Before the terrifying prospects now available to humanity, we see even more clearly that peace is the only goal worth struggling for. This is no longer a prayer but a demand to be made by all peoples to their governments — a demand to choose definitively between hell and reason.
– Albert Camus (1913-1960)
From the rock star of Existentialism (although he would have been loathe to put himself anywhere near Sartre’s camp) – his words in response to the WWII bombing of Hiroshima. I thought of his essay – “The World is What it is,” which you can read here – in light of the attacks in Paris on Friday. In times of great crisis, one of my areas of solace is Camus. Blog, pray for Paris, praise life, add a filter to your profile photo, do whatever you need to do to console yourself because these actions do have merit. And then tomorrow – no more of this hatred, this bigotry, this senselessness – we must work toward peace.
[Thank you for joining us in the fourth third edition of the Quotable Quickie: Existentialism series for NaBloPoMo 2015. Vive la France!]
I, too, am a fan of Camus.
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There’s something timeless about Camus. Chilling how much his words still resonate today.
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I’m a fan of Camus – thank you for this.
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Glad to meet a fellow Camus fan 🙂
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