QuoteProject
We have heard the rationales offered by the nuclear superpowers. We know who speaks for the nations. But who speaks for the human species? Who speaks for Earth?
Carl Sagan
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote questions the representation of humanity and the planet in discussions dominated by political powers.

Carl Sagan's quote emphasizes the disparity between the voices of nuclear superpowers and the broader needs of humanity and the Earth. It challenges us to consider who truly represents the interests of all people and the planet, suggesting that while nations speak for their own interests, there is a need for a collective voice that reflects the shared fate of the human species and the environment.

Themes

HumanityEarthRepresentationPoliticsNations

In practice

Example use cases

During an environmental conference discussing climate action.

More from Carl Sagan

Science is a way to not fool ourselves.
Carl SaganRead
In more than one respect, the exploring of the Solar System and homesteading other worlds constitutes the beginning, much more than the end, of history.
Carl SaganRead
How smart does a chimpanzee have to be before killing him constitutes murder?
Carl SaganRead
The hole in the ozone layer is a kind of skywriting. At first it seemed to spell out our continuing complacency before a witch's brew of deadly perils. But perhaps it really tells of a newfound talent to work together to protect the global environment.
Carl SaganRead
There is a reward structure in science that is very interesting: Our highest honors go to those who disprove the findings of the most revered among us. So Einstein is revered not just because he made so many fundamental contributions to science, but because he found an imperfection in the fundamental contribution of Isaac Newton.
Carl SaganRead
The simplest thought, like the concept of the number one, has an elaborate logical underpinning.
Carl SaganRead

Similar quotes

If you do not think well of Him because His qualities are beautiful then think well of Him because of the way He treats you.
Ibn Ata AllahRead
I did not know then that this is what life is - just when you master the geometry of one world, it slips away, and suddenly again, you're swarmed by strange shapes and impossible angles.
Ta-Nehisi CoatesRead
Women's director! Well, I'm very pleased to be considered a master of anything, but remember, for every Jill there was a Jack. People like to pigeonhole you - it's a shortcut, I guess, but once they do, you're stuck with it.
George CukorRead
This evolution towards a real responsibility for others is sometimes blocked by fear. It is easier to stay on the level of a pleasant way of life in which we keep our freedom and our distance. But that means that we stop growing and shut ourselves up in our own small concerns and pleasures.
Jean VanierRead
Suspicious.- To admit a belief merely because it is a custom - but that means to be dishonest, cowardly, lazy! - And so could dishonesty, cowardice and laziness be the preconditions for morality?
Friedrich NietzscheRead
In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (December 1948) in most solemn form, the dignity of a person is acknowledged to all human beings; and as a consequence there is proclaimed, as a fundamental right, the right of free movement in search for truth and in the attainment of moral good and of justice, and also the right to a dignified life.
Pope John XxiiiRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.