The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
Elie WieselRead
Perhaps fate isn't blind after all. Perhaps it's capable of fantasy, even compassion.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that fate might have a deeper, more empathetic nature than we typically believe.
Elie Wiesel reflects on the nature of fate, proposing that it is not a mere force of chance or indifference but may be imbued with creativity and compassion. This viewpoint encourages us to consider the complexities of fate and its interplay with our desires and struggles, suggesting that fate may have a whimsical, even nurturing character that can shape our experiences in profound ways.
In practice
In a speech about overcoming adversity, one could use this quote to highlight the nature of fate and its unexpected kindness.
The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
With every cell of my being and with every fiber of my memory I oppose the death penalty in all forms. I do not believe any civilized society should be at the service of death. I don't think it's human to become an agent of the angel of death.
Certain things, certain events, seem inexplicable only for a time: up to the moment when the veil is torn aside.
We're alone, but we are capable of communicating to one another both our loneliness and our desire to break through it. You say, 'I'm alone.' Someone answers, 'I'm alone too.' There's a shift in the scale of power. A bridge is thrown between the two abysses.
No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has escaped the kingdom of night.
My loyalty to my people, to our people, and to Israel comes first and prevents me from saying anything critical of Israel outside Israel… As a Jew I see my role as a melitz yosher, a defender of Israel: I defend even her mistakes… I must identify with whatever Israel does – even with her errors.
One time he was asked if he believed in an afterlife. After a moment's hesitation he said no, that he thought there was only "some kind of velvety cool blackness," adding then: "Of course, I admit I may be wrong. It is conceivable that I might well be reborn as a Chinese coolie. In such case I should lodge a protest."
In mathematics and science we solve our problems as well as create them. But in art and philosophy things are not so simple.
A constitution is not the act of a government, but of a people constituting a government; and government without a constitution is power without a right. All power exercised over a nation, must have some beginning. It must be either delegated, or assumed. There are not other sources. All delegated power is trust, and all assumed power is usurpation. Time does not alter the nature and quality of either.
The person who says he knows what he thinks but cannot express it usually does not know what he thinks.
Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand-in-hand. It is because fear is at the basis of those two things. In this world we can now begin a little to understand things, and a little to master them by the help of science, which has forced its way step by step against the Christian religion, against the churches, and against the opposition of all the old precepts.
What is it about our society where anyone who does not have Asperger's gets talked out of their heterodox ideas?
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