Who controls the past now controls the future._x000D_ Who controls the present now controls the past._x000D_ Who controls the past now controls the future._x000D_ Who controls the present now?
Zack De La RochaRead
Yes I know my enemies. They're the teachers who taught me to fight me, compromise, conformity, assimilation, submission, ignorance, hypocrisy, brutality, the elite, all of which are American dreams.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights how the struggles and adversities in life are often shaped by societal norms and expectations.
In this quote, Zack De La Rocha reflects on the various adversaries that he believes are inherent in American society. Rather than traditional enemies, he identifies the societal forces and values—such as conformity, submission, and ignorance—that shape individuals' struggles. It suggests that these challenging elements act as teachers that inform one's fight against the oppressive norms of society, turning adversity into a catalyst for personal and collective awakening.
Themes
EnemiesSocietyStruggleConformityOppressionAmerican Dream
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a social justice presentation to illustrate the hidden challenges society imposes on individuals.
More from Zack De La Rocha
All quotes →I think every revolutionary act is an act of love. Every song that I've written, it is because of my desire to use music as a way to empower and re-humanize people who are living in a dehumanizing setting. The song is in order to better the human condition.
Zack De La RochaRead
Brothers and sisters, our democracy has been hijacked. Brothers and sisters, all electoral freedoms in this country are over so long as it's controlled by corporations. Brothers and sisters, we are not going to allow these streets to be taken over by the Democrats or the Republicans. Because it's all of us who have built this city, and we can tear it down unless they give us what we need.
Zack De La RochaRead
It has to start somewhere, it has to start sometime, what better place than here? What better time than now?
Zack De La RochaRead
Similar quotes
Let go of all ideas and images in your mind, they come and go and aren’t even generated by you. So why pay so much attention to your imagination when reality is for the realizing right now?
AdyashantiRead
A prediction, in a field where prediction is not possible, is no more than a prejudice.
Malcolm GladwellRead
Part of the oncoming demise (of New York during its terrible fiscal crisis) is that none of us can simply believe it. We were always the best and the strongest of cities, and our people were vital to the teeth. Knock them down eight times and they would get up with that look in the eye which suggests the fight has barely begun.
Norman MailerRead
Without sin, the universe is a Solemn Game: and there is no good game without rules.
C. S. LewisRead
Our grandfathers were less well-housed, well-fed, well-clothed than we are. The strivings by which they bettered their lot are also those which deprived us of [Passenger] pigeons. Perhaps we now grieve because we are not sure, in our hearts, that we have gained by the exchange. The gadgets of industry bring us more comforts than the pigeons did, but do they add as much to the glory of the spring?
Aldo LeopoldRead
Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.
Benjamin DisraeliRead