All human desire is poised on an axis of paradox, absence and presence its poles, love and hate its motive energies.
Anne CarsonRead
We have no right to luxuries while the poor want bread.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the moral obligation to help those in need rather than indulging in excess.
This quote reflects the ethical perspective that society has a responsibility to address the needs of the less fortunate. It suggests that indulging in luxuries is morally questionable when there are individuals who are struggling for basic necessities like food. The statement calls for a sense of compassion and action towards alleviating poverty, highlighting the disparity between wealth and hunger.
In practice
During a fundraising event, this quote could be used to emphasize the importance of donating to those in need.
All human desire is poised on an axis of paradox, absence and presence its poles, love and hate its motive energies.
The rage for wanting to conclude is one of the most deadly and most fruitless manias to befall humanity. Each religion and each philosophy has pretended to have God to itself, to measure the infinite, and to know the recipe for happiness. What arrogance and what nonsense! I see, to the contrary, that the greatest geniuses and the greatest works have never concluded.
I agree to, or rather aspire to, my doom.
The question is very understandable, but no one has found a satisfactory answer to it so far. Yes, why do they make still more gigantic planes, still heavier bombs and, at the same time, prefabricated houses for reconstruction? Why should millions be spent daily on the war and yet there's not a penny available for medical services, artists, or for poor people? Why do some people have to starve, while there are surpluses rotting in other parts of the world? Oh, why are people so crazy?
We are a dreadful species indeed, and deserve whatever it is our techno-baubles do to us.
There's been such a sense that there's one set of rules for trillion-dollar financial institutions and a different set for all the rest of us. It's so pervasive that it's not even hidden.
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