I can't imagine myself outside any kind of social or political involvement.
Interpretation
The quote expresses the importance of being actively engaged in social and political matters.
Jose Saramago emphasizes that individuals are inherently tied to the communities and societies in which they live. He suggests that neglecting social or political involvement would lead to a disconnection from the very essence of one's identity and responsibility as a member of society.
In practice
During a community meeting, one could use this quote to inspire others to participate in local governance.
Why did we become blind, I don't know, perhaps one day we'll find out, Do you want me to tell you what I think, Yes, do, I don't think we did go blind, I think we are blind, Blind but seeing, Blind people who can see, but do not see.
I can't imagine myself outside any kind of social or political involvement. Yes, I'm a writer, but I live in this world, and my writing doesn't exist on a separate level. And if people know who I am and read my books, well, good; that way, if I have something more to say, then everyone benefits.
...you have to leave the island in order to see the island, that we can't see ourselves unless we become free of ourselves, Unless we escape from ourselves you mean, No, that's not the same thing.
Whether we like it or not, the one justification for the existence of all religions is death, they need death as much as we need bread to eat.
With the passage of time, as well as the social evolution and genetic exchange, we ended up putting our conscience in the color of our blood and the salt of our tears.
En ningún momento de la historia, en ningún lugar del planeta, las religiones han servido para que los seres humanos se acerquen unos a los otros. Por el contrario, sólo han servido para separar, para quemar, para torturar. No creo en dios, no lo necesito y además soy buena persona.
Consciousness succumbs all too easily to unconscious influences, and these are often truer and wiser than our conscious thinking.
The individual is capable of both great compassion and great indifference. He has it within his means to nourish the former and outgrow the latter.
To believe in Jesus is to accept what he says, even when it runs contrary to what others are saying. It means rejecting the lure of sin, however attractive it may be, in order to set out on the difficult path of the Gospel virtues.
You've confused a war on your religion with not always getting everything you want.
One never reaches home, but wherever friendly paths intersect the whole world looks like home for a time.
Whose rights will we acknowledge? Whose human dignity will we respect? For whose well-being will we, as a people, assume responsibility?
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