--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: by operating on the principle of human…" description: "\"by operating on the principle of human and material obsolescence, America eats her history alive.\" — Gail Sheehy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/749/gail-sheehy-3031_alive_by-operating-on-the-principle-of-human-a_575996.png" --- # by operating on the principle of human and material… ![“by operating on the principle of human and material obsolescence, America eats her history alive.” quote by Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/749/gail-sheehy-3031_alive_by-operating-on-the-principle-of-human-a_575996.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/749/gail-sheehy-3031_alive_by-operating-on-the-principle-of-human-a_575996.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/749/gail-sheehy-3031_alive_by-operating-on-the-principle-of-human-a_575996.png) > “by operating on the principle of human and material obsolescence, America eats her history alive.” [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. America discards its past by constantly replacing people and things, consuming its own history. **In simple terms:** Society replaces old with new, erasing history. Key Takeaway Preserve and value historical knowledge. Themes cultural loss consumerism historical amnesia Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - urban development - technology upgrades - media cycles Key Concepts sociology history Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of history are we losing? - How can we balance innovation with preservation? A Different Perspective Progress can be achieved while preserving heritage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Eats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-eats-3458871/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-alive-1296697/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Material Obsolescence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/material-obsolescence-4743397/) [Materials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materials/) [Obsolescence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsolescence/) [Obsolescence America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsolescence-america-4743396/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) ## Related quotes > [America eats its youth like reptiles...Educat e yourself before they dumb you down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-cube/america-eats-its-youth-like-reptiles-educat-e-yourself-before-they/) [Ice Cube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-cube/) > [History is alive in the world did not try to understand some of the quotes ever, only after death does honor to the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/history-is-alive-in-the-world-did-not-try-to-understand-some-of-the/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [“Occasionally a particular word or phrase in a letter or diary has sparked an entire plot - like an echo from history, still very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/occasionally-a-particular-word-or-phrase-in-a-letter-or-diary-has/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [I just feel like history is very much alive and important and I don't, you know, I can't worry about whether people get it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-proops/i-just-feel-like-history-is-very-much-alive-and-important-and-i-don-t/) [Greg Proops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-proops/) > [I always thought of history of being alive something about real people who were doing things that meant something, and it wasn't just data…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-minkoff/i-always-thought-of-history-of-being-alive-something-about-real/) [Rob Minkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-minkoff/) > [I personally am not so obsessed about immortality for myself. The human body has been designed that way, obsolescence is OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-joy/i-personally-am-not-so-obsessed-about-immortality-for-myself-the/) [Lisa Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-joy/) > [Britain today is suffering from galloping obsolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/britain-today-is-suffering-from-galloping-obsolescence/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [“Cheap objects resist involvement. We tend to invest less in their purchase, care, and maintenance, and that's part of what makes them so attractive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ruppel-shell/cheap-objects-resist-involvement-we-tend-to-invest-less-in-their/) [Ellen Ruppel Shell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ruppel-shell/) > [Starving the future to feed the present is a mistake - it leads to obsolescence and stagnation. Sometimes it is hard to make this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burton-richter/starving-the-future-to-feed-the-present-is-a-mistake-it-leads-to/) [Burton Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burton-richter/) > [Obsolescence is a factor which says that the new thing I bring you is worth more than the unused value of the old thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/obsolescence-is-a-factor-which-says-that-the-new-thing-i-bring-you-is/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [Instead, most colleges are studies in obsolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-mccord/instead-most-colleges-are-studies-in-obsolescence/) [Kent McCord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-mccord/) > [Rant said that view of time was set up so folks won't live forever. It's the planned obsolescence we've all agreed to...'Nothing says you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/rant-said-that-view-of-time-was-set-up-so-folks-won-t-live-forever-it/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Planned obsolescence is another word for progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeffrey-roche/planned-obsolescence-is-another-word-for-progress/) [James Jeffrey Roche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeffrey-roche/) > [Systems program building is an entropy-decreasing process, hence inherently metastable. Program maintenance is an entropy-increasing process, and even its most skillful execution only delays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/systems-program-building-is-an-entropy-decreasing-process-hence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Styling is designing for obsolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-guinness/styling-is-designing-for-obsolescence/) [Alec Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-guinness/) ## More by Gail Sheehy > [I actually like getting out of my comfort zone. It shakes me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/i-actually-like-getting-out-of-my-comfort-zone-it-shakes-me-up/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/to-be-tested-is-good-the-challenged-life-may-be-the-best-therapist/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [No one can control the aging process or the trajectory of illness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/no-one-can-control-the-aging-process-or-the-trajectory-of-illness/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [“Further discomfort from these new realities afflicts men who expected to reach a certain level by dint of their white maleness but who now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/further-discomfort-from-these-new-realities-afflicts-men-who-expected/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [I dare to do things - that's how I survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/i-dare-to-do-things-that-s-how-i-survive/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [Spontaneity, the hallmark of childhood, is well worth cultivating to counteract the rigidity that may otherwise set in as we grow older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/spontaneity-the-hallmark-of-childhood-is-well-worth-cultivating-to/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [By listening, by caring, by playing you back to yourself, friends ratify your better instincts and endorse your unique worth. Friends validate you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/by-listening-by-caring-by-playing-you-back-to-yourself-friends-ratify/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [The first thing one notices about Jill Abramson is her short stature. The second is her intensity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/the-first-thing-one-notices-about-jill-abramson-is-her-short-stature/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [“Ignorant of our own and our mate’s inner life, we are ruled largely by external forces at this stage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/ignorant-of-our-own-and-our-mate-s-inner-life-we-are-ruled-largely-by/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [Family caregiving has become a predictable crisis. Americans are living longer and longer but dying slower and slower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/family-caregiving-has-become-a-predictable-crisis-americans-are/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [“The other real forces urging young people into marriages generally sift down to one of the following: the need for safety, the need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/the-other-real-forces-urging-young-people-into-marriages-generally/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [I'd visually have that idea. I'm diving off the end of the diving board. I'm not going to be worried about if I'm going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/i-d-visually-have-that-idea-i-m-diving-off-the-end-of-the-diving/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [To hear how special and wonderful we are is endlessly enthralling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/to-hear-how-special-and-wonderful-we-are-is-endlessly-enthralling/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [When men reach their sixties and retire, they go to pieces. Women go right on cooking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/when-men-reach-their-sixties-and-retire-they-go-to-pieces-women-go/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [Journalism today is obviously in a major transition. Going to journalism school, learning how to write, working your way up in a little paper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/journalism-today-is-obviously-in-a-major-transition-going-to/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) [Explore all 142 Gail Sheehy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "by operating on the principle of human and material obsolescence, America eats her history alive.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gail Sheehy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/by-operating-on-the-principle-of-human-and-material-obsolescence/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/by-operating-on-the-principle-of-human-and-material-obsolescence/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/749/gail-sheehy-3031_alive_by-operating-on-the-principle-of-human-a_575996.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/749/gail-sheehy-3031_alive_by-operating-on-the-principle-of-human-a_575996.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/749/gail-sheehy-3031_alive_by-operating-on-the-principle-of-human-a_575996.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“by operating on the principle of human and material obsolescence, America eats her history alive.” — Gail Sheehy", "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": "Gail Sheehy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "by operating on the principle of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/by-operating-on-the-principle-of-human-and-material-obsolescence/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/by-operating-on-the-principle-of-human-and-material-obsolescence/#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 } } ] } ```