--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You could ask: Why are people attracted…" description: "\"You could ask: Why are people attracted to narratives that justify the terrible things that we're doing to the planet? Why are people attracted to narr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/459/charles-eisenstein-6748_alienation_you-could-ask-why-are-people-attracted-t_1211126.jpg" --- # You could ask: Why are people attracted to narratives that… ![“You could ask: Why are people attracted to narratives that justify the terrible things that we're doing to the planet? Why are people attracted to narratives of control and fear and hunting down the terrorists, and this uncaring attitude toward nature? These come from what I call the perceptions…” quote by Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/459/charles-eisenstein-6748_alienation_you-could-ask-why-are-people-attracted-t_1211126.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/459/charles-eisenstein-6748_alienation_you-could-ask-why-are-people-attracted-t_1211126.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/459/charles-eisenstein-6748_alienation_you-could-ask-why-are-people-attracted-t_1211126.jpg) > “You could ask: Why are people attracted to narratives that justify the terrible things that we're doing to the planet? Why are people attracted to narratives of control and fear and hunting down the terrorists, and this uncaring attitude toward nature? These come from what I call the perceptions of separation and the experience of separation, the experience of alienation, the experience of scarcity and anxiety and competition, and a world in which everybody is out for themselves and nobody cares.” [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People gravitate toward narratives that rationalize environmental harm because they mask feelings of separation, scarcity, and fear. **In simple terms:** Stories justify hurting nature. Key Takeaway Seek narratives that foster connection. Themes environment psychology narratives Mood hopeful critical Type inspirational analytical When to use this quote - policy advocacy - education - community building - personal lifestyle choices Key Concepts Ecology existential anxiety Questions to Reflect On - What stories could replace harmful narratives? - How can we cultivate a sense of unity? A Different Perspective Such narratives can also inspire collective action if reframed positively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alienation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alienation/) [Anxiety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/) [Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition/) [Hunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunting/) [Narratives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narratives/) [Nobody cares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobody-cares/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) [Separation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separation/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Narratives that were taken for granted when I was a kid are still there, but they don't have the same depth and fervor anymore.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/narratives-that-were-taken-for-granted-when-i-was-a-kid-are-still/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [In a general sense, to convert any short story, novel, play, or opera into a movie, you have to re-rig it. Even though they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/in-a-general-sense-to-convert-any-short-story-novel-play-or-opera/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [Gradually it occurred to me that we spend a great deal of life asleep and that dreams are little narratives, little stories. I thought,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/gradually-it-occurred-to-me-that-we-spend-a-great-deal-of-life-asleep/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [Confronting and undermining the narratives and ideas of extremism must therefore be one of our key tasks. To do this, we must retain the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-gahr-store/confronting-and-undermining-the-narratives-and-ideas-of-extremism/) [Jonas Gahr Store](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-gahr-store/) > [“News organizations are coy about admitting that what they present us with each day are minuscule extracts of narratives whose true shape and logic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/news-organizations-are-coy-about-admitting-that-what-they-present-us/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Throughout African-American literature, the writer has, in a sense, been burdened by the necessity of pleading the case for the whole race. For example,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-ligon/throughout-african-american-literature-the-writer-has-in-a-sense-been/) [Glenn Ligon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-ligon/) > [I was an English-literature major, and that's all about stories and narratives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-weisz/i-was-an-english-literature-major-and-that-s-all-about-stories-and/) [Rachel Weisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-weisz/) > [I think we all are born inside of our parents' narratives. We stay there for a good while. We are taught their narratives about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/i-think-we-all-are-born-inside-of-our-parents-narratives-we-stay/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [Narration is as much a part of human nature as breath and the circulation of the blood… storytelling is intrinsic to biological time, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/narration-is-as-much-a-part-of-human-nature-as-breath-and-the/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [We breathe, we think, we conceive of our lives as narratives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lehmann-haupt/we-breathe-we-think-we-conceive-of-our-lives-as-narratives/) [Christopher Lehmann-Haupt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lehmann-haupt/) > [The religious imagery and fairytales that formed our shared cultural references have been replaced by the cult of celebrity. Marilyn is the sex goddess,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-jackson/the-religious-imagery-and-fairytales-that-formed-our-shared-cultural/) [Alison Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-jackson/) > [“When she smiles, the lines in her face become epic narratives that trace the stories of generations that no book can replace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-tyrone-jones/when-she-smiles-the-lines-in-her-face-become-epic-narratives-that/) [Curtis Tyrone Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-tyrone-jones/) > [Narratives can be misconstrued.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-poole/narratives-can-be-misconstrued/) [Jordan Poole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-poole/) > [“Our reflection of action occurs in different contexts which may influence us to shape our accounts in different ways for different audiences - our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqui-stedmon/our-reflection-of-action-occurs-in-different-contexts-which-may/) [Jacqui Stedmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqui-stedmon/) > [Extremist perspectives win sympathy and recruits because they offer narratives that claim to identify deep injustices and enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-gahr-store/extremist-perspectives-win-sympathy-and-recruits-because-they-offer/) [Jonas Gahr Store](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-gahr-store/) ## More by Charles Eisenstein > [What makes you care about nature, about the planet? Is it really that you're afraid of what's going to happen if you don't take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/what-makes-you-care-about-nature-about-the-planet-is-it-really-that/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [The financial crisis we are facing today arises from the fact that there is almost no more social, cultural, natural, and spiritual capital left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/the-financial-crisis-we-are-facing-today-arises-from-the-fact-that/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [More than a mere alternative strategy, regenerative agriculture represents a fundamental shift in our culture’s relationship to nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/more-than-a-mere-alternative-strategy-regenerative-agriculture/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [Real change doesn't come without crisis. Childbirth doesn't come without crisis. I think that's happening with humanity now. Our growth has generated multiple crises...and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/real-change-doesn-t-come-without-crisis-childbirth-doesn-t-come/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [We sense that ‘normal’ isn’t coming back, that we are being born into a new normal: a new kind of society, a new relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/we-sense-that-normal-isn-t-coming-back-that-we-are-being-born-into-a/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [So much of our politics is stuck in patterns of response that aren't working. When student performance is declining in schools, we implement more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/so-much-of-our-politics-is-stuck-in-patterns-of-response-that-aren-t/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [I'll start with where we are right now. The map that I'll use is this birthing process, this kind of profound transition that we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/i-ll-start-with-where-we-are-right-now-the-map-that-i-ll-use-is-this/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [An economist says that essentially more for you is less for me, but the lover knows that more for you is more for me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/an-economist-says-that-essentially-more-for-you-is-less-for-me-but/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [Joint consumption doesn’t create intimacy,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/joint-consumption-doesn-t-create-intimacy/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [You could conceive spirituality as the study of the immeasurable, of the qualitative. But that's very different from the way we typically use the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/you-could-conceive-spirituality-as-the-study-of-the-immeasurable-of/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [“We have bigger houses but smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; We have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/we-have-bigger-houses-but-smaller-families-more-conveniences-but-less/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [The holistic acupuncturist and the sea turtle rescuer may not be able to explain the feeling, 'We are serving the same thing,' but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/the-holistic-acupuncturist-and-the-sea-turtle-rescuer-may-not-be-able/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [“Perhaps the deepest indication of our slavery is the monetization of time. It is a phenomenon with roots deeper than our money system, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/perhaps-the-deepest-indication-of-our-slavery-is-the-monetization-of/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [True discipline is really just self-remembering; no forcing or fighting is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/true-discipline-is-really-just-self-remembering-no-forcing-or/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [You can't have community as an add-on to a monetized life. You have to actually need each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/you-can-t-have-community-as-an-add-on-to-a-monetized-life-you-have-to/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) [Explore all 97 Charles Eisenstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) ## More Alienation quotes > [ Anthropology has always struggled with an intense, fascinated repulsion towards its subject… \[The anthropologist\] submits himself to the exotic to confirm his own inner… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/anthropology-has-always-struggled-with-an-intense-fascinated/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“Everyone who lived in high-up, magical places must feel the same way. You come down into the world and you mingle, but all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arjum-hasan/everyone-who-lived-in-high-up-magical-places-must-feel-the-same-way/) Arjum Hasan > [“If his long day were lived in a European novel, he'd become "D" when on the run or near disappeared.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kudera/if-his-long-day-were-lived-in-a-european-novel-he-d-become-d-when-on/) [Alex Kudera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kudera/) > [Perhaps a creature of so much ingenuity and deep memory is almost bound to grow alienated from his world, his fellows, and the objects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/perhaps-a-creature-of-so-much-ingenuity-and-deep-memory-is-almost/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [“She would not say of anyone in the world now that they were this or were that. She felt very young; at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-would-not-say-of-anyone-in-the-world-now-that-they-were-this-or/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Holidays are in no sense an alternative to the congestion and bustle of the cities and work. Quite the contrary. People look to escape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/holidays-are-in-no-sense-an-alternative-to-the-congestion-and-bustle/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [The universe must be experienced as the Great Self. Each is fulfilled in the other: the Great Self is fulfilled in the individual self,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/the-universe-must-be-experienced-as-the-great-self-each-is-fulfilled/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [“We are accustomed to think of ourselves as a great democratic body, linked by common ties of blood and language, united indissolubly by all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/we-are-accustomed-to-think-of-ourselves-as-a-great-democratic-body/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Alienation produces eccentrics or revolutionary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-holzer/alienation-produces-eccentrics-or-revolutionary/) [Jenny Holzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-holzer/) > [“A consequence of this alienation of humans from their own nature is that they are also alienated from each other. Productive activity becomes ‘activity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/a-consequence-of-this-alienation-of-humans-from-their-own-nature-is/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [I feel what they feel: man-hating, that volatile admixture of pity, contempt, disgust, envy, alienation, fear, and rage at men. It is hatred not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-levine/i-feel-what-they-feel-man-hating-that-volatile-admixture-of-pity/) Judith Levine > [Part of the gestation of 'The Wall' was this business of alienation from the audience, and so the interesting thing was, what 'The Wall'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-mason/part-of-the-gestation-of-the-wall-was-this-business-of-alienation/) [Nick Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-mason/) > [“Most of her friends owned laptops and seemed to spend more time with their phones than anything else. Steffy kept her latest playlists and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-allison-parker/most-of-her-friends-owned-laptops-and-seemed-to-spend-more-time-with/) [Jaime Allison Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-allison-parker/) > [The number one problem in our world is alienation, rich versus poor, black versus white, labor versus management, conservative versus liberal, East versus West…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-number-one-problem-in-our-world-is-alienation-rich-versus-poor/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [What unites Trump's voters is a sense of alienation from America's wealthy and powerful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance-2/what-unites-trump-s-voters-is-a-sense-of-alienation-from-america-s/) [J. D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance-2/) [Browse all 392 Alienation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alienation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You could ask: Why are people attracted to narratives that justify the terrible things that we're doing to the planet? Why are people attracted to narratives of control and fear and hunting down the terrorists, and this uncaring attitude toward nature? 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