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
One of the pleasant things about small town life is that everyone, whether rich or poor, liked or disliked, has some kind of a role and place in the community. I never felt that living in a city - as I once did for a couple of years.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Small towns foster a sense of belonging for everyone, regardless of social status.
Edward Abbey's quote emphasizes the unique sense of community found in small towns, where every individual, irrespective of their wealth or popularity, has a defined role and place. This contrasts with city life, where anonymity often prevails, leading to a lack of the close-knit connections that bring comfort and support to individuals within a community.
Themes
CommunityBelongingSmall TownRolePlace
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about community engagement in a local town hall.
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.
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I believe in nothing that I cannot touch, kiss, embrace.... The rest is only hearsay.
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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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