“Our present culture, however, specializes in inflaming endless lust for possessions with advertisements that constantly convince us that we need more (particularly to create the ease we have never found). The marketers don't tell us much about their products, but they spend a great deal of energy (and enormous amounts of money) appealing to our fears and dreams. Thus, the idolatry of possessions plays to the deeper idolatry of our selves-and in an endlessly consuming society, persons are always remaking themselves with new belongings.” NeedsPersonsSelfPlayDreamCultureFoundEnergyDealsProductsAmountPossessionDeeperLustEndlessEnormousEaseConvinceBelongingConsumerismConsumingIdolatryAdvertisementsOverconsumptionMarketersConvince UsFears And Dreams Author:Marva Dawn
“No dogma taught by the present civilization seems to form so insuperable an obstacle in a way of a right understanding of the relations which culture sustains as to wilderness, as that which declares that the world was made especially for the uses of men. Every animal, plant, and crystal controverts it in the plainest terms. Yet it is taught from century to century as something ever new and precious, and in the resulting darkness the enormous conceit is allowed to go unchallenged.” MenWorldWayMadeUseSeemsEarthFormCultureUnderstandingTermNatureAnimalDarknessCenturyTaughtCivilizationRelationPlantObstaclesEnormousWildernessDogmaCrystalsConceitWildness Author:John Muir
“Most people are shaped to the form of their culture because of the enormous malleability of their original endowment. They are plastic to the moulding force of the society into which they are born. It does not matter whether, with the Northwest Coast, it requires delusions of self-reference, or with our own civilization the amassing of possessions. In any case the great mass of individuals take quite readily the form that is presented to them.” PeopleDoeSelfMatterFormCultureIndividualForceBornCasesSocietyCivilizationMassOriginalsPossessionEnormousDelusionPlasticCoastEndowment Book:PATTERNS OF CULTURE Source: PATTERNS OF CULTURE
“Courage has become Raiders of the Lost Ark, or riding in spaceships, killing people, taking enormous physical risks. To me, the kind of courage that's really interesting is someone whose spouse has Alzheimer's and yet manages to wake up every morning and be cheerful with that person and respectful of that person and find things to enjoy even though their day is very, very difficult. That kind of courage is really undervalued in our culture.” PeopleKindPersonsCultureLostEnjoyDifficultInterestingMorningCourageRiskWake UpKillingEnormousManageRidingEvery MorningSpouseCheerfulRespectfulReally InterestingSpaceshipsAlzheimerArkAlzheimer'sRaidersUndervalued Author:Mary Pipher
“Year after year, an ideological and economic barrier hardened between our two countries, meanwhile, the Cuban exile community in the United States made enormous contributions to our country, in politics, in business, culture and sports.” YearsMadeTwoCountryStatesCulturePoliticsSportsCommunityUnitedUnited StatesEconomicEnormousOur CountryContributionBarriersExileIdeologicalCubanHardenedTwo Countries Author:Barack Obama