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Our Contemporary Tories Prefer The Term 'ordered Liberty' To 'freedom'. The Word 'freedom' Scares Them; It Has Too Much Of A Paleolithic Ring To It.
-Edward Abbey
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Our Contemporary Tories Prefer

Edward Abbey
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Our Contemporary Tories Prefer The Term 'ordered Liberty' To 'freedom'. The Word 'freedom' Scares Them; It Has Too Much Of A Paleolithic Ring To It.

Understanding the Quote: "our contemporary tories prefer the term 'ordered liberty' to 'freedom'. the word..."

This quote by Edward Abbey reflects deeply on the theme of liberty. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Liberty, Scare, Too Much, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Edward Abbey interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Edward Abbey

Edward Abbey is celebrated for insightful thoughts on liberty and scare. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Liberty
Scare
Too Much
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Purpose
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Study
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Rising
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Wilderness
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Miracle
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May
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Body
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Sight
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Military
War
People
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Thousand
One Word
Right Words
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Guru
Should
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Leadership
Maturity
Men
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Enemy
Needs
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Beer
Men
The Idea Of Wilderness Needs No Defense, It Only Needs Defenders.
Ideas
Environmental
Needs
To The Intelligent Man Or Woman, Life Appears Infinitely Mysterious. But The Stupid Have An Answer For Every Question.
Stupid
Men
Intelligent
How To Avoid Pleurisy: Never Make Love To A Girl Named Candy On The Tailgate Of A Half-ton Ford Pickup During A Chill Rain In April Out On Grandview Point In San Juan County, Utah.
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Rain
Utah
Style: There Is Something In Too Much Verbal Felicity (as In Joyce Or Nabokov Or Borges) That Can Betray The Writer Into Technique For The Sake Of Technique.
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Technique
Sake
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Focus
Force
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Kind
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Hawks
Cry
Beaks
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West
Ends
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Writing
Police
Musical
Tofu And Futons. The Adepts Of Orientalism Seem To Spend Most Of Their Lives Reclining. They Can't Quite Summon The Energy To Crawl Up Onto A Chair. Even Their Yogic Exercises Are Carried Out In A Prone Or Sitting Position.
Exercise
Energy
Sitting
The Ideal Kitchen-sink Novel: Throw In Everything But The Kitchen Sink. Then Add The Kitchen Sink.
Kitchen
Add
Novel
I Now Find The Most Marvelous Things In The Everyday, The Ordinary, The Common, The Simple And Tangible.
Simple
Everyday
Ordinary
The Earth Is Not A Mechanism But An Organism, A Being With Its Own Life And Its Own Reasons, Where The Support And Sustenance Of The Human Animal Is Incidental. If Man In His Newfound Power And Vanity Persists In The Attempt To Remake The Planet In His Own Image, He Will Succeed Only In Destroying Himself - Not The Planet. The Earth Will Survive Our Most Ingenious Folly.
Animal
Men
Vanity
Under The Desert Sun, In The Dogmatic Clarity, The Fables Of Theology And The Myths Of Classical Philosophy Dissolve Like Mist. The Air Is Clean, The Rock Cuts Cruelly Into Flesh; Shatter The Rock And The Odor Of Flint Rises To Your Nostrils, Bitter And Sharp. Whirlwinds Dance Across The Salt Flats, A Pillar Of Dust By Day; The Thornbush Breaks Into Flame At Night. What Does It Mean? It Means Nothing. It Is As It Is And Has No Need For Meaning. The Desert Lies Beneath And Soars Beyond Any Possible Human Qualification. Therefore, Sublime.
