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Quote by Deborah Levy

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Things I Don't Want to Know

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Deborah Levy
Deborah Levy

Deborah Levy, born in 1959, is a distinguished playwright from the United Kingdom. Her works are known for their profound psychological insights and sharp social commentary. Levy's writing spans a variety of themes, including family, love, politics, and identity. more

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“I shall no longer ask myself if this or that is expedient, but only if it is right. I shall do this, not because I am noble or unselfish, but because life slips away, and because I need for the rest of my journey a star that will not play false to me, a compass that will not lie…. I am lost when I balance this against that, I am lost when I ask if this is safe…. Therefore I shall try to do what is right, and to speak what is true. I do this not because I am courageous and honest, but because it is the only way to end the conflict of my deepest soul. I do it because I am no longer able to aspire to the highest with one part of myself, and to deny it with another. I do not wish to live like that, I would rather die than live like that. I understand better those who have died for their convictions, and have not thought it was wonderful or brave or noble to die. They died rather than live, that was all.”

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Book:Cry, the Beloved Country
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“Announce my sisters and brothers at the top of your voice - the helpless, the hopeless, the forgotten, the discriminated, the alienated, the destitute are my family, and I will stop not till I lift them up to take their rightful place upon the fabric of society.”

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Book:No Foreigner Only Family
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“Black women who define ourselves and our goals beyond the sphere of a sexual relationship can bring to any endeavor the realized focus of completed and therefore empowered individuals. Black women and Black men who recognize that the development of their particular strengths and interests does not diminish the other do not need to diffuse their energies fighting for control over each other. We can focus our attentions against the real economic, political, and social forces at the heart of this society which are ripping us and our children and our worlds apart.”

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Book:Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches
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“And we also recognize this dance-like spirit, this ethos of grace: societal conduct, the control not only of written and established conventions, the virtuous mastery of forms of play where persons come close to each other without meeting and where they establish distance without damaging each other through indifference; amiability and not insistence is the atmosphere of this ethos of grace - its ethical law is the game and its observation, not seriousness. Forced distance between persons becomes ennobled into reserve. The offensive indifference, coldness, and rudeness of living past each other is made ineffective through the forms of politeness, respectfulness, and attentiveness. Reserve counteracts a too great intimacy.”

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Book:Grenzen der Gemeinschaft
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“The herd, at large, will eat up almost any nonsensical hyperbole that is pushed down their throats, so long as it validates their fragile world-view. Hence, it is the responsibility of those with critical thinking skills to heed the role of a sombre shepherd, to be nurturing bearers of bad news. Going under for a surgery is painful, but it mitigates the likelihood of future injuries. Humanity faces a similar ordeal, we must briefly suffer for the greater good. Therefore, turn away from gluttony, neurotic armchair anarchism and self-inducing victimhood, instead, pursue a diligent, disciplined life, and bear a tragic responsibility for every aspect of your life. Forego intellectual masturbation and axiomatise your earthly pursuits in empathy. Put everything on the line for the sake of humanities well-being, regardless of the consequences or ostracisation. Crucify yourself to plant the seeds for a nurturing, anti-dystopian future.”

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Author:Corey Simon
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