Married couples who quarrel bitterly every day may really need each other as deeply as those who appear to be desperately in love.
Edward AbbeyRead
Of course I litter the public highway. Every chance I get. After all, it's not the beer cans that are ugly; it's the highway that is ugly.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques the aesthetics of society and how it perceives nature and litter.
Edward Abbey's quote expresses a provocative view about environmental aesthetics, suggesting that the true ugliness lies not in the litter itself but in the poor condition of the surroundings. It challenges societal norms around cleanliness and encourages a deeper contemplation of our relationship with nature and how we judge beauty, suggesting that the structures we build can often overshadow the natural world.
Themes
EnvironmentUglinessPerceptionSocietyNature
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about environmental advocacy to highlight perceptions of beauty in nature.
More from Edward Abbey
All quotes βI love America because it is a confused, chaotic mess - and I hope we can keep it this way for at least another thousand years. The permissive society is the free society.
Edward AbbeyRead
If it's knowledge and wisdom you want, then seek out the company of those who do real work for an honest purpose.
Edward AbbeyRead
The earth is real. Only a fool, milking his cow, denies the cow's reality.
Edward AbbeyRead
I believe in nothing that I cannot touch, kiss, embrace.... The rest is only hearsay.
Edward AbbeyRead
Why can't we simply borrow what is useful to us from Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, especially Zen, as we borrow from Christianity, science, American Indian traditions and world literature in general, including philosophy, and let the rest go hang? Borrow what we need but rely principally upon our own senses, common sense and daily living experience.
Edward AbbeyRead
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Under observation, we act less free, which means we effectively are less free.
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Death and disaster are at our shoulders every second of our lives, trying to get at us. Missing, a lot of the time. A lot of miles on the motorway without a front wheel blow-out. A lot of viruses that slither through our bodies without snagging. A lot of pianos that fall a minute after we've passed. Or a month, it makes no difference. So unless we're going to get down on our knees and give thanks every time disaster misses, it makes no sense to moan when it strikes.
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