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61 " We probably didn't know what we were doing thousands of years ago as we hunted some large mammals to extinction. But we know what we're doing now. We know how to tread more lightly upon the earth. We could choose to use less energy, eat less meat, clear fewer forests. And we chose not to. As a result, for many forms of life, humanity is the apocalypse. "
― John Green , The Anthropocene Reviewed
62 " I am highly suspicious of attempts to brightside human suffering, especially suffering that—as in the case of almost all infectious diseases—is unjustly distributed. I’m not here to criticize other people’s hope, but personally, whenever I hear someone waxing poetic about the silver linings to all these clouds, I think about a wonderful poem by Clint Smith called “When people say, ‘we have made it through worse before.’” The poem begins, “all I hear is the wind slapping against the gravestones / of those who did not make it.” As in Ibn Battuta’s Damascus, the only path forward is true solidarity—not only in hope, but also in lamentation. "
63 " I remember as a child hearing phrases like "Only the strong survive" and "survival of the fittest" and feeling terrified, because I knew I was neither strong nor fit. I didn't yet understand that when humanity protects the frail among us, and works to ensure their survival, the human project as a whole gets stronger. "
64 " Like an expensive painting or a fragile orchid, I thrive only in extremely specific conditions. "
65 " What an astonishment to breathe on this breathing planet. What a blessing to be Earth loving Earth. "
66 " To accept the demonization of the marginalized as inevitable is to give up on the whole human enterprise. "
67 " He showed me that you could be crazy and still be human, still be valuable, and still be loved. "
68 " In the Anthropocene there are no disinterested observers; there are only participants "
69 " Art is where what we survive survives. "
70 " The five-star scale doesn’t really exist for humans; it exists for data aggregation systems, which is why it did not become standard until the internet era. Making conclusions about a book’s quality from a 175-word review is hard work for artificial intelligences, whereas star ratings are ideal for them. "
71 " I can only know my pain, and you can only know yours. "
72 " For days now, my brain has refused to allow me to finish a thought, constantly interrupting with worries. Even my worries get interrupted--by new worries, or facets of old worries I had not adequately considered. My thoughts are a river overflowing its banks, churning and muddy and ceaseless. I wish I wasn't so scared all the time--scared of the virus, yes, but there is also some deeper fear: the terror of time passing, and me with it. "
73 " hope is the correct response to the strange, often terrifying miracle of consciousness. Hope is not easy or cheap. It is true. "
74 " I remember thinking that I would never be a kid again, not really, which was the first time I can recall feeling that intense longing for the you to whom you can never return. "
75 " And so I try to turn toward that scattered light, belly out, and I tell myself; This doesn't look like a picture. And it doesn't look like a god. It is a sunset, and it is beautiful, and this whole thing you've been doing where nothing gets five stars because nothing is perfect? That's bullshit. So much is perfect. Starting with this. I give sunsets five stars. "
76 " Knowing the facts doesn't help me picture the truth. "
77 " But knowing something abstractly is different than knowing it experientially. "
78 " A species that has only ever found its way to more must now find its way to less. "
79 " Rivers keep going, and we keep going, and there is no way back to the roof of that hotel. But the memory still holds me together. "
80 " The only way out is through.” And the only good way through is together. "