Even better if you can provide your own understanding of its meaning.

Mine would be :

“Nothing kills a man as much as being forced to represent a country” (and err considering the context, I must stress it has nothing to do with the current US shitshow), by a WW1 soldier, illustrator and writer named Jacques Vaché.

For me it just means being forced into representing a group (national, of course, but maybe also social, racial, sexual, professional, any kind of group) or defining one’s identity only by reference to a group is to be avoided at all costs.

Note : Its not the same, imho, as engaging in a collective struggle or defense against a common oppression.

How about you?

  • K0W4L5K1@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    2 months ago

    “Do to others as you want done too you” Wouldnt say its under rated just not actually followed by the masses that preach it but i prefer to say “dont treat people how you wouldnt want to be treated”

    • Ajen@sh.itjust.works
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      2 months ago

      IMO some people take this too literally. Just because you want to be treated a certain way doesn’t mean other people want to be treated that way.

  • pedroparamo@lemm.ee
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    2 months ago

    Mine is not as deep as yours and kind of cheesy since you see them in posters, Tshirts and stickers etc. it’s “pain is temporary, glory is forever.” This sentence helped me get through college while working mad hours just to pay for my tuition while writing essays and studying for exams. I would repeat this over and over to myself just to get through that day or moment hoping things would be better.

  • ZagamTheVile@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    “Time flies, time crawls You’re a prisoner trapped between its claws Life sucks, sometimes You gotta learn to live between the lines”

    Pretty much as written. Time marches forward no matter how I feel about it. My best friend died, people still sat in traffic on the way to work. My wife said she wanted a divorce, the mailman still brought me bills. I made the best chilli I’ve ever tasted and my neighbors cat disappeared. You gotta learn to just accept that life is fleeting and carve out your own space. Find your own joy. Bring your own good time. Because life doesn’t owe you anything and moaning about it won’t make things better.

    • sam2099@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it’s sinking
      Racing around to come up behind you again.
      The sun is the same in a relative way but you’re older
      Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

  • anarcho_vroom@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    2 months ago

    “It’ll never be the same”
    In context, meaning that things can never go back to the way they were… Ever.

    For me it’s like a grounding statement. Whenever I start thinking about some past time and just want things to go back to how they were, I remember this. My mind shifts to the future and I forget that nostalgic feeling because I remember that it can never be.

    • Cadenza@lemmy.worldOP
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      2 months ago

      Oh, yeah. There’s another one like this for me, a very short poem I read when I was a teenager :

      “Ah, what are they dreaming…? Those who say, say, say… Yesterday I was there, today I was here”

  • lattrommi@lemmy.ml
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    2 months ago

    Something my grandpa said, sometime around 2006-2007 I think.

    “The next world war, will be between the rich and and the poor, and the rich will win before the poor knows there’s a war.”

      • lattrommi@lemmy.ml
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        2 months ago

        I believe the first part is already occuring, it’s the last half that I hope is wrong.

  • DeadNinja@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    “Hurt people hurt people”

    Ever since I heard this, I became relatively more compassionate towards people, even if they piss me off.

      • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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        2 months ago

        I mean, he’s autistic in addition to being a bad person, so probably a large collection of people throughout his life who may or may not have even comprehended his side of the interaction. Comorbidity of autism with severe mental health problems is stupid high.

        That being said, the cycle would have died out long ago if some people weren’t dicks for no reason as well.

      • Phunter@lemm.ee
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        2 months ago

        Having untold wealth is actually not that good for you in a lot of cases. Generally, getting everything you want all the time is not good for your brain.

      • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        His father is a real piece of shit. Like evej when compared to Elon. But also he grew up in a society defined by a particular level of violence. Even though he was the privileged group there the violence was still present and there was violence to all, including the violence to teach the white children to be the oppressors.

  • tab@sh.itjust.works
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    2 months ago

    “(S)cience tends to progress through younger people, and old ideas tend to die with the originators of those ideas. through this cynical view, science progresses one coffin at a time.”

    the Sting of the wild p142, J.O. Schmidt

  • CyberMonkey404@lemmy.ml
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    2 months ago

    “Who’s ‘we’, paleface?”

    It’s from a silly joke, so it’s not meant to be taken seriously. But I remember it every time some politician or Internet dweller or anything in between uses “we” to describe a position, an opinion, etc. Who’s ‘we’? Do you dream to speak for others, for me? In my stead?

    • Cadenza@lemmy.worldOP
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      2 months ago

      Love this one. Used to teach students in political science about the horrible thing that “political ventiloquism” is.

    • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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      2 months ago

      Given his political leanings, very appropriate.

      TBH his writing style was a bit adjective-y too, although the world he built is fascinating. (I know less about his many letters and journals)

      • BreadOven@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Yeah…I try to not dwell on his questionable (very wrong and racist) ideas he had, and focus on the cosmic horror. 100 % adjective-y (never really thought about his work like that, but it’s too true haha).

        I just liked the quote disregarding his ideas. I even used it on the cover page of my thesis.

        I do quite like the memes of HP’s most nightmarish situation being in an elevator with a Welsh person, or having AC. They’re pretty spot on.

        Anyways, I just wanted to make sure no one thought I agree with his views, I just like the cosmic horror.

        • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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          2 months ago

          Yeah, sorry, didn’t mean to put you on the spot. I see how I did that now.

          To give another example illustrating the quote, Tolkien called himself an anarcho-monarchist and meant it. His explanation did not make it clearer what that means.

  • Summa@lemmy.wtf
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    2 months ago

    No matter how many books , videos you see , you cannot learn how to swim without entering the pool.

  • Berttheduck@lemmy.ml
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    2 months ago

    Be excellent to each other and party on dudes.

    Genuinely how I try to live my life, be kind and helpful to others and enjoy myself doing it.

  • RacerX@lemm.ee
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    2 months ago

    Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.

    Earl Nightingale

    Someone shared the phrase “The time will pass anyway” with me back when I was working on getting healthier. It was a constant reminder that there was no “best” day to start my journey and that anytime I was set back, I could pick things back up right away.

  • Darren@sopuli.xyz
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    2 months ago

    I don’t necessarily think it’s underrated because it’s the underpinning of a major religion, but;

    Existence is suffering.

    The first noble truth of Buddhism that I don’t think enough people really grasp.

    On first read, those three words sound like an angsty teen being all sad, but a deeper exploration tells us that to expect a life of ease and unending contentment is to set ourselves up for continued disappointment and anguish.

    When I first really absorbed the meaning of this it actually made me feel incredible. I am alive, therefore my knee hurts. I am alive, so I’m worried for the welfare of those I love. And when I considered it even further I began to understand that this is something that connects us all, regardless of our status in the world. From the most powerful kings and presidents to those sleeping rough begging for change; we are all fundamentally the same.

    For me, it’s really helped me to push through boundaries that have stopped me being more assertive with those who are more powerful than I am; managers, bosses and such. My boss worries about stuff the same way I do. It’s probably different stuff, sure, but he’s still experiencing existential pain.

    I am not a Buddhist, nor am I particularly spiritual. But I take a lot of inspiration from that phrase.

    • m0darn@lemmy.ca
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      2 months ago

      I think schopenhauer’s quote:

      to overcome difficulties if to experience the full delight of existence context

      is a corollary of sorts.

    • Delphia@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I buy a lottery ticket every week. Not because I think I stand a chance of winning but I am renting the idea that I could solve 95% of my problems instantly.

      I wont win, I’ll still have problems I know this but that $10 a week is me renting hope.