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Men are beginning to realize that they are not individuals but persons in society, that man alone is weak and adrift, that he must seek strength in common action.
Dorothy Day
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote emphasizes the importance of community and collective action for strength and support.

Dorothy Day's quote reveals a profound truth about human existence: individuals often feel vulnerable when isolated; however, by recognizing oneself as part of a larger society, one can find strength and purpose through collective efforts. It suggests that true strength lies not in solitary endeavors but in the bonds formed with others, encouraging cooperation and shared action to navigate life's challenges.

Themes

CommunityStrengthSupportCollective ActionSociety

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about community service, one might reference this quote to highlight the need for collective efforts.

More from Dorothy Day

For me Christ was not to be bought for thirty pieces of silver but with my heart's blood. We buy not cheap in this market.
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The mystery of poverty is that by sharing in it, making ourselves poor in giving to others, we increase our knowledge of and belief in love.
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As we come to know the seriousness of the situation, the war, the racism, the poverty in our world, we come to realize that things will not be changed simply by words or demonstrations. Rather, it's a question of living one's life in a drastically different way.
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I do not know how to love God except by loving the poor. I do not know how to serve God except by serving the poor.... Here, within this great city of nine million people, we must, in this neighborhood, on this street, in this parish, regain a sense of community which is the basis for peace in the world.
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The biggest mistake sometimes is to play things very safe in this life and end up being moral failures.
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We're living in an age of genocide. ...And we do believe that there is not only the genocide of war, and the genocide that took place with the extermination of the Jews, but the whole program....of birth control and abortion is another form of genocide.... [T]hey claim the poor are bringing forth tremendous numbers of children and so the solution is to kill them off.
Dorothy DayRead

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