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'To depersonalize man is the dominant drift of our times.'

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ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms

Quotation: 'God has been replaced, as he has all over the West...' | Slang: smack-dab

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#1 (permalink) Fri Mar 02, 2007 13:42 pm 'To depersonalize man is the dominant drift of our times.'

Hi

Could you please explain the following to me? Does it mean that we now believe in humiliating people?

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To depersonalize man is the dominant drift of our times.

Tom

Tom
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#2 (permalink) Fri Mar 02, 2007 13:43 pm 'To depersonalize man is the dominant drift of our times.'

. Not humiliate us-- just cause us to lose our individuality. . _________________ Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

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#3 (permalink) Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:49 am 'To depersonalize man is the dominant drift of our times.'

Tom wrote:

Could you please explain the following to me? Does it mean that we now believe in humiliating people?

Quote:

To depersonalize man is the dominant drift of our times.

No, I don't think it means to humiliate people or to lose their individuality. I think it's saying that the trend in our times is to strip away people's humanity and see them more for their utility. A writer who makes a statement of this sort would point to abortion, pornography and euthanasia as evidence of this trend. All of these treat humans as objects or livestock in some way. For example, it used to be unthinkable to euthanize an elderly person, and they were allowed to die a natural death. Now in some Western countries (but not my country) it's becoming more and more normal to kill them with an injection when they start to become too expensive or inconvenient.

Out of context, though, it's hard to know for sure what the author was saying.

Jamie (K)
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Joined: 24 Feb 2006
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Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

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Quotation: 'God has been replaced, as he has all over the West...' | Slang: smack-dab

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