--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a horrible fact that we can read in…" description: "\"It is a horrible fact that we can read in the daily paper, without interrupting our breakfast, numerical reckonings of death and destruction that ought..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/wendell-berry-236_break_it-is-a-horrible-fact-that-we-can-read-i_1937320.jpg" --- # It is a horrible fact that we can read in the daily paper… ![“It is a horrible fact that we can read in the daily paper, without interrupting our breakfast, numerical reckonings of death and destruction that ought to break our hearts or scare us out of our wits.” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/wendell-berry-236_break_it-is-a-horrible-fact-that-we-can-read-i_1937320.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/wendell-berry-236_break_it-is-a-horrible-fact-that-we-can-read-i_1937320.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/wendell-berry-236_break_it-is-a-horrible-fact-that-we-can-read-i_1937320.jpg) > “It is a horrible fact that we can read in the daily paper, without interrupting our breakfast, numerical reckonings of death and destruction that ought to break our hearts or scare us out of our wits.” [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. The quote laments that we read terrible news while casually eating, suggesting desensitization to suffering. **In simple terms:** We read terrible news while eating, becoming numb. Key Takeaway Pause and reflect on distressing news before continuing daily routines. Themes media desensitization humanity Mood thoughtful somber Type ethical reflective When to use this quote - morning coffee - commuting - social media scrolling Key Concepts information overload emotional fatigue Questions to Reflect On - Do you let news affect your emotions? - How can we stay informed without becoming numb? A Different Perspective It may assume all readers are equally affected, ignoring personal coping mechanisms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Reckoning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reckoning/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) ## Related quotes > [“And now, all these years later, it seemed to him that the most horrible fact of human existence was that broken hearts mended.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/and-now-all-these-years-later-it-seemed-to-him-that-the-most-horrible/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“That’s the horrible fact of sinners. We’re indistinguishable from the righteous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/that-s-the-horrible-fact-of-sinners-we-re-indistinguishable-from-the/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Definitely read a quality daily paper regularly, and use the Internet to check out the press around the world as often as you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-schmemann/definitely-read-a-quality-daily-paper-regularly-and-use-the-internet/) [Serge Schmemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serge-schmemann/) > [The only decent daily paper of record in France is the online 'Mediapart,' which exposes graft and corruption in high places and is feared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ali/the-only-decent-daily-paper-of-record-in-france-is-the-online/) [Tariq Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ali/) > [It won't make for a quiet life but it will make for an interesting paper vastly more significant because it is doing something only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingman-brewster-jr/it-won-t-make-for-a-quiet-life-but-it-will-make-for-an-interesting/) [Kingman Brewster, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingman-brewster-jr/) > [I must admit I don't usually buy a daily paper, although I will get one if there's an interview I want to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-peake/i-must-admit-i-don-t-usually-buy-a-daily-paper-although-i-will-get/) [Maxine Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-peake/) > [It is impossible to read the daily press without being diverted from reality. You are full of enthusiasm for the eternal verities - life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-kavanagh/it-is-impossible-to-read-the-daily-press-without-being-diverted-from/) [Patrick Kavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-kavanagh/) > [I don't read the daily news, cause it ain't hard to figure why people gets the blues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynyrd-skynyrd/i-don-t-read-the-daily-news-cause-it-ain-t-hard-to-figure-why-people/) [Lynyrd Skynyrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynyrd-skynyrd/) > [Readers don't grow in trees. But they are grown-in places where they are fertilized with lots of print, and above all, read to daily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-trelease/readers-don-t-grow-in-trees-but-they-are-grown-in-places-where-they/) [Jim Trelease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-trelease/) > [I suppose the pleasure of the country life lies really in the eternally renewed evidences of the determination to live. That is a truism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vita-sackville-west/i-suppose-the-pleasure-of-the-country-life-lies-really-in-the/) [Vita Sackville-West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vita-sackville-west/) > [“The world is'nt such a bad place at all - as long as one did'nt read the daily newspaper”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-aitken/the-world-is-nt-such-a-bad-place-at-all-as-long-as-one-did-nt-read/) Bill Aitken > [I don't read books. I read the Daily Express and The Star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sherwood/i-don-t-read-books-i-read-the-daily-express-and-the-star/) [Tim Sherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sherwood/) > [Believing everything she read In the daily news, (No in-between to choose) She thought that only One side won, Not that BOTH Might lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/believing-everything-she-read-in-the-daily-news-no-in-between-to/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [Nothing shows up the difference between the things said or read, so much as the daily experience of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vita-sackville-west/nothing-shows-up-the-difference-between-the-things-said-or-read-so/) [Vita Sackville-West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vita-sackville-west/) > [I'm just encouraging students to read. It's something you can do daily. It's something you can do whether you're sitting at home reading a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-amendola/i-m-just-encouraging-students-to-read-it-s-something-you-can-do-daily/) [Danny Amendola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-amendola/) ## 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. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. 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 Break quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [Things are going well in Germany because the economy is booming and as an export-driven nation, we are profiting from the fact that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/things-are-going-well-in-germany-because-the-economy-is-booming-and/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/there-were-songs-that-we-cut-out-after-we-chose-the-name-because/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [“He didn't break my heart. No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I hadn't worked for a year when I had my Prison Break audition and it was the easiest audition I've ever had. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-hadn-t-worked-for-a-year-when-i-had-my-prison-break-audition-and-it/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“A hole ain’t nothing either, but you can still break your neck in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-donati/a-hole-ain-t-nothing-either-but-you-can-still-break-your-neck-in-it/) [Sara Donati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-donati/) > [“I break things, a lot of things, but I don’t want one of them to be you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-break-things-a-lot-of-things-but-i-don-t-want-one-of-them-to-be-you/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Motor racing's less of a sport these days than a commercial break doing 150 mph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dunne/motor-racing-s-less-of-a-sport-these-days-than-a-commercial-break/) Peter Dunne > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [Never break another man's rice bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akio-morita/never-break-another-man-s-rice-bowl/) [Akio Morita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akio-morita/) Browse all 8,188 Break quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is a horrible fact that we can read in the daily paper, without interrupting our breakfast, numerical reckonings of death and destruction that ought to break our hearts or scare us out of our wits.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wendell Berry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/it-is-a-horrible-fact-that-we-can-read-in-the-daily-paper-without/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Break" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/it-is-a-horrible-fact-that-we-can-read-in-the-daily-paper-without/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/wendell-berry-236_break_it-is-a-horrible-fact-that-we-can-read-i_1937320.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/wendell-berry-236_break_it-is-a-horrible-fact-that-we-can-read-i_1937320.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/wendell-berry-236_break_it-is-a-horrible-fact-that-we-can-read-i_1937320.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is a horrible fact that we can read in the daily paper, without interrupting our breakfast, numerical…” — Wendell Berry", "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": "Wendell Berry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is a horrible fact that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/it-is-a-horrible-fact-that-we-can-read-in-the-daily-paper-without/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/it-is-a-horrible-fact-that-we-can-read-in-the-daily-paper-without/#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 } } ] } ```