Quotes About Humanity

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our

Why is the half of humanity with a special sensitivity to the preciousness of life, the half untainted by testosterone poisoning, almost wholly unrepresented in defense establishments and peace negotiations worldwide? [blurb on Daniella Gioseffi's _Women on War_; quoted in Carol Lynn Pearson's _The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy_]

La comprensión del cambio climático puede tener profundas consecuencias básicas, porque el hombre está ejerciendo tremenda influencia en el medio ambiente de la Tierra, a menudo en formas que revelan mediocres caminos de pensamiento, malas comprensiones y conveniencias individuales y beneficios económicos a corto plazo, entre los habitantes del planeta.

Why are there no nonhuman primates with an existing complex gestural language? One possible answer, it seems to me, is that humans have systematically exterminated those other primates who displayed signs of intelligence.

You spend even a little time contemplating the Earth from orbit and the most deeply engrained nationalisms begin to erode. They seem the squabbles of mites on a plum.

This is all a big ball . . . turning in the middle of the sky . . . once a day. She tried to imagine it spinning, with millions of people glued to it, talking different languages, wearing funny clothes, all stuck to the same ball.

Una científica compañera mía me contaba un reciente viaje que realizó a la meseta de Nueva Guinea, donde visitó una tribu todavía en la edad de piedra que apenas había tenido contactos con la civilización. Ignoraban lo que son los relojes de pulsera, las bebidas refrescantes y los alimentos congelados. Pero conocían el Apolo 11. Sabían que los humanos han pisado la Luna.

Los dioses no vienen a componer las cosas que nos salieron mal. Fíjese en la historia del hombre, y se dará cuenta de que siempre estuvimos solos

National boundaries are not evident when we view the Earth from space. Fanatical ethnic or religious or national chauvinisms are a little difficult to maintain when we see our planet as a fragile blue crescent fading to become an inconspicuous point of light against the bastion and citadel of he stars.

Pero los humanos tenemos talento para engañarnos a nosotros mismos. El escepticismo debe ser un componente de la caja de herramientas del explorador, en otro caso nos perderemos en el camino. El espacio tiene maravillas suficientes sin tener que inventarlas.

Can we, who have made such a mess of this world, be trusted with others?

We are difficult to come by and a danger to ourselves.

Para criaturas pequenas como nós, a vastidão só é suportável através do amor.

She tried to imagine it spinning, with millions of people glued to it, talking different languages, wearing funny clothes, all stuck to the same ball.

the more people killed in a war, the less likely it was to occur, and the longer before you could witness it, just as violent storms occur less frequently than cloudbursts. Richardson

We are too small and our statecraft is too feeble to be seen by a spacecraft between the Earth and the Moon. From this vantage point, our obsession with nationalism is nowhere in evidence.

Who is really in charge of this planet?

We all have a tendency to succumb to a state of despair about the destructiveness and shortsightedness of the human species. I've certainly done my share (and on grounds I still consider well-based). But one of the discoveries of my illness is the extraordinary community of goodness to which people in my situation owe their lives.

When too much cynicism threatens to engulf us, it is buoying to remember how pervasive goodness is.

This zest to explore and exploit, however thoughtless its agents may have been, has clear survival value. It is not restricted to any one nation or ethnic group. It is an endowment that all members of the human species hold in common.

It would seem that our intelligence is the source of our unhappiness in an almost literal way; but it would also imply that our unhappiness is the source of our strength as a species.

Vast migrations of people -some voluntary, most not- have shaped the human condition. More of us flee from war, oppression and famine today than at any other time in human history.

Somos el producto de cinco mil millones de años de evolución biológica lenta, fortuita, y no hay razón alguna para pensar en que se haya detenido tal proceso evolutivo. El hombre es un animal en período de transición. No es el clímax de una creación.

O primeiro pecado da humanidade foi a fé; a primeira virtude foi a dúvida.