--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are in the hands of men whose power…" description: "\"“We are in the hands of men whose power and wealth have separated them from the reality of daily life and from the imagination. We are right to be afra..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a6/grace-paley-3243_afraid_we-are-in-the-hands-of-men-whose-power-a_2046696.png" --- # We are in the hands of men whose power and wealth have… ![“We are in the hands of men whose power and wealth have separated them from the reality of daily life and from the imagination. We are right to be afraid.” quote by Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a6/grace-paley-3243_afraid_we-are-in-the-hands-of-men-whose-power-a_2046696.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a6/grace-paley-3243_afraid_we-are-in-the-hands-of-men-whose-power-a_2046696.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a6/grace-paley-3243_afraid_we-are-in-the-hands-of-men-whose-power-a_2046696.png) > ““We are in the hands of men whose power and wealth have separated them from the reality of daily life and from the imagination. We are right to be afraid.”” [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Powerful elites become detached from everyday reality, causing justified fear among the populace. **In simple terms:** Elite detachment fuels fear. Key Takeaway Stay aware of power gaps. Themes politics social inequality fear Mood concerned serious Type political philosophical When to use this quote - activism - community organizing - critical media consumption Key Concepts elite power social reality imagination gap Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens bridge the reality gap? - What actions reduce fear of power? A Different Perspective Not all elites are indifferent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Daily life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daily-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [I believe the preservation of the home in the future lies almost entirely in the hands of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-macphail/i-believe-the-preservation-of-the-home-in-the-future-lies-almost/) [Agnes Macphail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-macphail/) > [“You had every right to be afraid. But your bastard bitches were wrong. It won’t be my son who destroys this pantheon. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/you-had-every-right-to-be-afraid-but-your-bastard-bitches-were-wrong/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“We are who we are. I have no desire to be something else. But right now I’m afraid of what it means for those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-cremer/we-are-who-we-are-i-have-no-desire-to-be-something-else-but-right-now/) [Andrea Cremer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-cremer/) > [It's all right to be afraid. You just don't let it stop you from doing your job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/it-s-all-right-to-be-afraid-you-just-don-t-let-it-stop-you-from-doing/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“The whites were right to be afraid. One day the system would collapse in blood. An insurrection of one. She smiled for a moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/the-whites-were-right-to-be-afraid-one-day-the-system-would-collapse-2/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [“The whites were right to be afraid. One day the system would collapse in blood. An”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/the-whites-were-right-to-be-afraid-one-day-the-system-would-collapse/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [The moment you ask yourself: where did I go wrong ? try not to question too hard, because the answers is always right in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sweeney/the-moment-you-ask-yourself-where-did-i-go-wrong-try-not-to-question/) [Ash Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sweeney/) > [With emptie hands men may no haukes lure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/with-emptie-hands-men-may-no-haukes-lure/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [The unprepared speaker has a right to be afraid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-c-smedley/the-unprepared-speaker-has-a-right-to-be-afraid/) [Ralph C. Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-c-smedley/) > [The growth of our nation and all its activities are in the hands of a few men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-growth-of-our-nation-and-all-its-activities-are-in-the-hands-of-a/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [I was right not to be afraid of any thief but myself, who will end by leaving me nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-was-right-not-to-be-afraid-of-any-thief-but-myself-who-will-end-by/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [“You are right to be afraid," he said, "but where does this fear lead you? Nowhere. You must let go of fear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-dilloway/you-are-right-to-be-afraid-he-said-but-where-does-this-fear-lead-you/) Margaret Dilloway > [Criminals do not die by the hands of the law. They die by the hands of other men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/criminals-do-not-die-by-the-hands-of-the-law-they-die-by-the-hands-of/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I threw my hands up. Men. They were impossible to reason with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/i-threw-my-hands-up-men-they-were-impossible-to-reason-with/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [“If you are inefficient, you have a right to be afraid of the consequences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murad-s-shah/if-you-are-inefficient-you-have-a-right-to-be-afraid-of-the/) [Murad S. Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murad-s-shah/) ## More by Grace Paley > [The only recognizable feature of hope is action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-only-recognizable-feature-of-hope-is-action/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“Near home I ran through our park, where I had aired my children on weekends and late-summer afternoons. I stopped at the northeast playground,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/near-home-i-ran-through-our-park-where-i-had-aired-my-children-on/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Old age is not a good thing. It can be really hard, and those of us who have it a little easier should keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/old-age-is-not-a-good-thing-it-can-be-really-hard-and-those-of-us-who/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Well, by now you must know yourself, honey, whatever you do, life don't stop. It only sits a minute and dreams a dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/well-by-now-you-must-know-yourself-honey-whatever-you-do-life-don-t/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“Who cares?' said Judy, who didn't care.