It is by all odds the loftiest of cities. It even managed to reach the highest point in the sky at the lowest moment of the depression.
E. B. WhiteRead
Americans are willing to go to enormous trouble and expense defending their principles with arms, very little trouble and expense advocating them with words. Temperamentally we are ready to die for certain principles (or, in the case of overripe adults, send youngsters to die), but we show little inclination to advertise the reasons for dying.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the disparity between Americans' willingness to fight for their principles and their reluctance to discuss or promote these values through dialogue.
E. B. White highlights a striking contradiction in American culture: while many are prepared to go to great lengths, including sacrificing lives, to defend their principles, they are often less willing to engage in conversations aimed at promoting or understanding these principles. This tendency suggests a deeper examination of the reasons behind their willingness to fight and a call for a more thoughtful exploration of the values at stake.
Themes
PrinciplesDefenseDialogueCourageValuesSacrifice
In practice
Example use cases
During a political debate, one might use this quote to underscore the importance of advocating for ideas through discussion rather than just conflict.
More from E. B. White
All quotes →It isn't silence you can cut with a knife any more, it's interchange of ideas. Intelligent discussion of practically everything is what is breaking up modern marriage.
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The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. Because I have the greatest respect for the reader, and if he's going to the trouble of reading what I've written -- I'm a slow reader myself and I guess most people are -- why, the least I can do is make it as easy as possible for him to find out what I'm trying to say, trying to get at. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.
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A good farmer is nothing more nor less than a handy man with a sense of humus.
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A despot doesn't fear eloquent writers preaching freedom- he fears a drunken poet who may crack a joke that will take hold.
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All writing is communication; creative writing is communication through revelation-it is the Self-escaping into the open.
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