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Quote by Douglas Coupland

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Player One: What Is to Become of Us

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Douglas Coupland
Douglas Coupland

Douglas Coupland is a Canadian novelist born on December 30, 1961. His works depict the complexity of modern society with a unique perspective and style, particularly focusing on personal identity, consumer culture, and technological development. His notable works include 'Generation X' and 'Shitty Millennial'. more

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“And this is what mere humanity always does. It's made up of these inventors or artists, millions and millions of them, each in his own way trying to recruit other people to play a supporting role and sustain him in his make-believe. The great chiefs and leaders recruit the greatest number, and that's what their power is. There's one image that gets out in front to lead the rest and can impose its claim to being genuine with more force than others, or one voice enlarged to thunder is heard above the others. Then a huge invention, which is the invention maybe of the world itself, and of nature, becomes the actual world - with cities, factories, public buildings, railroads, armies, dams, prisons, and movies - becomes the actuality. That’s the struggle of humanity, to recruit others to your version of what’s real. Then even the flowers and the moss on the stones become the moss and the flowers of a version.”

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“More than ever before the framework for absolute global control and oppression is now firmly in place. We have all been part of an evolution into a “new society” subject to authoritarian forms of government with militarised police forces at home and imperialistic policies abroad. In this “new society” the rich and powerful elites can have and do whatever they want, while the poor and powerless are left shackled and in desperate need.”

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“True loneliness is the comet traveling alone through the universe, surrounded by vacuous space and nothingness at absolute zero. It would never have the chance to be seen by someone or approached by another. This dismal silence would simply continue for eons.”

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“الامم يعتريها الوجود والفناء، والتاريخ يحدثنا عن أعمار الأمم، فمنها من بقي عشرات السنين ثم اندثر وباد، فمثلا اليونان امتد عمرها قرابة 500 عام ثم فقدت وجودها الثقافي فابتلعتها ثقافات أخرى، أما الثقافة الإسلامية فقد مضى عليها قرابة 15 قرناً وما زالت قائمة شامخة، وهي التحدي الوحيد لزعماء الغرب، فهي كالشجرة الطيبة أصلها ثابت وجذورها ضاربة في أعماق الأرض، إن الشعوب لا تُفنى جسديا ومادياً ولكنها تفنى ثقافياً.”

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“I once expected to spend seven years walking around the world on foot. I walked from Mexico to Panama where the road ended before an almost uninhabited swamp called the Choco Colombiano. Even today there is no road. Perhaps it is time for me to resume my wanderings where I left off as a tropical tramp in the slums of Panama. Perhaps like Ambrose Bierce who disappeared in the desert of Sonora I may also disappear. But after being in all mankind it is hard to come to terms with oblivion - not to see hundreds of millions of Chinese with college diplomas come aboard the locomotive of history - not to know if someone has solved the riddle of the universe that baffled Einstein in his futile efforts to make space, time, gravitation and electromagnetism fall into place in a unified field theory - never to experience democracy replacing plutocracy in the military-industrial complex that rules America - never to witness the day foreseen by Tennyson 'when the war-drums no longer and the battle-flags are furled, in the parliament of man, the federation of the world.' I may disappear leaving behind me no worldly possessions - just a few old socks and love letters, and my windows overlooking Notre-Dame for all of you to enjoy, and my little rag and bone shop of the heart whose motto is 'Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise.' I may disappear leaving no forwarding address, but for all you know I may still be walking among you on my vagabond journey around the world." [Shakespeare & Company, archived statement]”

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