Far from being the basis of the good society, the family, with its narrow privacy and tawdry secrets, is the source of all our discontents.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that families may contribute more to societal issues than they resolve, highlighting their private struggles.
Edmund Leach's quote challenges the idealized view of the family as a cornerstone of a good society, positing instead that the family's secrets and private conflicts are significant sources of discontent within society. This perspective encourages a critical examination of the role families play in shaping individual behaviors and societal norms, suggesting that rather than being a refuge or model of good, the family unit may often perpetuate dysfunction and dissatisfaction.
In practice
In a discussion about societal issues during a community meeting, one could use this quote to introduce a debate on family dynamics.
If we examine every stage of our lives, we find that from our first breath to our last we are under the constraint of circumstances. And yet we still possess the greatest of all freedoms, the power of developing our innermost selves in harmony with the moral order of the universe, and so winning peace of heart whatever obstacles we meet.
A man who moralizes is a hypocrite, and a woman who does so is invariably plain.
People often ask me how I feel about my invention being used to kill people every day and the AK being a common weapon of ethnic conflicts. I want to make it clear that I created my assault rifle to protect my country. You can blame politicians for its spreading out of control on a global scale.
Be careless in your dress if you must, but keep a tidy soul.
The atomic bomb made the prospect of future war unendurable. It has led us up those last few steps to the mountain pass; and beyond there is a different country.
Reality lies in the greatest enchantment you have ever experienced.
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