--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why do people resist [engines, bridges…" description: "\"Why do people resist [engines, bridges, and cities] so? They are symbols and products of the imagination, which is the force that ensures justice and h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/mark-helprin-1171_bridges_why-do-people-resist-engines-bridges-and_810356.png" --- # Why do people resist \[engines, bridges, and cities\] so?… ![“Why do people resist [engines, bridges, and cities] so? They are symbols and products of the imagination, which is the force that ensures justice and historical momentum in an imperfect world, because without imagination we would not have the wherewithal to challenge certainty, and we could never…” quote by Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/mark-helprin-1171_bridges_why-do-people-resist-engines-bridges-and_810356.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/mark-helprin-1171_bridges_why-do-people-resist-engines-bridges-and_810356.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd8/mark-helprin-1171_bridges_why-do-people-resist-engines-bridges-and_810356.png) > “Why do people resist \[engines, bridges, and cities\] so? They are symbols and products of the imagination, which is the force that ensures justice and historical momentum in an imperfect world, because without imagination we would not have the wherewithal to challenge certainty, and we could never rise above ourselves.” [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagination fuels resistance to infrastructure because it embodies justice and progress in an imperfect world. **In simple terms:** Imagination drives resistance and change. Key Takeaway Harness imagination to challenge certainty. Themes creativity justice progress human spirit Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - urban planning - artistic creation - social movements Key Concepts imagination symbolism social change Questions to Reflect On - What role does imagination play in your work? - How can imagination be balanced with reality? A Different Perspective Imagination alone cannot solve practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bridges/) [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Challenges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imperfect world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperfect-world/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Momentum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/momentum/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Rise above](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rise-above/) [Symbols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbols/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Knowledge is responsibility, which is why people resist knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/knowledge-is-responsibility-which-is-why-people-resist-knowledge/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [Life sweeps you up. Some people resist a lot. I probably haven't resisted very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uma-thurman/life-sweeps-you-up-some-people-resist-a-lot-i-probably-haven-t/) [Uma Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uma-thurman/) > [“Ronald Heifetz suggests that people do not resist change per se. People resist loss.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-n-mosser/ronald-heifetz-suggests-that-people-do-not-resist-change-per-se/) David N. Mosser > [I think people resist feminism because they're scared. I think for women, they're scared of being picked on or of being called out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/i-think-people-resist-feminism-because-they-re-scared-i-think-for/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [“People do not resist change, per se. People resist loss. You appear dangerous to people when you question their values, beliefs, or habits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-linsky/people-do-not-resist-change-per-se-people-resist-loss-you-appear/) [Martin Linsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-linsky/) > [For usually people resist as long as they can to dismiss the fool they harbor in their bosom, they resist to confess a major…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/for-usually-people-resist-as-long-as-they-can-to-dismiss-the-fool/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [What people resist is not change per se, but loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-people-resist-is-not-change-per-se-but-loss/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you decide to work with the opera world, chances are there are going to be people who resist that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lepage/if-you-decide-to-work-with-the-opera-world-chances-are-there-are/) [Robert Lepage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lepage/) > [People will resist change when it's done to them, not with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-blanchard/people-will-resist-change-when-it-s-done-to-them-not-with-them/) [Ken Blanchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-blanchard/) > [“Few people can resist doing what is universally expected of them. This invisible pressure is more difficult to stand against than individual tyranny.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/few-people-can-resist-doing-what-is-universally-expected-of-them-this/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [People resist a census, but give them a profile page and they'll spend all day telling you who they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/people-resist-a-census-but-give-them-a-profile-page-and-they-ll-spend/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“People resist you changing because they cant control you like they once did”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-martinez/people-resist-you-changing-because-they-cant-control-you-like-they/) A.J. Martinez > [“Curiosity is the most powerful thing you own. Imagination is a force that can actually manifest a reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cameron/curiosity-is-the-most-powerful-thing-you-own-imagination-is-a-force/) [James Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cameron/) > [Imagination is a force that can actually manifest a reality.Don't put limitations on yourself.Others will do that for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cameron/imagination-is-a-force-that-can-actually-manifest-a-reality-don-t-put/) [James Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cameron/) > [When magic through nerves and reason passes, Imagination, force, and passion will thunder. The portrait of the world is changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/when-magic-through-nerves-and-reason-passes-imagination-force-and/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) ## More by Mark Helprin > [“Defiance, Catherine, is a gift of God, who is superior to nature. When nature comes to get you, honor God by treating it, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/defiance-catherine-is-a-gift-of-god-who-is-superior-to-nature-when/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [Because there were all kinds of hell - some were black and dirty, and some were silvery and high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/because-there-were-all-kinds-of-hell-some-were-black-and-dirty-and/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“In living, one muddles through the years for the sake of those one or two moments which are indisputably great.