23 March: Erich Fromm Quotes

Erich Fromm, German social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist was born on this date in 1900. He was a German Jew who fled the Nazi regime and settled in the US. Here are 10 quotes:

1. Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.
2. The task we must set for ourselves is not to feel secure, but to be able to tolerate insecurity.
3. The lust for power is not rooted in strength but in weakness.
4. It takes a moment to tell someone you love them, but it takes a lifetime to prove it.
5. Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.
6. An illusion shared by everyone becomes a reality.
7. One cannot be deeply responsive to the world without being saddened very often.
8. You have to stop in order to change direction.
9. True love is like a pair of socks: you gotta have two and they've gotta match.
10. Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar, and you'll live as you've never lived before.

Character birthday

Enigmatic Man, aka Dr Benedict Cole. A heart surgeon in the Infinitus dimension, his career ended after he accidentally travelled through a wormhole deep in a cave. He had no idea that he’d travelled to another dimension and back, but had gained a “power”, namely that any form of technology was drained of power when he was within range of it. On his return home, his girlfriend died because her pacemaker stopped working when he approached her. The hospital where he worked lost power whenever he entered. Suicidal, he went to a tall building to throw himself off, only to find the lift wouldn’t work. He decided his only option was to steal his father’s yacht and make for Classica, a continent which has little technology and try to make a life there. He got as far as Bird Island, where he visited shrines to see if there was a cure for his affliction, with no luck. When the nuclear test there opened another wormhole, he found himself on Earth. He banded together with others who had come through the wormhole and called themselves The Raiders. After the stable wormhole back to Infinitus was established, Cole did go to Classica and set himself up as a healer using natural and alternative healing methods.

Secrets and Skies

Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.

Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.

Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.

Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.

Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.

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