology, this quote serves as a poignant reminder of the scars left on the earth.
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