The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.
When they face desperation... human beings become animals.
The citizens were so destitute that all the tropical fish in the city’s aquarium were devoured and even respectable women were driven to prostitution.
O, reason not the need!
Faith in the supernatural is a desperate wager made by man at the lowest ebb of his fortunes.
I guess under the right circumstances, a man will do just about anything.
Terrorism and the whole drug scene are vivid examples of the fact that what persons abhor most of all in life is the possibility that they will not matter.
America has a broken spirit, that the people that are saying, "Please help me, please let me keep my home, please let me keep my car, please recognize me as a vital human being," they are falling on deaf ears.
