QuoteProject
We live in a society in which it is normal to be sick; and sick to be abnormal.
Edward Abbey
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote criticizes societal norms that accept sickness as standard while viewing health as unusual.

Edward Abbey's quote reflects on the paradoxical nature of modern society, suggesting that we have come to accept sickness as a common state of being, rather than striving for health. It highlights the irony in which the majority's acceptance of illness renders those who are healthy as 'abnormal', questioning the values and perceptions that shape our understanding of wellness and normalcy.

Themes

SocietyHealthSicknessNormalcyPhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be shared during a discussion on public health policies.

More from Edward Abbey

Married couples who quarrel bitterly every day may really need each other as deeply as those who appear to be desperately in love.
Edward AbbeyRead
I love America because it is a confused, chaotic mess - and I hope we can keep it this way for at least another thousand years. The permissive society is the free society.
Edward AbbeyRead
If it's knowledge and wisdom you want, then seek out the company of those who do real work for an honest purpose.
Edward AbbeyRead
The earth is real. Only a fool, milking his cow, denies the cow's reality.
Edward AbbeyRead
I believe in nothing that I cannot touch, kiss, embrace.... The rest is only hearsay.
Edward AbbeyRead
Why can't we simply borrow what is useful to us from Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, especially Zen, as we borrow from Christianity, science, American Indian traditions and world literature in general, including philosophy, and let the rest go hang? Borrow what we need but rely principally upon our own senses, common sense and daily living experience.
Edward AbbeyRead

Similar quotes

A corner draft fluttered the flame And the white fever of temptation Upswept its angel wings that cast A cruciform shadow.
Boris PasternakRead
At the supreme moment of his dying Jesus so identified himself with men and the depths of their predicament and agony that no man can now sink so low that God has not gone lower.
Os GuinnessRead
No one is born a terrorist, but the route to become one is surprisingly easy. We need to listen to those who have been there, and those who have made their way back, if we want to stop others from taking their first steps down this same path into darkness.
Deeyah KhanRead
What I know for sure is that what you give comes back to you. That's not just my theory or point of view, it's physics. Life is an energy of giving and receiving... Those that are greedy, hit a road block where they are alone. Give more than you receive and be grateful for those around you.
Oprah WinfreyRead
So as through a glass and darkly_x000D_ The age long strife I see_x000D_ Where I fought in many guises,_x000D_ Many names - but always me.
George S. PattonRead
Our cure, to be no more; sad cure!
John MiltonRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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