The average American is not concerned with his society. He talks about it, but you know if one speaks of being concerned, I mean something about which one loses one's sleep, sometimes.
Erich FrommIn the first World War British propaganda had to invent the stories of German soldiers bayoneting Belgian babies, because there were too few real atrocities to feed the hatred against the enemy.
Erich FrommLove is union with somebody, or something, outside oneself, under the condition of retaining the separateness and integrity of one's own self.
Erich FrommThe experience of separateness arouses anxiety; it is, indeed, the source of all anxiety.
Erich FrommThe essential difference between the unhappy, neurotic type person and him of great joy is the difference between get and give.
Erich FrommTo have faith requires courage, the ability to take a risk, the readiness even to accept pain and disappointment. Whoever insists on safety and security as primary conditions of life cannot have faith; whoever shuts himself off in a system of defense, where distance and possession are his means of security, makes himself a prisoner. To be loved, and to love, need courage, the courage to judge certain values as of ultimate concern – and to take the jump and to stake everything on these values.
Erich Fromm