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/in-living-one-muddles-through-the-years-for-the-sake-of-those-one-or/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“Do you know why you walk slowly when you’re old?” “No.” “Because with age you receive the gift of friction. The less time you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/do-you-know-why-you-walk-slowly-when-you-re-old-no-because-with-age/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [The British monarchy has the political and constitutional task of subtracting from the government and governors of Britain the papal and kingly airs that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/the-british-monarchy-has-the-political-and-constitutional-task-of/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“Your time is a good time, and though I have to leave, you can stay. How lucky you are to be in the city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/your-time-is-a-good-time-and-though-i-have-to-leave-you-can-stay-how/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [Truth is no rounder than a horse's eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/truth-is-no-rounder-than-a-horse-s-eye/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [They were dancing around the fountain, arm in arm, in an old Dutch dance, their cheeks touching, their hands entwined. They had no music;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/they-were-dancing-around-the-fountain-arm-in-arm-in-an-old-dutch/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [For what can be imagined more beautiful than the sight of a perfectly just city rejoicing in justice alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/for-what-can-be-imagined-more-beautiful-than-the-sight-of-a-perfectly/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [I follow my own nose. So I read things that are different. People will always say to me, "Have you read Robert S. Bosco's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/i-follow-my-own-nose-so-i-read-things-that-are-different-people-will/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“If all the months and all their days could be like June weather in New York, there would be paradise on earth. Often, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/if-all-the-months-and-all-their-days-could-be-like-june-weather-in/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“At least until there are new lakes in the clouds that open upon living cities as yet unknown, and perhaps forever, that is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/at-least-until-there-are-new-lakes-in-the-clouds-that-open-upon/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [You will most appreciate 'Freddy and Fredericka' if you are familiar with the story of the Fall, the Good Hermit, 'Tom Jones,' 'Huckleberry Finn,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/you-will-most-appreciate-freddy-and-fredericka-if-you-are-familiar/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [their powerlessness, innocence, and imagination fused to enable them to turn time inside out, travel on the wind, and enter the souls of animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/their-powerlessness-innocence-and-imagination-fused-to-enable-them-to/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > ['Freeing' a literary work into the public domain is less a public benefit than a transfer of wealth from the families of American writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/freeing-a-literary-work-into-the-public-domain-is-less-a-public/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) [Explore all 279 Mark Helprin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) ## More Bridges quotes > [Poetry has, in a way, been my bridge to my acting career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omari-hardwick/poetry-has-in-a-way-been-my-bridge-to-my-acting-career/) [Omari Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omari-hardwick/) > [Nothing teaches great writing like the very best books do. Yet, good teachers often help students cross that bridge, and I have to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/nothing-teaches-great-writing-like-the-very-best-books-do-yet-good/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [In my rear view mirror the sun is going down sinking behind bridges in the road and I think of all the good things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/in-my-rear-view-mirror-the-sun-is-going-down-sinking-behind-bridges/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [My first big mistake was made when, in a moment of weakness, I consented to learn the game; for a man who can frankly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/my-first-big-mistake-was-made-when-in-a-moment-of-weakness-i/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [The WPA was one of the most productive elements of FDR's alphabet soup of agencies because it put people to work building roads, bridges,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-wpa-was-one-of-the-most-productive-elements-of-fdr-s-alphabet/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sense-that-in-this-universe-we-are-treated-as-strangers-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you walk, try to think nothing! You can then obtain the silence of a streetlight or a bridge; stop thinking; after that, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/when-you-walk-try-to-think-nothing-you-can-then-obtain-the-silence-of/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [Al Pacino and Jeff Bridges do it for me in a big way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-scanlon/al-pacino-and-jeff-bridges-do-it-for-me-in-a-big-way/) [Angela Scanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-scanlon/) > [Instead of building castles against your enemies, build bridges for them to come to you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/instead-of-building-castles-against-your-enemies-build-bridges-for/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Instead of finding himself in nerd heaven—where every nerd gets fifty-eight virgins to role-play with—he woke up in Robert Wood Johnson with two broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/instead-of-finding-himself-in-nerd-heaven-where-every-nerd-gets-fifty/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Each person is an island unto himself, in a very real sense; and he can only build bridges to other islands if he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/each-person-is-an-island-unto-himself-in-a-very-real-sense-and-he-can/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [The real test of a bridge player isn’t in keeping out of trouble, but in escaping once he’s in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-sheinwold/the-real-test-of-a-bridge-player-isn-t-in-keeping-out-of-trouble-but/) [Alfred Sheinwold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sheinwold/) > [The law ... allows rich as well as poor to sleep under bridges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/the-law-allows-rich-as-well-as-poor-to-sleep-under-bridges/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [Guys like Todd Bridges never overcame being a child star. You can't have any big failures. I've always felt regular. I played organized ball…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bow-wow/guys-like-todd-bridges-never-overcame-being-a-child-star-you-can-t/) [Bow Wow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bow-wow/) [Browse all 1,521 Bridges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bridges/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Why do people resist [engines, bridges, and cities] so? 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