Bernard-Henri Levy Quotes

I think Britain needs to get out there on the world stage and make itself heard. And for much of my political career, there has been a sense of retreat from the world stage because of what happened in the Iraq War.

I have to tell you, as your Secretary of State, I went to 112 countries, and when people hear those words, they hear America. So don't let anyone tell you that our country is weak. We're not. Don't let anyone tell you we don't have what it takes. We do.

Europe is my home, Europe is my continent. Europe is where we live. The European Union is a political bureaucratic organization that took away our identity and our national sovereignty. So, I would get rid of the European Union and be a nation-state again.

We are a global power, active and responsible on the world stage. This will never change.

A united Europe is our Continent's only chance to avoid falling off the world's radar. The heads of government of Germany, France and the United Kingdom also know that their voice is only heard internationally because they speak through the megaphone of the European Union.

The bloke who ends up sitting in the White House partially controls what we [the British] get up to.

The United States is the world's best hope; but if you fetter her in the interests and quarrels of other nations, if you tangle her in the intrigues of Europe, you will destroy her power for good and endanger her very existence.

Europe, mourning the loss of its century-old supremacy, either resorts to insulation (by quotas and “cultural exception” clauses) or seeks solace in the disparagement of American culture as vulgar, inauthentic, or stolen.

My America is called Europe. It is my place of dreams.... Today the United States isn’t a solution, it’s a danger! ... Most of the things I like are in Europe... I hope Europe will show us a road to follow.

America must always lead on the world stage.

China is a global actor without (yet) being a true global power.

America stands alone as the world’s indispensable nation.

I never consider myself a minority. I see people who look like me in Barbados, in Trinidad, in Haiti, in London, and in Brooklyn. So I don't know what the heck anyone means when they call me a 'minority.' There's something about that word to me. It just minimalizes people.

If everyone can say, looking at Obama, that is he is one of us, is that not befitting for the leading country in the world?

The thing that keeps me being a performer is my interest in society's obsession with identity, because I'm not sure that I really believe identity exists.

I am not defined as a black writer in the Caribbean, but as soon as I go to America or the U.K., my place becomes black theatre. It's a little ridiculous.

I don't feel that Chinese designers have reached the level of prominence that European or American designers have, but we've noticed in fashion schools in the U.S. and in England and we've seen how much the makeup of the students in the classes have changed there in the last five to 10 years.

I think it's always been understood that Canada is not a country that's going to stand up and beat its chest on the world stage, but we can be very helpful in modelling solutions that work.

The person who serves as president of the United States is the de facto leader of the free world.

'Essence' is political. I grew up on the magazine, looking at the covers. Seeing ourselves on the cover is political.

We would like to preserve Europe for Europeans.

If someone were to call me 'the next Amy Tan,' it would not be because - or not primarily because - we have similar themes or subjects or styles. Let's be honest: it would be because we are both Chinese American.

I'm definitely more Asian than a lot of people who have never been to Asia. But by blood and by race, they instantly say I deserve to be Asian. I've worked really hard to be Asian, and I think I'm Asian enough.

I got an invitation to speak in the European parliament and I met Ban Ki-moon, the secretary-general of the U.N. I took those opportunities to talk about what I thought was right. That those people, who are more important and powerful than I am, think I'm relevant enough to give a speech is mind-blowing.

When I started publishing my work, one of the biggest surprises to me was the recurring question about my background and why I wasn't doing more stories about Asian-Americans.