I feel like everything you learn as an actor growing up is wrong. You're supposed to hit your mark, find your light and know your lines. Those are all things that just make things wooden, dull and boring.
Joaquin PhoenixRead
It takes nothing away from a human to be kind to an animal.
Interpretation
Being kind to animals does not diminish one's humanity.
This quote by Joaquin Phoenix emphasizes the inherent value of kindness towards animals, suggesting that extending compassion to them is a reflection of one's own humanity. It highlights that kindness is not a zero-sum game; being kind to those who are vulnerable, like animals, only enhances our moral character rather than detracts from it.
In practice
In a talk about animal rights, this quote could serve to inspire compassion among the audience.
I feel like everything you learn as an actor growing up is wrong. You're supposed to hit your mark, find your light and know your lines. Those are all things that just make things wooden, dull and boring.
I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one fish was caught, he was writhing, then he was thrown against the side of the boat. You couldn't disguise what it was. This was what we did to animals to eat them. The animal went from a living, vibrant creature fighting for life to a violent death. I recognized it, as did my brothers and sisters.
I don't think one should be comfortable standing on a stage with people applauding and laughing at every stupid thing you say.
I have this horrible sense of humor where I think discomfort is funny - partly because I experience discomfort a lot, and it's a way of laughing at it and getting a release.
We are all animals of this planet. We are all creatures. And nonhuman animals experience pain sensations just like we do. They too are strong, intelligent, industrious, mobile, and evolutional. They too are capable of growth and adaptation. Like us, firsthand foremost, they are earthlings. And like us, they are surviving. Like us they also seek their own comfort rather than discomfort. And like us they express degrees of emotion. In short like us, they are alive.
I think the day that I become comfortable doing interviews and going on talk shows is the day that I don't know what it is to be a human being anymore.
Compassion costs. It is easy enough to argue, criticize and condemn, but redemption is costly, and comfort draws from the deep. Brains can argue, but It takes heart to comfort.
I want to express my closeness to the people of the Philippines who have been struck by a strong earthquake, and I invite you to pray for that dear nation, which in recent days has suffered different calamities.
If we can cultivate a concern for others, keeping in mind the oneness of humanity, we can build a more compassionate world.
Just because an animal is large, it doesn't mean he doesn't want kindness; however big Tigger seems to be, remember that he wants as much kindness as Roo.
One does not ask of one who suffers: What is your country and what is your religion? One merely says: You suffer, that is enough for me.
Let's be the people who look at the hurting until we hurt with them. No hurrying past, turning away, or shifting of eyes. No pretending or glossing over. Let's look at the face until we see the person.
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