The history of mankind is the history of our misunderstandings with god, for he doesn't understand us, and we don't understand him.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the fundamental misunderstandings between humanity and the divine, suggesting a gap in communication and comprehension on both sides.
Jose Saramago's quote highlights the complexity of the relationship between humans and the divine, positing that misunderstandings are at the core of this relationship. It suggests that both humans and God grapple with a lack of understanding regarding each other's nature, which has led to a complicated and often conflict-ridden history. By pointing out this mutual misunderstanding, Saramago invites reflection on how humanity perceives divinity and its own existence, urging a deeper exploration of faith and connection.
In practice
In a discussion about faith and belief, one might say, 'As Saramago pointed out, the history of mankind often reflects our misunderstandings with God.'
Why did we become blind, I don't know, perhaps one day we'll find out, Do you want me to tell you what I think, Yes, do, I don't think we did go blind, I think we are blind, Blind but seeing, Blind people who can see, but do not see.
I can't imagine myself outside any kind of social or political involvement. Yes, I'm a writer, but I live in this world, and my writing doesn't exist on a separate level. And if people know who I am and read my books, well, good; that way, if I have something more to say, then everyone benefits.
...you have to leave the island in order to see the island, that we can't see ourselves unless we become free of ourselves, Unless we escape from ourselves you mean, No, that's not the same thing.
Whether we like it or not, the one justification for the existence of all religions is death, they need death as much as we need bread to eat.
With the passage of time, as well as the social evolution and genetic exchange, we ended up putting our conscience in the color of our blood and the salt of our tears.
En ningún momento de la historia, en ningún lugar del planeta, las religiones han servido para que los seres humanos se acerquen unos a los otros. Por el contrario, sólo han servido para separar, para quemar, para torturar. No creo en dios, no lo necesito y además soy buena persona.
Secrecy involves a tension which, at the moment of revelation, finds its release.
For the mob is always impressed by appearances and by results, and the world is composed of the mob.
In this statement, my Scipio, I build on your own admirable definition, that there can be no community, properly so called, unless it be regulated by a combination of rights. And by this definition it appears that a multitude of men may be just as tyrannical as a single despot and indeed this is the most odious of all tyrannies, since no monster can be more barbarous than the mob, which assumes the name and mask of the people.
How Americans restore trust may be an existential question for their country, then, but it's ultimately a practical one: What U.S. society needs to answer it in the coming years aren't lamentations but practical measures, especially among the emerging generations that will define America's future.
Sadly, we do a much better job of making people feel guilty than we do of delivering them from the guilt we create. We need to confess this and change our ways.
Wherever there is a man who exercises authority, there is a man who resists authority.
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