--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Humanity, let us say, is like people…" description: "\"“Humanity, let us say, is like people packed in an automobile which is traveling downhill without lights at terrific speed and driven by a four-year-ol..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bf/lord-dunsany-13558_automobile_humanity-let-us-say-is-like-people-packe_353213.png" --- # Humanity, let us say, is like people packed in an… ![“Humanity, let us say, is like people packed in an automobile which is traveling downhill without lights at terrific speed and driven by a four-year-old child. The signposts along the way are all marked 'Progress.” quote by Lord Dunsany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bf/lord-dunsany-13558_automobile_humanity-let-us-say-is-like-people-packe_353213.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bf/lord-dunsany-13558_automobile_humanity-let-us-say-is-like-people-packe_353213.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bf/lord-dunsany-13558_automobile_humanity-let-us-say-is-like-people-packe_353213.png) > ““Humanity, let us say, is like people packed in an automobile which is traveling downhill without lights at terrific speed and driven by a four-year-old child. The signposts along the way are all marked 'Progress.”” [Lord Dunsany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-dunsany/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society is carelessly speeding forward, guided by immature leadership, with progress presented as the only sign. **In simple terms:** Rash progress under childish control. Key Takeaway Question authority and demand responsible guidance. Themes society leadership progress responsibility Mood cautious critical reflective Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - public policy debates - education reform - media literacy - community organizing Key Concepts political satire social critique Questions to Reflect On - Who truly controls the direction of our society? - How can we ensure progress benefits all? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex governance and ignore positive aspects of change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Automobile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/automobile/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speed/) ## Related quotes > [“This attack is the greatest tragedy in human history,” Avasarala said. “They want the belt to rise up so they can hide behind the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/this-attack-is-the-greatest-tragedy-in-human-history-avasarala-said/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) > [Today's voguish threats, including climate change, population growth, massive war, and resource depletion, are all amenable to a fix if we act prudently. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/today-s-voguish-threats-including-climate-change-population-growth/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [“my advice is; Let’s join the caravan of humanity, and ally ourselves with a conscious progress, let’s join the secular non-sectarian societies, lets distant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/husam-wafaei/my-advice-is-let-s-join-the-caravan-of-humanity-and-ally-ourselves/) Husam Wafaei > [Act always from a sense of common humanity, and let God judge if it be charity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/act-always-from-a-sense-of-common-humanity-and-let-god-judge-if-it-be/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [In an effort to reclaim our humanity, let us find new motivation for living by opening our minds to broader concepts of spirituality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powell/in-an-effort-to-reclaim-our-humanity-let-us-find-new-motivation-for/) [Kevin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powell/) > [Not for ourselves alone, but for all humanity... Let us hasten to find the path that leads to liberty, safety, and peace for everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/not-for-ourselves-alone-but-for-all-humanity-let-us-hasten-to-find/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“The blaze from the trees spreads to tablecloths and crepe paper - a chain reaction so brilliantly spectacular and terrible, I ache to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-g-howard/the-blaze-from-the-trees-spreads-to-tablecloths-and-crepe-paper-a/) [A.G. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-g-howard/) > [Let us have but one end in view, the welfare of humanity; and let us put aside all selfishness in consideration of language, nationality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-us-have-but-one-end-in-view-the-welfare-of-humanity-and-let-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Now more than ever the world needs a caring positive influence to help better humanity. Let's Be The Generation That Made A Difference!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/now-more-than-ever-the-world-needs-a-caring-positive-influence-to/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [“I could do it. I could stand here amid the flames, let them lap at my skin, and laugh in a death-defying haze—because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-g-howard/i-could-do-it-i-could-stand-here-amid-the-flames-let-them-lap-at-my/) [A.G. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-g-howard/) > [Let us have a fair field! This is all we ask, and we will be content with nothing less. The finger of evolution, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-celeste-claflin/let-us-have-a-fair-field-this-is-all-we-ask-and-we-will-be-content/) [Tennessee Celeste Claflin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-celeste-claflin/) > [“Humanity...Let Us Pray For PEACE. Peace In Our World and Peace Deep With in Our Souls. Now May We Try And Live That PEACE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/humanity-let-us-pray-for-peace-peace-in-our-world-and-peace-deep-with/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [Now, more than ever, we need people in space... The events of September 11 show us how vulnerable we and our civilization are down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-levinson/now-more-than-ever-we-need-people-in-space-the-events-of-september-11/) [Paul Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-levinson/) > [Life is funny isn’t it? Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, just when you finally begin to plan something, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/life-is-funny-isn-t-it-just-when-you-think-you-ve-got-it-all-figured/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [Don't get stuck on the level of words. A word is no more than a means to an end. It's an abstraction. Not unlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/don-t-get-stuck-on-the-level-of-words-a-word-is-no-more-than-a-means/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) ## More by Lord Dunsany > [It was the hour when gauze-winged insects are born that only live for a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/it-was-the-hour-when-gauze-winged-insects-are-born-that-only-live-for/) [Lord Dunsany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-dunsany/) > [If one who looked from a tower for a new star, watching for years the same part of the sky, suddenly saw it (quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/if-one-who-looked-from-a-tower-for-a-new-star-watching-for-years-the/) [Lord Dunsany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-dunsany/) > [I have lived to see that being seventeen is no protection against becoming seventy, but to know this needs the experience of a lifetime,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/i-have-lived-to-see-that-being-seventeen-is-no-protection-against/) [Lord Dunsany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-dunsany/) > [“Then said Fate to Chance: "Let us play our old game again." And they played it again together, using the gods as pieces, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/then-said-fate-to-chance-let-us-play-our-old-game-again-and-they/) [Lord Dunsany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-dunsany/) > [Modern poets are bells of lead. They should tinkle melodiously but usually they just klunk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/modern-poets-are-bells-of-lead-they-should-tinkle-melodiously-but/) [Lord Dunsany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-dunsany/) > [“Nobody can tell you about that sword all that there is to be told of it; for those that know of those paths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/nobody-can-tell-you-about-that-sword-all-that-there-is-to-be-told-of/) [Lord Dunsany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-dunsany/) > [“It is vey difficult to draw away from the face of God—it is like a warm fire, it is like dear sleep, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/it-is-vey-difficult-to-draw-away-from-the-face-of-god-it-is-like-a/) [Lord Dunsany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-dunsany/) > [“And the sword that had visited Earth from so far away smote like the falling of thunderbolts; and green sparks rose from the armour,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/and-the-sword-that-had-visited-earth-from-so-far-away-smote-like-the/) [Lord Dunsany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-dunsany/) > [“For a while, O King, the gods had sought to solve the riddles of Time, for a while They made him Their slave, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/for-a-while-o-king-the-gods-had-sought-to-solve-the-riddles-of-time/) [Lord Dunsany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-dunsany/) > [“...she gave thanks to the images of the stars for the joy she had had of the night, when the constellations shone in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/she-gave-thanks-to-the-images-of-the-stars-for-the-joy-she-had-had-of/) [Lord Dunsany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-dunsany/) > [“THE OLD MAN with a hammer and the one-eyed man with a spear”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/the-old-man-with-a-hammer-and-the-one-eyed-man-with-a-spear/) [Lord Dunsany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-dunsany/) > [“Fame as she walked at evening in a city saw the painted face of Notoriety flaunting beneath a gas-lamp, and many kneeled unto her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/fame-as-she-walked-at-evening-in-a-city-saw-the-painted-face-of/) [Lord Dunsany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-dunsany/) > [“The gardener hath gathered up this autumn's leaves. Who shall see them again, or who wot of them? And who shall say what hath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/the-gardener-hath-gathered-up-this-autumn-s-leaves-who-shall-see-them/) [Lord Dunsany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-dunsany/) > [There is no beauty or romance or mystery in the sea except for the men that sail abroad upon it, and those who stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/there-is-no-beauty-or-romance-or-mystery-in-the-sea-except-for-the/) [Lord Dunsany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-dunsany/) > [“So he sat and listened to pigeons talking, till it seemed to him they were trying to lull the restlessness of Earth, and thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/so-he-sat-and-listened-to-pigeons-talking-till-it-seemed-to-him-they/) [Lord Dunsany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-dunsany/) [Explore all 50 Lord Dunsany quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-dunsany/) ## More Automobile quotes > [“A car is one of the most interesting inventions, but driving is one of the most boring activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-car-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-inventions-but-driving-is-one-of/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [So the poet, who wants to be something that he cannot be, and is