The trouble with righting some wrongs is that it makes the remaining ones seem even more unbearable.
A. A. GillRead
When you look at traditions closely, examine what they really are, you realize they're made up of layers and layers of deferrals, delays, indecisions, tomorrows and long lunches.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Traditions are complex and often consist of postponed actions and indecision.
A. A. Gill's quote encourages us to critically examine traditions rather than accept them at face value. It suggests that many customs are not rooted in certainty or decisive actions but are instead made up of hesitations and the accumulation of unfulfilled intentions, prompting reflection on the authenticity and true significance of these practices in our lives.
Themes
TraditionIndecisionReflectionCustomExamination
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on cultural heritage, this quote could be used to emphasize the importance of critical thinking about traditions.
More from A. A. Gill
All quotes →If the world were to end tomorrow and we could choose to save only one thing as the explanation and memorial to who we were, then we couldn't do better than the Natural History Museum, although it wouldn't contain a single human. The systematic Linnean order, the vast inquisitiveness and range of collated knowledge and beauty would tell all that is the best of us.
A. A. GillRead
Sport is how poor kids from poor countries pass through the eye of the needle to riches and recognition.
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Being able to afford everything you desire is not, by any means, the worst thing that can happen to you. But, depressingly, and more profoundly, neither is it the best.
A. A. GillRead
America didn’t bypass or escape civilization. It did something far more profound, far cleverer: it simply changed what civilization could be.
A. A. GillRead
Celebrity is a national drama whose characters' parts and plots are written by the tabloids, gossip columnists, websites and interactive buttons. The famous don't actually have to turn up to their own lives at all.
A. A. GillRead
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