You hear a lot of dialogue on the death of the American family. Families aren't dying. They're merging into big conglomerates.
Erma BombeckRead
We've got a generation now who were born with semiequality. They don't know how it was before, so they think, this isn't too bad. We're working. We have our attache' cases and our three piece suits. I get very disgusted with the younger generation of women. We had a torch to pass, and they are just sitting there. They don't realize it can be taken away. Things are going to have to get worse before they join in fighting the battle.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the complacency of the younger generation in the face of ongoing struggles for equality.
Erma Bombeck highlights a sense of frustration with the younger generation's lack of awareness about the struggles that led to their current freedoms. She feels they have become comfortable and complacent, failing to recognize the ongoing fight for equality and the potential for those rights to be taken away. This calls for a rekindling of activism and awareness among them, suggesting that sometimes conditions must worsen to provoke action and understanding of the battles fought by previous generations.
Themes
EqualityComplacencyGenerationActivismStruggle
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing women's rights, one might quote Bombeck to emphasize the importance of awareness in activism.
More from Erma Bombeck
All quotes βMaking coffee has become the great compromise of the decade. It's the only thing "real" men do that doesn't seem to threaten their masculinity. To women, it's on the same domestic entry level as putting the spring back into the toilet-tissue holder or taking a chicken out of the freezer to thaw.
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Not everyone is comfortable with the kissing ritual. My husband is one of them. Her refuses to press lips with anyone except his wife, mother, and dog. If someone wanted to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, he would refuse until he had been formally introduced.
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There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child.
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Maybe age is kinder to us than we think. With my bad eyes, I can't see how bad I look, and with my rotten memory, I have a good excuse for getting out of a lot of stuff.
Erma BombeckRead
A grandparent will help you with your buttons, your zippers, and your shoelaces and not be in any hurry for you to grow up.
Erma BombeckRead
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