a failure in plain life, makes up fictitious versions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-tate/so-the-poet-who-wants-to-be-something-that-he-cannot-be-and-is-a/) [Allen Tate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-tate/) > [Having spent years ruining the housing markets with their interference, leading to a housing meltdown that has taken the whole economy down with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/having-spent-years-ruining-the-housing-markets-with-their/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [There comes a day of public ceremonial, and a chance to make a speech… A million voters with IQs below 60 have their ears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/there-comes-a-day-of-public-ceremonial-and-a-chance-to-make-a-speech/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [The power of branding, particularly when it comes to automobiles, is overwhelming. You go back to the seventies and eighties with the General Motor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-power-of-branding-particularly-when-it-comes-to-automobiles-is/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Democrats are going to proudly run on the fact that we turned the economy around. It was our policies under President Obama's leadership through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-wasserman-schultz/democrats-are-going-to-proudly-run-on-the-fact-that-we-turned-the/) [Debbie Wasserman Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-wasserman-schultz/) > [... in spite of being happier than I ever dreamed I could be, I'm also soberer. The fear that something may happen to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/in-spite-of-being-happier-than-i-ever-dreamed-i-could-be-i-m-also/) [Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/) > [I do not use airplanes. They strike me as unsporting. You can have an automobile accident-and survive. You can be on a sinking ship-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-do-not-use-airplanes-they-strike-me-as-unsporting-you-can-have-an/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [But it is my total conviction that all the trappings of good leadership are generic and widely applicable whether you are standing in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-cosgrove/but-it-is-my-total-conviction-that-all-the-trappings-of-good/) [Peter Cosgrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-cosgrove/) > [You can see what man made from the seat of an automobile, but the best way to see what God made is from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-marion-russell/you-can-see-what-man-made-from-the-seat-of-an-automobile-but-the-best/) [Charles Marion Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-marion-russell/) > [The electronics industry expanded rapidly and the seeds for the semiconductor and software revolution were planted. The postwar period also saw the suburbanization of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/the-electronics-industry-expanded-rapidly-and-the-seeds-for-the/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [I'm a huge fan of John Hughes and can say that 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' is easily a top 3 favorite. I'm also a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-mcpartlin/i-m-a-huge-fan-of-john-hughes-and-can-say-that-planes-trains-and/) [Ryan McPartlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-mcpartlin/) > [“Most people do not realize that they are one car crash away from death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/most-people-do-not-realize-that-they-are-one-car-crash-away-from-death/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [This country has achieved its commercial and financial supremacy under a regime of private ownership. It conquered the wilderness, built our railroads, our factories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-b-cortelyou/this-country-has-achieved-its-commercial-and-financial-supremacy/) George B. Cortelyou > [“The first decade of driving is the most hazardous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-first-decade-of-driving-is-the-most-hazardous/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) [Browse all 424 Automobile quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/automobile/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Humanity, let us say, is like people packed in an automobile which is traveling downhill without lights at terrific speed and driven by a four-year-old child. The signposts along the way are all marked 'Progress.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lord Dunsany" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/humanity-let-us-say-is-like-people-packed-in-an-automobile-which-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Automobile" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/humanity-let-us-say-is-like-people-packed-in-an-automobile-which-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bf/lord-dunsany-13558_automobile_humanity-let-us-say-is-like-people-packe_353213.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bf/lord-dunsany-13558_automobile_humanity-let-us-say-is-like-people-packe_353213.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bf/lord-dunsany-13558_automobile_humanity-let-us-say-is-like-people-packe_353213.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Humanity, let us say, is like people packed in an automobile which is traveling downhill without lights at…” — Lord Dunsany", "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": "Lord Dunsany", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-dunsany/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Humanity, let us say, is like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/humanity-let-us-say-is-like-people-packed-in-an-automobile-which-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-dunsany/humanity-let-us-say-is-like-people-packed-in-an-automobile-which-is/#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 } } ] } ```