Ryszard Kapuściński - Man Quotes

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When man meets an obstacle he can't destroy, he destroys himself.

Ryszard Kapuściński
How do cultures differ from one another? Above all, in their customs. Tell me how you dress, how you act, what are your habits, which gods you honor, and I will tell you who you are. Man not only creates culture, he carries it around with him. Man is culture.

Ryszard Kapuściński
In Poland a man must be one thing: white or black, here or there, with us or against us – clearly, openly, without hesitations... We lack the liberal, democratic tradition rich in all its gradations. We have instead the tradition of struggle: the extreme situation, the final gesture.

Ryszard Kapuściński
The so-called new Russian man is characterized by his complete exhaustion. You may find yourself wondering if he has the strength to enjoy his new-found freedom. He is like a long-distance runner who, on reaching the finishing line, is incapable even of raising his hands in a gesture of victory.

Ryszard Kapuściński
Even though you can destroy a man, destroying him does not make him cease to exist. On the contrary, if I can put it this way, he begins to exist all the more. These are paradoxes no tyrant can deal with. The scythe swings, and at once the grass starts to grow back. Cut again and the grass grows faster than ever. A very comforting law of nature.

Ryszard Kapuściński