Quotes from Margaret Mead

We won't have a society if we destroy the environment.

What people say, what people do, and what they say they do are entirely different things.

[In Bali] life is a rhythmic, patterned unreality of pleasant, significant movement, centered in one's own body to which all emotions long ago withdrew.

we came to realize that a civilization which rode roughshod over the way of life of other peoples was incorporating evil in its own way of life.

Once any group in society stands in a relatively deprived position in relation to other groups, it is genuinely deprived.

Life in the twentieth century is like a parachute jump: you have to get it right the first time.

If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place.

The problem with America today is that too many people know too much about not enough.

The closest friends I made all through life have been people who also grew up close to a loved and loving grandmother or grandfather.

I personally measure success in terms of the contributions an individual makes to his or her fellow human beings.

Through a grandmother's voice and hands the end of life is known at the beginning.

Every time we liberate a woman, we liberate a man.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.

I was wise enough never to grow up, while fooling people into believing I had.

Laughter is man's most distinctive emotional expression.

Instead of being presented with stereotypes by age, sex, color, class, or religion, children must have the opportunity to learn that within each range, some people are loathsome and some are delightful.

Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.

Having someone wonder where you are when you don't come home at night is a very old human need.

Never depend upon institutions or government to solve any problem. All social movements are founded by, guided by, motivated and seen through by the passion of individuals.

There is no greater insight into the future than recognizing...when we save our children, we save ourselves

You know you love someone when you cannot put into words how they make you feel.

Young people are moving away from feeling guilty about sleeping with somebody to feeling guilty if they are *not* sleeping with someone.

It is utterly false and cruelly arbitrary to put all the play and learning into childhood, all the work into middle age, and all the regrets into old age.