--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I understand and sympathize with the…" description: "\"I understand and sympathize with the reasonable needs of a reasonable number of people on a finite continent. All life depends upon other life. But wha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/edward-abbey-254_america_i-understand-and-sympathize-with-the-rea_1362817.jpg" --- # I understand and sympathize with the reasonable needs of a… ![“I understand and sympathize with the reasonable needs of a reasonable number of people on a finite continent. All life depends upon other life. But what is happening today, in North America, is not rational use but irrational massacre. Man the Pest, multiplied to the swarming stage, is attacking…” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/edward-abbey-254_america_i-understand-and-sympathize-with-the-rea_1362817.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/edward-abbey-254_america_i-understand-and-sympathize-with-the-rea_1362817.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/edward-abbey-254_america_i-understand-and-sympathize-with-the-rea_1362817.jpg) > “I understand and sympathize with the reasonable needs of a reasonable number of people on a finite continent. All life depends upon other life. But what is happening today, in North America, is not rational use but irrational massacre. Man the Pest, multiplied to the swarming stage, is attacking the remaining forests like a plague of locusts on a field of grain.” [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human activity is destroying ecosystems, turning nature into a battlefield of overpopulation and greed. **In simple terms:** People are overusing land, harming nature. Key Takeaway Reduce consumption, protect habitats. Themes environment conservation overpopulation exploitation Mood concerned urgent Type environmental activist When to use this quote - urban planning - policy making - community activism - wildlife preservation Key Concepts ecology carrying capacity tragedy of the commons Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance growth with sustainability? - What policies can curb habitat loss? A Different Perspective Human needs will always clash with ecological limits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Rational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-rational-4668846/) [Attacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attacking/) [Continents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/continents/) [Depends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depends/) [Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fields/) [Finite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finite/) [Forests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forests/) [Grain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grain/) [Happenings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happenings/) [Irrational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrational/) [Irrational Massacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrational-massacre-4668844/) [Massacres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/massacres/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Needs Reasonable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs-reasonable-490556/) [North america](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/north-america/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pest Multiplied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pest-multiplied-4668845/) [Pests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pests/) [Plague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plague/) [Rational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rational/) [Reasonable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasonable/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Sympathize Reasonable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathize-reasonable-4668847/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [The simple idea that everyone needs a reasonable amount of challenging work in his or her life, and also a personal life, complete with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/the-simple-idea-that-everyone-needs-a-reasonable-amount-of/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [And when Hugh would grow progressively Gandhi on me, I'd remind him that these were pests---disease carriers who feasted upon the dead and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/and-when-hugh-would-grow-progressively-gandhi-on-me-i-d-remind-him/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [Don't knock the power of a pest," Leif said. "Persistance and stubborness can be useful in many situations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/don-t-knock-the-power-of-a-pest-leif-said-persistance-and-stubborness/) [Maria V. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-v-snyder/) > [For today, we celebrate the first glorious anniversary of the Information Purification Directives. We have created, for the first time in all history, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/for-today-we-celebrate-the-first-glorious-anniversary-of-the/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [One woman is a pest and two women is a team, but three women or more is a coalition. If you can bring a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/one-woman-is-a-pest-and-two-women-is-a-team-but-three-women-or-more/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [you may take it from me, that however hard you try - or don't try; whatever you do - or don't do; for better,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-raverat/you-may-take-it-from-me-that-however-hard-you-try-or-don-t-try/) [Gwen Raverat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-raverat/) > [Oh, how I vainly wished to the bearded man in the sky that I was Neapolitan. Why? So I could bring in a fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/oh-how-i-vainly-wished-to-the-bearded-man-in-the-sky-that-i-was/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Sometimes you have to burn bridges to keep pests from following you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author-name/sometimes-you-have-to-burn-bridges-to-keep-pests-from-following-you/) [Author Name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/author-name/) > [Cyber Leader: Daleks, be warned. You have declared war upon the Cybermen. Dalek Sec: This is not war - this is pest control! Cyber…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-t-davies/cyber-leader-daleks-be-warned-you-have-declared-war-upon-the-cybermen/) [Russell T Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-t-davies/) > [“Plantations of good morals are easily captivated, colonized and corrupted by the pests of a bad company. Spray away bad companies and you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/plantations-of-good-morals-are-easily-captivated-colonized-and/) [israelmore ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I hate the pollyanna pest who says that all is for the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-p-adams/i-hate-the-pollyanna-pest-who-says-that-all-is-for-the-best/) [Franklin P. Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-p-adams/) > [I didn't go to university. They offered me a job as a junior reporter and I went off to work for the Southern Reporter.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-douglas/i-didn-t-go-to-university-they-offered-me-a-job-as-a-junior-reporter/) [Jill Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-douglas/) > [I myself have not met a self-confessed liberal since the late fifties (and even then it was a tacky thing to admit, like coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/i-myself-have-not-met-a-self-confessed-liberal-since-the-late-fifties/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [Gary Greenberg is a thoughtful comedian and a cranky philosopher and a humble pest of a reporter, equal parts Woody Allen, Kierkegaard, and Columbo.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gideon-lewis-kraus/gary-greenberg-is-a-thoughtful-comedian-and-a-cranky-philosopher-and/) [Gideon Lewis-Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gideon-lewis-kraus/) > [That devilish Iron Horse, whose ear-rending neigh is heard throughout the town, has muddied the Boiling Spring with his foot, and he it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/that-devilish-iron-horse-whose-ear-rending-neigh-is-heard-throughout/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Edward Abbey > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. By submitting to huge hierarchies of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-institutions-are-too-big-they-represent-not-the-best-but-the/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it's likely that no one is thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/where-all-pretend-to-be-thinking-alike-it-s-likely-that-no-one-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“But why, the questioner insists, why do people like you pretend to love uninhabited country so much? Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. An old wino's disease, which could lay me in the grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/me-i-m-living-under-a-sword-too-as-jack-may-have-told-you-an-old-wino/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/look-here-i-want-to-say-for-godsake-folks-get-out-of-them-there/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/reason-has-seldom-failed-us-because-it-has-seldom-been-tried/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. Part Two: Say it well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-is-the-essence-of-the-art-of-writing-part-one-have-something-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) [Explore all 807 Edward Abbey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I understand and sympathize with the reasonable needs of a reasonable number of people on a finite continent. All life depends upon other life. But what is happening today, in North America, is not rational use but irrational massacre. Man the Pest, multiplied to the swarming stage, is attacking the remaining forests like a plague of locusts on a field of grain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Abbey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/i-understand-and-sympathize-with-the-reasonable-needs-of-a-reasonable/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/i-understand-and-sympathize-with-the-reasonable-needs-of-a-reasonable/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/edward-abbey-254_america_i-understand-and-sympathize-with-the-rea_1362817.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/edward-abbey-254_america_i-understand-and-sympathize-with-the-rea_1362817.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/edward-abbey-254_america_i-understand-and-sympathize-with-the-rea_1362817.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I understand and sympathize with the reasonable needs of a reasonable number of people on a finite…” — Edward Abbey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edward Abbey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I understand and sympathize with the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/i-understand-and-sympathize-with-the-reasonable-needs-of-a-reasonable/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/i-understand-and-sympathize-with-the-reasonable-needs-of-a-reasonable/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```