A man doesn't say I will starve myself to death to keep from starving, or that he'd spend all of his money to save money. Why should he be willing to die for the privilege of living?
Interpretation
This quote questions the logic of sacrificing one's well-being for the sake of survival.
Dalton Trumbo's quote reflects on the absurdity of extreme self-denial when it comes to basic needs like food and financial stability. It suggests that sacrificing essential aspects of life to avoid discomfort or hardship ultimately contradicts the purpose of living, highlighting the importance of finding a balance between survival and quality of life, and questioning the rationale behind suffering voluntarily.
In practice
During a speech about mental health, one might reference this quote to highlight the importance of nourishing oneself emotionally and physically.
It will come with a rush and a roar and a shudder. It will come howling and laughing and shrieking and moaning. It will come so fast you can’t help yourself you will stretch out your arms to embrace it. You will feel it before it comes and you will tense yourself for acceptance and the earth which is your eternal bed will tremble at the moment of your union.
The chief internal enemies of any state are not spies nor saboteurs nor the paid agents of foreign governments. They are, on the contrary, those myriads of public officials who betray the trust imposed upon them by the people.
There are plenty of laws to protect guys' money even in war time but there's nothing on the books says a man's life's his own.
Dishonesty in government is the business of every citizen. It is not enough to do your own job. There's no particular virtue in that. Democracy isn't a gift. It's a responsibility.
The blacklist was a time of evil...no one on either side who survived it came through untouched by evil...[Looking] back on this time...it will do no good to search for villains or heroes or saints or devils because there were none; there were only victims.
Then there was this freedom the little guys were always getting killed for. Was it freedom from another country? Freedom from work or disease or death? Freedom from your mother-in-law? Please mister give us a bill of sale on this freedom before we go out and get killed. Give us a bill of sale drawn up plainly in advance what we're getting killed for... so we can be sure after we've won your war that we've got the same kind of freedom we bargained for.
War is not merely a political act but a real political instrument, a continuation of political intercourse, a carrying out of the same by other means.
Romans, countrymen, and lovers, hear me for my cause, and be silent, that you may hear.
The Union was formed by the voluntary agreement of the States; and these, in uniting together, have not forfeited their Nationality, nor have they been reduced to the condition of one and the same people. If one of the States chose to withdraw its name from the contract, it would be difficult to disprove its right of doing so.
Dawn: When men of reason go to bed.
Modern systematic politics, whether liberal, conservative, radical, or socialist, simply has to be rejected from a standpoint that owes genuine allegiance to the tradition of the virtues; for modern politics itself expresses in its institutional forms a systematic rejection of that tradition
We can suspend disbelief about Harry Potter, and we do the same thing with God, and we do the same thing with human rights, and we do the same thing with money.
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