--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History is not a dead thing or a sure…" description: "\"“History is not a dead thing or a sure thing. It lived with our choices and our dreams. It is the story of our glories and our sadnesses. It is at diff..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/joan-nestle-44413_different-times_history-is-not-a-dead-thing-or-a-sure-th_390172.jpg" --- # History is not a dead thing or a sure thing. It lived with… ![“History is not a dead thing or a sure thing. It lived with our choices and our dreams. It is the story of our glories and our sadnesses. It is at different times a lover, an enemy, a teacher, a prophet. It is always a collective memory as complicated and contradictory as people who lived it, but…” quote by Joan Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/joan-nestle-44413_different-times_history-is-not-a-dead-thing-or-a-sure-th_390172.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/joan-nestle-44413_different-times_history-is-not-a-dead-thing-or-a-sure-th_390172.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/joan-nestle-44413_different-times_history-is-not-a-dead-thing-or-a-sure-th_390172.jpg) > ““History is not a dead thing or a sure thing. It lived with our choices and our dreams. It is the story of our glories and our sadnesses. It is at different times a lover, an enemy, a teacher, a prophet. It is always a collective memory as complicated and contradictory as people who lived it, but it is always a people’s story. Let our tale be marked by our knowledge of what had to be done, and let it shine with the passion of our attempt.”” [Joan Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-nestle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History is a living, contested narrative shaped by choices, dreams, and emotions, serving as both guide and warning for societies. **In simple terms:** History is a living story shaped by our choices. Key Takeaway Learn from past actions to guide future efforts. Themes memory history collective identity learning identity Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education reform - community storytelling - policy making - cultural preservation - conflict resolution Key Concepts Narrative collective memory social identity Questions to Reflect On - How do we ensure diverse perspectives in historical narratives? - What role does emotion play in shaping collective memory? A Different Perspective History can be selectively remembered, leading to biased narratives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Different times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-times/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-dead-560290/) [Lived People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lived-people-1088266/) [People Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-lived/) [People Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-story-309351/) [Story Let](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-let-240744/) [Sure thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sure-thing/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The occurrence of an event is not the same thing as knowing what it is that one has lived through. Most people had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-occurrence-of-an-event-is-not-the-same-thing-as-knowing-what-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think it's more interesting to throw people into a story and let them catch up instead of explaining and feeling like you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-heslov/i-think-it-s-more-interesting-to-throw-people-into-a-story-and-let/) [Grant Heslov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-heslov/) > [A true life lived amongst the people is in itself an object-lesson that must produce its own effect upon immediate surroundings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-true-life-lived-amongst-the-people-is-in-itself-an-object-lesson/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It wasn't fair I had to be me for as long as I lived while other people got to be other people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-zhang/it-wasn-t-fair-i-had-to-be-me-for-as-long-as-i-lived-while-other/) [Jenny Zhang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-zhang/) > [I have lived with the people, and I, too, know their pulse; I am the people's CM.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-kumaraswamy/i-have-lived-with-the-people-and-i-too-know-their-pulse-i-am-the/) [H. D. Kumaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-d-kumaraswamy/) > [“We lived among people whose poverty could be seen in the length of their faces, in their tired speech and in the heaviness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-greenwood/we-lived-among-people-whose-poverty-could-be-seen-in-the-length-of/) [T. Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-greenwood/) > [American history is not something dead and over. It is always alive,always growing, always unfinished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/american-history-is-not-something-dead-and-over-it-is-always-alive/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [It's not my intent to write definitive history. 'Dead Wake' isn't a definitive history of the sinking of the Lusitania. It's my account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/it-s-not-my-intent-to-write-definitive-history-dead-wake-isn-t-a/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“The history of every dead and dying “growth” industry shows a self-deceiving cycle of bountiful expansion and undetected decay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvard-business-school-press/the-history-of-every-dead-and-dying-growth-industry-shows-a-self/) [Harvard Business School Press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvard-business-school-press/) > [“I prefer my history dead. Dead history is writ in ink, the living sort in blood." "Do you want to die old and craven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/i-prefer-my-history-dead-dead-history-is-writ-in-ink-the-living-sort-2/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“Can you imagine? Fourteen-hundred-year-old views of history determining how neighbors interacted in the twentieth century? No. You can't. Because history here is a dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nafisa-haji/can-you-imagine-fourteen-hundred-year-old-views-of-history/) [Nafisa Haji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nafisa-haji/) > [I saw a huge steam roller, It blotted out the sun. The people all lay down, lay down; They did not try to run.