--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And \"sharing the work of survival,\"…" description: "\"“And \"sharing the work of survival,\" therefore, means resisting every temptation towards independence, towards personal liberty, towards \"doing your ow..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cad/walter-wangerin-jr-25465_freedom_and-sharing-the-work-of-survival-therefo_1299050.jpg" --- # And "sharing the work of survival," therefore, means… ![“And "sharing the work of survival," therefore, means resisting every temptation towards independence, towards personal liberty, towards "doing your own thing". This takes s sober vigilance and a persistent labour in a world which elevates the individual above the community, in a society which…” quote by Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cad/walter-wangerin-jr-25465_freedom_and-sharing-the-work-of-survival-therefo_1299050.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cad/walter-wangerin-jr-25465_freedom_and-sharing-the-work-of-survival-therefo_1299050.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cad/walter-wangerin-jr-25465_freedom_and-sharing-the-work-of-survival-therefo_1299050.jpg) > ““And "sharing the work of survival," therefore, means resisting every temptation towards independence, towards personal liberty, towards "doing your own thing". This takes s sober vigilance and a persistent labour in a world which elevates the individual above the community, in a society which claims that individual desires are more important than contracts, commitments, and the good of the family”” [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True survival requires communal effort and resisting selfish impulses, emphasizing vigilance and labor in societies that prioritize individual desires over collective good. **In simple terms:** Survival depends on community over self‑interest. Key Takeaway Balance personal freedom with communal duty. Themes community self‑interest survival vigilance social contract Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - family life - team projects - community service - shared resources Key Concepts collective responsibility ethical labor social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - How can you support community without losing self? - What practices foster collective responsibility? A Different Perspective May conflict with personal autonomy; hard to sustain vigilance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Personal liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-liberty/) [Sharing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sharing/) ## Related quotes > [To recognize untruth as a condition of life--that certainly means resisting accustomed value feelings in a dangerous way; and a philosophy that risks this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/to-recognize-untruth-as-a-condition-of-life-that-certainly-means/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Survival means the survival of human kind as a whole, not just a part of it. If the South cannot survive, then the North…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/survival-means-the-survival-of-human-kind-as-a-whole-not-just-a-part/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [The only victory that really counts in prison is survival. But survival means more than simply being alive. It's not just the body that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/the-only-victory-that-really-counts-in-prison-is-survival-but/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [“But survival means more than simply being alive. It's not just the body that must survive a jail term: the spirit and the will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/but-survival-means-more-than-simply-being-alive-it-s-not-just-the/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [“we both know the other's survival means our own death”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/we-both-know-the-other-s-survival-means-our-own-death/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [I think the notion of success is fairly destructive. You can see elements of this surrounding any band becoming too popular. On the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howe-gelb/i-think-the-notion-of-success-is-fairly-destructive-you-can-see/) Howe Gelb > [Gale and I were thrown together by a mutual need to survive. Peeta and I know the other's survival means our own death. How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/gale-and-i-were-thrown-together-by-a-mutual-need-to-survive-peeta-and/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Does Rupert like me? I think so, but it doesn't matter. When I go up to the magic room in the sky every three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ailes/does-rupert-like-me-i-think-so-but-it-doesn-t-matter-when-i-go-up-to/) [Roger Ailes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ailes/) > [“Survival here means simply an incomplete death, not a partial life -- to be trapped in a gap between the living and the dead.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-pearl/survival-here-means-simply-an-incomplete-death-not-a-partial-life-to/) [Matthew Pearl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-pearl/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Democracies have been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and in general been as short in their lives as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/democracies-have-been-found-incompatible-with-personal-security-or/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [ We built \[socialistic society\] for the sake of real personal liberty, liberty without quotation marks. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/we-built-socialistic-society-for-the-sake-of-real-personal-liberty/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [If you care about your personal liberty, you'll be cautious when you feel comfortable, blame all the illegal immigrants for everything. What you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/if-you-care-about-your-personal-liberty-you-ll-be-cautious-when-you/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“The ethic of autonomy is based on the idea that people are, first and foremost, autonomous individuals with wants, needs, and preferences. People should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/the-ethic-of-autonomy-is-based-on-the-idea-that-people-are-first-and/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [... we have gratefully to receive from the hand of God the institution of the state with its magistrates as a means of preservation……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/we-have-gratefully-to-receive-from-the-hand-of-god-the-institution-of/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) ## More by Walter Wangerin Jr > [“Eurus thrashes, but Rutt holds on. She crushes the bones of his jaws and still holds on until he suffocates and dies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/eurus-thrashes-but-rutt-holds-on-she-crushes-the-bones-of-his-jaws/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“He went wordless, and wordless he sat beside her. He knew the size of her sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/he-went-wordless-and-wordless-he-sat-beside-her-he-knew-the-size-of/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“Her ballad did nothing to make the serpants lovely. Her ballad hid nothing of their dread. But the music itself spoke of faith and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/her-ballad-did-nothing-to-make-the-serpants-lovely-her-ballad-hid/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“WELL, THEN SHAG IT, YOU SUITCASE! GET OVER HERE!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/well-then-shag-it-you-suitcase-get-over-here/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“Have you noticed the words which Old Testament people use when someone important calls them by name? They don't say "What?" or "Yes?" They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/have-you-noticed-the-words-which-old-testament-people-use-when/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“I agreed Paul knew his limits. But I never believed he'd choose to live within them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/i-agreed-paul-knew-his-limits-but-i-never-believed-he-d-choose-to/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“But the talk of dialogue involves the work of knowing, acknowledging the other, of shaping speech toward him, for her. 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It is the constant truthfulness, the continued dependability,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/and-the-strongest-trust-is-built-by-the-smallest-actions-the-keeping/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“For what was your gesture? An act of pure love for Jesus particularly. It was an act so completely focused upon the Christ that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/for-what-was-your-gesture-an-act-of-pure-love-for-jesus-particularly/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“: “Behold the Rooster who suffers much more than he must. Ah, Chauntecleer, Chauntecleer. Why do you suffer today and tomorrow?” oozed the compassionate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/behold-the-rooster-who-suffers-much-more-than-he-must-ah-chauntecleer/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“Almost as evil as the stench was the silence. Senex, however poorly he had ended his rule, had always remembered the canonical crows. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/almost-as-evil-as-the-stench-was-the-silence-senex-however-poorly-he/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“How many battles make a war?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/how-many-battles-make-a-war/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“Mutuality is accomplished by two whole persons; and if each partner truly intends to be but the fraction of a relationship (thinking my whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/mutuality-is-accomplished-by-two-whole-persons-and-if-each-partner/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) [Explore all 23 Walter Wangerin Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) ## More Freedom quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. 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