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Quote by James A. Baldwin

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James A. Baldwin
James A. Baldwin

James A. Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, and playwright. His works explored themes of race, gender, sexuality, and the class structure of American society. Baldwin is known for his profound social criticism and insight into the human condition. more

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“When committees gather, each member is necessarily an actor, uncontrollably acting out the part of himself, reading the lines that identify him, asserting his identity.... We are designed, coded, it seems, to place the highest priority on being individuals, and we must do this first, at whatever cost, even if it means disability for the group.”

IfsFirstsMeanSeemsReadingActorsIndividualLinesActingGroupsIdentityCostMembersHighestPrioritiesDisabilityCommitteesActing Out
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“It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”

PastCultureIdentityAchievementTestsMirrorsHistoricalActiveMythologyErasLiteralBorrowedOther Cultures
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“Practically everyone now bemoans Western man's sense of alienation, lack of community, and inability to find ways of organizing society for human ends. We have reached the end of the road that is built on the set of traits held out for male identity-advance at any cost, pay any price, drive out all competitors, and kill them if necessary.”

IfsMenWayHumansEndsCommunityPayIdentityCostBuiltWesternMalesTraitsCompetitorsInabilityAlienationEnd Of The Road
Book:Toward a New Psychology of Women
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