Philosophy
Lying
Mean
Anywhere, Anytime, I'd Sacrifice The Finest Nuance For A Laugh, The Most Elegant Trope For A Smile.
Sacrifice
Laughing
Nuance
My Cousin Elroy Spent Seven Years As An Ibm Taper Staring At Think Signs On The Walls Before He Finally Got A Good Idea: He Quit.
Cousin
Wall
Thinking
I Wait. Now The Night Flows Back, The Mighty Stillness Embraces And Includes Me; I Can See The Stars Again And The World Of Starlight. I Am Twenty Miles Or More From The Nearest Fellow Human, But Instead Of Loneliness I Feel Loveliness. Loveliness And A Quiet Exultation.
Stars
Loneliness
Night
I Always Write With My .357 Magnum Handy. Why? Well, You Never Know When God May Try To Interfere.
Writing
Trying
May
If Industrial Man Continues To Multiply His Numbers And Expand His Operations He Will Succeed In His Apparent Intention, To Seal Himself Off From The Natural And Isolate Himself Within A Synthetic Prison Of His Own Making.
Men
Numbers
Succeed
As Mark Twain Said, 'i Love Wagner -- If Only They'd Cut Out All That Damned Singing!'
Cutting
Singing
Said
Music Clouds The Intellect But Clarifies The Heart.
Heart
Clouds
Intellect
I Took The Other Road, All Right, But Only Because It Was The Easy Road For Me, The Way I Wanted To Go. If I've Encountered Some Unnecessary Resistance That's Because Most Of The Traffic Is Going The Other Way.
Way
Resistance
Unnecessary
For Myself I Hold No Preferences Among Flowers, So Long As They Are Wild, Free, Spontaneous. Bricks To All Greenhouses! Black Thumb And Cutworm To The Potted Plant!
Flower
Sunshine
Grandchildren
The Desert Wears... A Veil Of Mystery. Motionless And Silent It Evokes In Us An Elusive Hint Of Something Unknown, Unknowable, About To Be Revealed. Since The Desert Does Not Act It Seems To Be Waiting -- But Waiting For What?
Waiting
Doe
Desert
A Giant Thirst Is A Great Joy When Quenched In Time.
Joy
Giants
Thirst
A Mother's Sorrow Is More True, Honorable, And Beautiful Than The Detachment Of The Sage.
Beautiful
Mother
Sorrow
If, As Some Say, Evil Lies In The Hearts And Not The Institutions Of Men, Then There's Hardly A Distinction Worth Making Between, Say, Hitler's Germany And Rebecca's Sunnybrook Farm.
Lying
Heart
Men
Some Of My Ancestors Fought In The American Revolution. A Few More Wore Red Coats, A Few Wore Blue Coats, And The Rest Wore No Coats At All. We Never Did Figure Out Who Won That War.
War
Blue
Coats
Romanticism Was More Than Merely An Alternative To A Sterile Classicism; Romanticism Made Possible, Especially In Art, A Great Expansion Of The Human Consciousness.
Art
Expansion
Alternatives
A Woman, As Much As A Man, Is Responsible By The Age Of Forty For The Character Of Her Face. But Women, Obeying The Biological Imperative, Strive Harder To Preserve A Youthful Appearance (the Reproductive Look) And Lose It Sooner.
Character
Men
Age
The Tragedy Of Modern War Is That The Young Men Die Fighting Each Other - Instead Of Their Real Enemies Back Home In The Capitals.
Peace
Real
War
All Serious Writers Want The Obvious Rewards: Fame, Money, Women, Love -- And Most Of All, An Audience!
Want
Rewards
Serious
The More Fantastic An Ideology Or Theology, The More Fanatic Its Adherents.
Fantastic
Theology
Ideology
I'm A Fastidious Sort Of Fellow, Fond Of Watermelon And Buckbrush Nuts.
Nuts
Fastidious
Fellows
It Is True That Some Of My Fiction Was Based On Actual Events. But The Events Took Place After The Fiction Was Written.
Events
Fiction
Written
The Result Of This Bestial Lust Is An Indiscriminate And Promiscuous Splaying Of All Of My Energies- Wanting All, I Accomplish Nothing; Desiring Everything, I Satisfy Nothing And Am Satisfied By Nothing.
Accomplish Nothing
Lust
Energy
Civilization, Like An Airplane In Flight, Survives Only As It Keeps Going Forward.
Airplane
Civilization
Flight
The Greater Your Dreams, The More Terrible Your Nightmares.
Dream
Nightmare
Terrible
Civilization Is A Youth With A Molotov Cocktail In His Hand. Culture Is The Soviet Tank Or L.a. Cop That Guns Him Down.
Gun
Hands
Molotov Cocktail
In Metaphysics, The Notion That Earth And All That's On It Is A Mental Construct Is The Product Of People Who Spend Their Lives Inside Rooms. It Is An Indoor Philosophy.
Philosophy
People
Earth
Charity Should Be Spontaneous. Calculated Altruism Is An Affront.
Charity
Spontaneous
Affront
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