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Quote by Barbara Ehrenreich

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WORST YEARS OF OUR LIVES

This novel delves into the personal struggles and societal challenges faced by its characters during a time of great upheaval and change. more

Author

Barbara Ehrenreich
Barbara Ehrenreich

Barbara Ehrenreich is an American political figure born on August 26, 1941. She is known for her activities in labor movements, social justice, and gender equality. more

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“It's a glorious universe the positive thinkers have come up with, a vast, shimmering aurora borealis in which desires mingle freely with their realizations. ... Dreams go out and fulfill themselves; wishes need only to be articulated.”

ThinkingNeedsDreamDesireUniverseWishOptimismCome UpRealizationGloriousThinkerWishful ThinkingAuroraPositive Thinker
Book:Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America
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“One of the most essential and mundane of human activities - taking care of children - requires high levels of anxious vigilance. ... [Parents] dare not risk assuming that the sudden quiet from the toddlers' room means they are studying with Baby Einstein. Visualize fratricidal stranglings and electric outlets stabbed with forks: this is how we have reproduced our genomes.”

HumansMeanChildrenCareParentLevelsRoomsStudyRiskBabyActivityQuietEssentialsAssumingDareAnxiousElectricOutletsMundaneForksHigh LevelHuman ActivityVigilanceToddlerGenomeStrangling
Author:Barbara Ehrenreich
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“By the Reagan era, the 'culture of poverty' had become a cornerstone of conservative ideology: poverty was caused not by low wages or a lack of jobs but by bad attitudes and faulty lifestyles. The poor were dissolute, promiscuous, prone to addiction and crime, unable to 'defer gratification' or possibly even set an alarm clock. The last thing they could be trusted with was money.”

JobsLastsCulturePoorAttitudePovertyCrimeLowsAddictionConservativeLifestyleIdeologyErasClockTrustedWagesGratificationAlarmsCornerstonesBad AttitudePromiscuousAlarm Clocks
Author:Barbara Ehrenreich
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“I realize that after decades of positive thinking the notion of realism, of things as they are, may seem a little quaint. ... When the stakes are high enough and the risks obvious, we still turn to people who can be counted on to understand those risks and prepare for worst-case scenarios. A chief of state does not want to hear a general in the field say that he 'hopes' to win tomorrow's battle or that he's 'visualizing victory'.”

PeopleThinkingWantMayLittlesDoeStillsStatesEnoughRealitySeemsTurnsWinningRealizingCasesRiskWorstFieldsPositive ThinkingVictoryTomorrowBattleNotionObviousDecadesChiefsStakesRealismScenariosWishful ThinkingQuaintVisualizingWorst Case Scenario
Book:Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America
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“the seeker who embraces positive theology finds ... that you can have all that stuff in the mall, as well as the beautiful house and car, if only you believe that you can. But ... if you don't have all that you want, if you feel sick, discouraged, or defeated, you have only yourself to blame. Positive theology ratifies and completes a world without beauty, transcendence, or mercy.”

IfsWorldWantFeelsBelieveWellsBeautifulHouseStuffCarMercySickBlameEmbraceTheologyDefeatedDiscouragedTranscendenceSeekersMallsDefeated You
Author:Barbara Ehrenreich
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“a great deal of the wealth at the top is built on the low-wage labor of the poor. Take Wal-Mart, our largest private employer and premiere exploiter of the working class. ... You think it's a coincidence that this union-busting low-wage retail empire happens to have generated a $65 billion family fortune?”

ThinkingHappensWealthPoorDealsClassRichLowsBuiltLaborUnionsFortuneBillionsEmpiresCoincidenceWorking ClassEmployersRich And PoorRetailPremieresBusting
Book:Going to Extremes: Notes from a Divided Nation
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