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-saw-a-huge-steam-roller-it-blotted-out-the-sun-the-people-all-lay/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Going down in history is a dead end pursuit”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-bellamacina/going-down-in-history-is-a-dead-end-pursuit/) [Benny Bellamacina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-bellamacina/) > [Without philosophy, history is always for me dead and dumb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-christian-baur/without-philosophy-history-is-always-for-me-dead-and-dumb/) [Ferdinand Christian Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-christian-baur/) > [I prefer my history dead. Dead history is writ in ink, the living sort in blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-prefer-my-history-dead-dead-history-is-writ-in-ink-the-living-sort/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Joan Nestle > [“One of the lessons I have learned in trying to live with history is that for every repression, we have found a suitable form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-nestle/one-of-the-lessons-i-have-learned-in-trying-to-live-with-history-is/) [Joan Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-nestle/) > [“After a year and a half my therapist retired, so I was bounced to someone else-a woman. Shazam! I suddenly felt I could open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-nestle/after-a-year-and-a-half-my-therapist-retired-so-i-was-bounced-to/) [Joan Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-nestle/) > [I cannot understand a society that is more afraid of a man in a dress than a man in a soldier’s uniform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-nestle/i-cannot-understand-a-society-that-is-more-afraid-of-a-man-in-a-dress/) [Joan Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-nestle/) > [To live without history is to live like an infant, constantly amazed and challenged by a strange and unnamed world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-nestle/to-live-without-history-is-to-live-like-an-infant-constantly-amazed/) [Joan Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-nestle/) > [Flamboyance and fortitude, femme and butch-not poses, not stereotypes, but a dance between two different kinds of women, one beckoning the other into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-nestle/flamboyance-and-fortitude-femme-and-butch-not-poses-not-stereotypes/) [Joan Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-nestle/) > [“We must stand together, realizing the complexity of our histories, both personal and social, choosing when we can tolerate each other’s company and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-nestle/we-must-stand-together-realizing-the-complexity-of-our-histories-both/) [Joan Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-nestle/) > [As a woman, as a lesbian, as a Jew, much of what I call history, others will not. But answering that challenge of exclusion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-nestle/as-a-woman-as-a-lesbian-as-a-jew-much-of-what-i-call-history-others/) [Joan Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-nestle/) > [“My Lesbian history tells me that the vice squad is never our friend even when it is called in by women; that when police…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-nestle/my-lesbian-history-tells-me-that-the-vice-squad-is-never-our-friend/) [Joan Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-nestle/) [Explore all 9 Joan Nestle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-nestle/) ## More Different times quotes > [People go through different stages of their lives at different times. If you're out of sync with your friend group, that gets exploded once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-hamm/people-go-through-different-stages-of-their-lives-at-different-times/) [Jon Hamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-hamm/) > [“Life is like a game of cards. It deals you different hands at different times. You don’t have that old hand anymore, Leo. Look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-delinsky/life-is-like-a-game-of-cards-it-deals-you-different-hands-at/) [Barbara Delinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-delinsky/) > [“He remembered the good times with them all, and the quarrels. They always picked the finest places to have the quarrels. And why had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/he-remembered-the-good-times-with-them-all-and-the-quarrels-they/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [At different times and in different places I have come to expect certain books to look a certain way, and, as in all fashions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/at-different-times-and-in-different-places-i-have-come-to-expect/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [I gave up a lot of money to stay with the Braves four different times and I don't regret any second of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smoltz/i-gave-up-a-lot-of-money-to-stay-with-the-braves-four-different-times/) [John Smoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smoltz/) > [At different times in my life I met God from a different point of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-bone-burnett/at-different-times-in-my-life-i-met-god-from-a-different-point-of-view/) [T Bone Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-bone-burnett/) > [Biologically and physiologically, we are not equal. Some of us learn better at different times of day. Some learn best visually, some auditorially, some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/biologically-and-physiologically-we-are-not-equal-some-of-us-learn/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [I've liked different women at different times in my life. I've been attracted to white women. I've been attracted to black women. I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/i-ve-liked-different-women-at-different-times-in-my-life-i-ve-been/) [Oliver Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-stone/) > [“The shift of power to retailers is not an inevitable phenomenon: technological changes and associated innovative ideas have been instrumental in moving power and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-thain/the-shift-of-power-to-retailers-is-not-an-inevitable-phenomenon/) [Greg Thain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-thain/) > [Humor of all types is notoriously subjective. That's true not only between different people but even within an individual at different times. This subjectivity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mankoff/humor-of-all-types-is-notoriously-subjective-that-s-true-not-only/) [Robert Mankoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mankoff/) > [I've had my body manipulated so many different times for so many different reasons, whether it's paparazzi photographers or for film posters. \[The topless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keira-knightley/i-ve-had-my-body-manipulated-so-many-different-times-for-so-many/) [Keira Knightley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keira-knightley/) > [“Someone out there was using the fact that stock market orders arrived at different times at different exchanges to front-run orders from one market…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/someone-out-there-was-using-the-fact-that-stock-market-orders-arrived/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [Blind metaphysical necessity, which is certainly the same always and every where, could produce no variety of things. All that diversity of natural things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/blind-metaphysical-necessity-which-is-certainly-the-same-always-and/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [“Our lives are constantly changing. Different things become relevant at different times in our lives. We are motivated by our changing sensibilities. Why can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-thornton/our-lives-are-constantly-changing-different-things-become-relevant-at/) [Sarah Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-thornton/) > [I broke ribs three different times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-mcnamara/i-broke-ribs-three-different-times/) [Garrett McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-mcnamara/) [Browse all 376 Different times quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-times/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“History is not a dead thing or a sure thing. 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