We have discovered that what a year ago seemed to be a neglected house is essentially a ruin. This is not a pleasant fact, and it is not surprising that all of us are rather annoyed and disappointed about it.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Havel describes the painful realization that a society thought to be neglected was actually ruined, causing disappointment.
- In plain terms
- Realizing society is deeply broken is painful and disappointing.
- What can you take from it?
- Facing hard truths about decay is necessary.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What truths have you avoided?
- How do you handle disappointment?
Another view
Sometimes optimism is more motivating than realism.
More from Vaclav Havel
It has become clear that the legacy of the past decades we have to cope with is even worse than we anticipated or could anticipate in the joyful atmosphere of …
Permalink to quote #76 A year ago, we all were united in the joy over having broken free of totalitarianism. Today we all are made somewhat nervous by the burden of freedom. Our soci…
Permalink to quote #78 There used to be a time when this country's president could have delivered the same New Year's Address he had given a year before, and nobody would have notice…
Permalink to quote #75
Related quotes
This is unfortunately a world in which things find it difficult, frequently impossible, to live up to their names.
Joseph PriestleyJoseph Priestley quote #14 The whole concept of this band is to present the ugly truth about society - warts and all, and let the chips fall where they may.
Marilyn MansonMarilyn Manson quote #3 Everything (he kept saying) is something it isn't. And everybody is always somewhere else.
E. B. (Elwyn Brooks) WhiteE. B. (Elwyn Brooks) White quote #7