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/who-cares-said-judy-who-didn-t-care/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [The women's movement was coming, but I didn't know it in 1956-1957, when I began to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-women-s-movement-was-coming-but-i-didn-t-know-it-in-1956-1957/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [A joke is necessary at this time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/a-joke-is-necessary-at-this-time/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Sometimes, walking with a friend, I forget the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/sometimes-walking-with-a-friend-i-forget-the-world/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [It wasn't until I lived in the countryside that I began to understand the life of the countryside and the people in it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/it-wasn-t-until-i-lived-in-the-countryside-that-i-began-to-understand/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [I've started many novels, and they all ended on page seven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-ve-started-many-novels-and-they-all-ended-on-page-seven/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > […I go through a story for lies. I might discover the lie of trying to show off. Sometimes they’re lies of character. Sometimes they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-go-through-a-story-for-lies-i-might-discover-the-lie-of-trying-to/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [I didn't intend. The word "intend" is the wrong word for what I do. It's just that it's something you do, and you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-didn-t-intend-the-word-intend-is-the-wrong-word-for-what-i-do-it-s/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“... plot, the absolute line between two points which I've always despised. Not for literary reasons, but because it takes all hope away. Everyone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/plot-the-absolute-line-between-two-points-which-i-ve-always-despised/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [You come to doing what you do by not being able to do something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/you-come-to-doing-what-you-do-by-not-being-able-to-do-something/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [When I was about twenty-one, I published a few poems. Maybe I wrote a couple of stories before, but I really began to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/when-i-was-about-twenty-one-i-published-a-few-poems-maybe-i-wrote-a/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) [Explore all 135 Grace Paley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) ## More Afraid quotes > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [I used to be afraid of my temper, but it turns out I don't really have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-bell/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-my-temper-but-it-turns-out-i-don-t-really-have/) [Zoe Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-bell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm a pretty fearless person. I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. But I'm not afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-totah/i-m-a-pretty-fearless-person-i-m-afraid-of-like-creepy-men-in-white/) [Josie Totah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-totah/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) Darlene Senger > [Why am I so afraid to loose you,when you're not even mine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-am-i-so-afraid-to-loose-you-when-you-re-not-even-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to tell you, but I cant, becuase I'm afraid if I do you'll never treat me same the again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-orante/i-want-to-tell-you-but-i-cant-becuase-i-m-afraid-if-i-do-you-ll-never/) [Cristina Orante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-orante/) > [Mistakes I've made in the past make me afraid to try new things in the future. I want to be perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/mistakes-i-ve-made-in-the-past-make-me-afraid-to-try-new-things-in/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [“Humans are naturally scared and confused beings. They not only fear the unknown, as they live fearing themselves... ☥”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-marques/humans-are-naturally-scared-and-confused-beings-they-not-only-fear/) [Luis Marques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-marques/) > [If you are too afraid of failure, you cant possibly do what needs to be done to succeed in living a fulfilling life. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/if-you-are-too-afraid-of-failure-you-cant-possibly-do-what-needs-to/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [We cannot be afraid of the dark that they live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burnie-burns/we-cannot-be-afraid-of-the-dark-that-they-live-in/) [Burnie Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burnie-burns/) > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I'm still with that feeling that I am afraid of doing the wrong thing, because somebody is going to punish me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-m-still-with-that-feeling-that-i-am-afraid-of-doing-the-wrong-thing/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) Browse all 5,519 Afraid quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We are in the hands of men whose power and wealth have separated them from the reality of daily life and from the imagination. We are right to be afraid.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Grace Paley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/we-are-in-the-hands-of-men-whose-power-and-wealth-have-separated-them/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afraid" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/we-are-in-the-hands-of-men-whose-power-and-wealth-have-separated-them/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a6/grace-paley-3243_afraid_we-are-in-the-hands-of-men-whose-power-a_2046696.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a6/grace-paley-3243_afraid_we-are-in-the-hands-of-men-whose-power-a_2046696.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a6/grace-paley-3243_afraid_we-are-in-the-hands-of-men-whose-power-a_2046696.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are in the hands of men whose power and wealth have separated them from the reality of daily life and…” — Grace Paley", "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": "Grace Paley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We are in the hands of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/we-are-in-the-hands-of-men-whose-power-and-wealth-have-separated-them/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/we-are-in-the-hands-of-men-whose-power-and-wealth-have-separated-them/#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 } } ] } ```