Human rights pale beside the rights of machines. In more and more cities, especially in the great metropolises of the South, people have been banned. Automobiles usurp human space, poison the air, and frequently murder the interlopers who invade their conquered territory -and no one lifts a finger to stop them. Is there a difference between violence that kills by car and that which kills by knife or bullet?" (p.231)
Interpretation
The quote critiques the prioritization of machines and vehicles over human rights and safety.
Eduardo Galeano's quote highlights the disturbing reality that, as cities grow and technology advances, the rights and well-being of individuals are often overlooked in favor of machines, particularly automobiles. He draws a parallel between different forms of violence, suggesting that the consequences of these technologies—pollution, danger, and urban design favoring cars—are as significant and lethal as more overt forms of violence, such as that inflicted by weapons.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about urban planning and the importance of prioritizing pedestrians and cyclists over cars.
Utopia is on the horizon. I move two steps closer; it moves two steps further away. I walk another ten steps and the horizon runs ten steps further away. As much as I may walk, I'll never reach it. So what's the point of utopia? The point is this: to keep walking.
It is highly improbable that the bureaucrat will put his life on the line. It is absolutely impossible that he'll put his job on the line.
We live in a world that treats the dead better than the living. We, the living are askers of questions and givers of answers, and we have other grave defects unpardonable by a system that believes death, like money, improves people.
History never really says goodbye. History says, 'See you later.'
The more freedom is extended to business, the more prisons have to be built for those who suffer from that business.
Utopia lies at the horizon. When I draw nearer by two steps, it retreats two steps. If I proceed ten steps forward, it swiftly slips ten steps ahead. No matter how far I go, I can never reach it. What, then, is the purpose of utopia? It is to cause us to advance.
Men live their lives trapped in an eternal present, between the mists of memory and the sea of shadow that is all we know of the days to come.
God is not good, or else he could do better.
But Father has also taught him: Treat a man as if he had a fine reputation to protect, and he will usually endeavor to deserve it.
Our Constitution is in actual operation; everything appears to promise that it will last; but in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.
Tyler lies back and asks, "If Marilyn Monroe were alive right now, what would she be doing?" I say, goodnight. The headliner hangs down in shreds from the ceiling and Tyler says, "Clawing at the lid of her coffin.
People see in stories what they’re looking for, my young friend.
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