The strange power of art is sometimes it can show that what people have in common is more urgent than what differentiates them. It seems to me it's something that theatre can do, but it's rare; it's very rare.
John BergerRead
One can say of language that it is potentially the only human home, the only dwelling place that cannot be hostile to man.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Language serves as a safe and unique space for human expression and connection.
In this quote, John Berger emphasizes the importance of language as a fundamental aspect of human existence. He suggests that language is a 'home' for people, offering a refuge where they can express themselves without fear of hostility, highlighting its essential role in creating understanding and community among individuals.
Themes
LanguageHomeExpressionCommunicationHumanity
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about the importance of education, one might say, 'As John Berger noted, language is potentially the only human home, underscoring how vital it is to our development.'
More from John Berger
All quotes βUnlike any other visual image, a photograph is not a rendering, an imitation or an interpretation of its subject, but actually a trace of it. No painting or drawing, however naturalist, belongs to its subject in the way that a photograph does.
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We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves.
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The camera relieves us of the burden of memory. It surveys us like God, and it surveys for us. Yet no other god has been so cynical, for the camera records in order to forget.
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Propaganda requires a permanent network of communication so that it can systematically stifle reflection with emotive or utopian slogans. Its pace is usually fast.
John BergerRead
Being a unique superpower undermines the military intelligence of strategy. To think strategically, one has to imagine oneself in the enemy's place. If one cannot do this, it is impossible to foresee, to take by surprise, to outflank. Misinterpreting an enemy can lead to defeat. This is how empires fall.
John BergerRead
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The story of the redemption will not stand examination. That man should redeem himself from the sin of eating an apple by committing a murder on Jesus Christ, is the strangest system of religion ever set up.
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Yesterday and tomorrow cross and mix on the skyline. The two are lost in a purple haze. One forgets, one waits.
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I am afraid of falling into hopeless despair, over my wasted life, and I am still not sure how it happened.
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Nowhere in the world has the use of force alone resolved a conflict.
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They do not want to know that centralization is not only the death-knell of liberty, but also of health and beauty, of art and science, all these being impossible in a clock-like, mechanical atmosphere.
Emma GoldmanRead