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The philosopher Elaine Scarry has observed that “beauty always takes place in the particular.” Cruelty, on the other hand, prefers abstraction.

Jonathan Safran Foer

I try not to remember the life that I didn’t want to lose but lost and have to remember,
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Life Lose Myself Remember Try
My wife and I have chosen to bring up our children as vegetarians. In another time or place, we might have made a different decision. But the realities of our present moment compelled us to make that choice.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Children Choice Decision Different Moments Place Present Reality Wife
The meaning of my thoughts started to float away from me, like leaves that fall from a tree into a river, I was the tree, the world was the river.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Leave Meaning Myself River Start Thinking Tree
I wasn’t having second thoughts, but I was having thoughts.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Myself Thinking
Food for her is not food, it is terror, dignity, gratitude, vengeance, joyfulness, humiliation, religion, history, and, of course, love. As if the fruit she always offered us were picked from the destroyed brances of out family tree.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Family Food Herself Offering Terror Tree
I wish my days could be washed away like the chalk lines of my days.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Day Myself Wash
I was of the opinion that the past is past, and like all that is not now it should remain buried along the side of our memories.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Bury Memories Opinion Ourselves Past Remain Side
Isn’t it strange how upset people get about a few dozen baseball players taking growth hormones, when we’re doing what we’re doing to our food animals and feeding them to our children?
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Children Food Growth Ourselves People Strange Upset
I felt shame for living in a nation of unprecedented prosperity-a nation that spends a smaller percentage of income on food than any other civilization has in human history-but in the name of affordability treats the animals it eats with cruelty so extreme it would be illegal if inflicted on a dog.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Animal Civilization Dog Feeling Illegal Name Nation Prosperity Shame Treat
My point is that there are a lot of forces, like the media and the general political rhetoric tells us we should have more. That we should do better than our parents and have a bigger house or a better car.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Better Car Force Home Media Parents Point Politics
Only humans can cry tears.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Cry Human Tears
A few weeks after the worst day, I started writing lots of letters. I don’t know why, but it was one of the only things that made my boots lighter.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Day Oneself Start Worst
Tomorrow was over the horizon, and would take an entire day to reach.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Day Future Horizon Reach
We shared the smile of recognizing ourselves in each other, how many imposters do I have? Do we all make the same mistakes, or has one of us gotten it right, or even just a bit less wrong, am I the imposter?
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Imposter Myself Recognition Share Smile Wrong
One of the greatest opportunities to live our values-or betray them-lies in the food we put on our plates.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Greatness Live Opportunity Ourselves Value
Once you hear something, you can never return to the time before you heard it.
JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

Hear Return Time Yourself

The philosopher Elaine Scarry has observed that “beauty always takes place in the particular.” Cruelty, on the other hand, prefers abstraction.

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The philosopher Elaine Scarry has observed that “beauty always takes place in the particular.” Cruelty, on the other hand, prefers abstraction.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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