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Quote by Min Jin Lee

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Pachinko

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Author

Min Jin Lee
Min Jin Lee

Min Jin Lee, born in 1968, is a talented writer known for her delicate emotions and profound insights into the lives of Asian immigrants and their descendants. Her debut novel, 'Pachinko', received widespread acclaim and won multiple literary awards. more

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“Human beings never think for themselves, they find it too uncomfortable. For the most part, members of our species simply repeat what they are told - and become upset if they are exposed to any different view. The characteristic human trait is not awareness but conformity, and the characteristic result is religious warfare. Other animals fight for territory or food; but, uniquely in the animal kingdom, human beings fight for 'beliefs.'... We are stubborn, self-destructive conformists. Any other view of our species is just a self-congratulatory delusion.”

“The reckless application of technology, harnessed to greed, degrades and destroys the ecosystems in which the energies of the elements are maintained in exquisite balance. Since the elements constitute us, we are also being degraded in the process. We are engaged in an ongoing assault on the planetary elements, the decimation of species, and the relentless suicidal degradation of our own habitats. In short, the situation can be called ecocide. Humankind is at war with nature.”

“The view of the blue-green Earth from space reminds us of two inescapable and challenging facts: first, that national boundaries do not exist on Earth, except in the maps and minds of humans; and, second, that Earth is finite and its carrying capacity is limited.”

“In the final analysis, agape means a recognition of the fact that all life is interrelated. All humanity is involved in a single process, and all men are brothers. To the degree that I harm my brother, no matter what he is doing to me, to that extent I am harming myself. For example, white men often refuse federal aid to education in order to avoid giving the Negro his rights; but because all men are brothers they cannot deny Negro children without harming their own. They end, all efforts to the contrary, by hurting themselves. Why is this? Because men are brothers. If you harm me, you harm yourself. Love, agape, is the only cement that can hold this broken community together. When I am commanded to love, I am commanded to restore community, to resist injustice, and to meet the needs of my brothers.”