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in all cultures, human beings – in order to be human – must understand the nonhuman.

Margaret Mead

What the world needs is not romantic lovers who are sufficient unto themselves, but husbands and wives who live in communities, relate to other people, carry on useful work and willingly give time and attention to their children.
MARGARET MEAD

Attention Carry Children Community Husband Lover Need Romantic Time Willing World
Never ever depend on governments or institutions to solve any major problems. All social change comes from the passion of individuals.
MARGARET MEAD

Change Government Institution Passion Problem Social Solution
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.
MARGARET MEAD

Children Delight Difference Opportunity Present
Jealousy is not a barometer by which the depth of love can be read. It merely records the degree of the lover’s insecurity.
MARGARET MEAD

Insecurity Jealous Love Reading
Laughter is man’s most distinctive emotional expression. Man shares the capacity for love and hate, anger and fear, loyalty and grief, with other living creatures. But humour, which has an intellectual as well as an emotional element belongs to man
MARGARET MEAD

Creature Emotional Expression Grief Humor Intellectual Laughter Loyalty Man
Manners, really good ones, make it possible to live with almost anyone, gracefully and pleasantly.
MARGARET MEAD

Goodness Grace Group Live Pleasant Small
Men have always been afraid that women could get along without them.
MARGARET MEAD

Afraid Along Man Woman
There is no hierarchy of values by which one culture has the right to insist on all its own values and deny those of another.
MARGARET MEAD

Culture Each Other Hierarchy Right Value
Throughout history, females have picked providers for males. Males pick anything.
MARGARET MEAD

Choice Female History Male
Today’s children are the first generation to grow up in a world that has the power to destroy itself.
MARGARET MEAD

Children Destroy Generation Growth Power World
One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture an animal and get away with it.
MARGARET MEAD

Animal Children Dangerous Oneself
Loving you is just like breathing, as effortless, and as lovely.
MARGARET MEAD

Breathe Effort Love
No country that permits firearms to be widely and randomly distributed among its population – especially firearms that are capable of wounding and killing human beings – can expect to escape violence, and a great deal of violence.
MARGARET MEAD

Allow Capable Country Distribution Escape Expectation Fire Human Kill Population Violence Wound
Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.
MARGARET MEAD

Children Ideas Teaching Thinking
We are living beyond our means. As a people we have developed a life-style that is draining the earth of its priceless and irreplaceable resources without regard for the future of our children and people all around the world.
MARGARET MEAD

Beyond Children Development Life Style Live Ourselves People Resource
I learned the value of hard work by working hard.
MARGARET MEAD

Hard Work Learning Myself Value
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.
MARGARET MEAD

Civilization Life People Realize Way
You just have to learn not to care about the dusty mites under the beds.
MARGARET MEAD

Bed Care Learning Yourself
Never underestimate the ability of a small group of committed individuals to change the world.
MARGARET MEAD

Ability Change Commitment Group Inspirational Small World
With the exception of the few cases to be discussed in the next chapter, adolescence represented no period of crisis or stress, but was instead an orderly developing of a set of slowly maturing interests and activities.
MARGARET MEAD

Activity Crisis Development Discussion Exception Interest Mature Representation Stress
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.
MARGARET MEAD

Change Citizenship Doubt Small Thinking
The assumption that men were created equal, with an equal ability to make an effort and win an earthly reward, although denied every day by experience, is maintained every day by our folklore and our daydreams.
MARGARET MEAD

Ability Creation Daydream Effort Equality Experience Man Reward
The pains of childbirth were altogether different from the enveloping effects of other kinds of pain. These were pains one could follow with one’s mind.
MARGARET MEAD

Childhood Follow Mindset Pain Togetherness
It is easier to change a man’s religion than to change his diet.
MARGARET MEAD

Change Diet Himself Man Religion
A small group of thoughtful people could change the world.
MARGARET MEAD

Change People Small Thinking World
If a fish were an anthropologist, the last thing it would discover would be water.
MARGARET MEAD

Discover Philosophy Water
For the very first time the young are seeing history being made before it is censored by their elders.
MARGARET MEAD

Elder History See Time Young

in all cultures, human beings – in order to be human – must understand the nonhuman.

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in all cultures, human beings – in order to be human – must understand the nonhuman.

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