--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we are looking for insurance against…" description: "\"If we are looking for insurance against want and oppression, we will find it only in our neighbors' prosperity and goodwill and, beyond that, in the go..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/wendell-berry-236_air_if-we-are-looking-for-insurance-against_2214792.jpg" --- # If we are looking for insurance against want and… ![“If we are looking for insurance against want and oppression, we will find it only in our neighbors' prosperity and goodwill and, beyond that, in the good health of our worldly places, our homelands. If we were sincerely looking for a place of safety, for real security and success, then we would…” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/wendell-berry-236_air_if-we-are-looking-for-insurance-against_2214792.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/wendell-berry-236_air_if-we-are-looking-for-insurance-against_2214792.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/wendell-berry-236_air_if-we-are-looking-for-insurance-against_2214792.jpg) > “If we are looking for insurance against want and oppression, we will find it only in our neighbors' prosperity and goodwill and, beyond that, in the good health of our worldly places, our homelands. If we were sincerely looking for a place of safety, for real security and success, then we would begin to turn to our communities - and not the communities simply of our human neighbors but also of the water, earth, and air, the plants and animals, all the creatures with whom our local life is shared. (pg. 59, "Racism and the Economy")” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True security comes from the health and prosperity of our local communities and natural environment, not from distant systems. **In simple terms:** Safety lies in thriving neighborhoods and ecosystems. Key Takeaway Invest in local community and environmental health. Themes community environment interdependence security justice Mood hopeful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - urban planning - agricultural policy - conservation projects - neighborhood initiatives - public health programs Key Concepts sustainability social ecology collective well-being Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance local resilience with global responsibilities? - What steps can individuals take to strengthen community and environmental health? A Different Perspective Neglecting broader systemic issues can limit impact of local actions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Cybersecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cybersecurity/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy/) [Good health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-health/) [Goodwill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodwill/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Homeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homeland/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Oppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Plants and animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plants-and-animals/) [Prosperity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prosperity/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Safety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safety/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [ Our point is we don't want to sit in the government and tell you what you have to buy \[as a health insurance\]. We… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ryan/our-point-is-we-don-t-want-to-sit-in-the-government-and-tell-you-what/) [Paul Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ryan/) > [Americans want jobs. They want affordable health insurance. They want an education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/americans-want-jobs-they-want-affordable-health-insurance-they-want/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [“Some of the scientists on Dr. Molina’s committee like to point out that people can be pretty intelligent about managing risk in their personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-of-the-scientists-on-dr-molina-s-committee-like-to-point-out/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We have to get out of the mindset that, 'If I invest $1 in crop insurance, I want to make sure I get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonny-perdue/we-have-to-get-out-of-the-mindset-that-if-i-invest-1-in-crop/) [Sonny Perdue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonny-perdue/) > [For those that are working part time, in small businesses, or who are unemployed and do not currently have health insurance, we want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-jarrett/for-those-that-are-working-part-time-in-small-businesses-or-who-are/) [Valerie Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-jarrett/) > [Once plants and animals were raised together on the same farm - which therefore neither produced unmanageable surpluses of manure, to be wasted and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/once-plants-and-animals-were-raised-together-on-the-same-farm-which/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“…For many years now, that way of living has been scorned, and over the last 40 or 50 years it has nearly disappeared. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/for-many-years-now-that-way-of-living-has-been-scorned-and-over-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to-2/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“Montessori classrooms emphasize self-directed learning, hands-on engagement with a wide variety of materials (including plants and animals), and a largely unstructured school day. 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And most things they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-godsen/the-earliest-impressions-are-pictographic-in-form-little-pictures/) Chris Godsen > [The undisturbed coastal plain is home to a wide variety of plants and animals and is the only wilderness sanctuary in North America that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/the-undisturbed-coastal-plain-is-home-to-a-wide-variety-of-plants-and/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [“I live in nature where everything is connected, circular. The seasons are circular. The planet is circular, and so is the planet around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-live-in-nature-where-everything-is-connected-circular-the-seasons/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. 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Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Air quotes > [I will be a tireless advocate for our District's defense priorities including Sheppard Air Force Base, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, universities conducting important research, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/i-will-be-a-tireless-advocate-for-our-district-s-defense-priorities/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. 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The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“It is unnatural to fear something natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/it-is-unnatural-to-fear-something-natural/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) Browse all 6,278 Air quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If we are looking for insurance against want and oppression, we will find it only in our neighbors' prosperity and goodwill and, beyond that, in the good health of our worldly places, our homelands. 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