Nadine Gordimer Quotes

I give lectures on globalization. I have lived on three continents. I have no quarrel with a global consciousness.

I wanted to be a citizen of the world but not in a superficial way.

We are on the cusp of this time where I can say, "I speak as a citizen of the world" without others saying, "God, what a nut.

A man's feet should be planted in his country, but his eyes should survey the world.

We are the most powerful nation in the world, but we're not the only nation in the world. We are not the only people in the world. We are an important people, the wealthiest, the most powerful and, to a great extent, generous. But we are part of the world.

I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world.

What I'd love to do is work with kids in the U.S. to raise their awareness and encourage them to be global citizens. We're all connected these days; we can listen to the same music as kids all around the world and share our ideas.

I am a citizen of the world, and also a citizen of Ukraine.

We live in a globalising world. That means that all of us, consciously or not, depend on each other. Whatever we do or refrain from doing affects the lives of people who live in places we'll never visit.

Gradually, everything that happens in the world is coming to be of interest everywhere in the world, and, gradually, thoughtful men and women everywhere are sitting in judgment upon the conduct of all nations.

Therefore one should speak at the same time of national citizenship and wider European citizenship.

What happens in the Philippines, Japan, and Korea has a greater impact on us than most events in Massachusetts.

We live in a global society, and I don't think we can talk about, quote unquote, 'American themes' anymore.

We can't afford to live in isolation, and we need to teach our kids that the things that they do not only matter to others far away but impact others who live far away, and there are ripples of effect.

I think progressives understand that we are Americans at the same time as we are global citizens. We are interested first and foremost in creating peace and prosperity here at home, but we aren't blind to the fact that injustice anywhere in the world is meaningful, important, and worth thinking about.

There is this way that I felt when I was younger that we were beyond history and we were all citizens of the world that now seems so naive.

Just because India is a large country, we cannot be arrogant and think that we can ignore others. We live in a different era.

The idea of explaining why free trade is good, why immigration is good, why the world is so connected, that we need to think in terms of humanity and being generous to each other, you know, that's proving to be a challenge.

I think that one of the most exciting things about making films is the sort of reaching out to the world. It's as an ambassador. You realize the more you travel that you are a cultural ambassador for your own country. You never become more patriotic than you do living abroad.

You [young people] all are just much more internationally-minded and traveled and knowledgeable in languages than any other previous generation. So many of you are already doing a lot of international relations, I think. I so believe in student networks, and people that either study abroad or come to the United States to study, and the relationships that you all develop. You learn a lot from each other, but you all will see each other again in jobs along the way. And I think that makes a big difference. I so believe in what students can do.

If you read Herodotus, the first Greek historian 2,500 years ago, he was talking about that - about people mixing with other people. Sometimes it produces great societies. Sometimes it triggers war. But, we're not going to change that. I don't think so. We're living in nations that are state nations and countries.

If we think long term, the younger generation here is better about embracing the world. Not seeing countries boundaries kind of an "us versus them" thing.

By travelling across frontiers, on horseback and in the imagination, Montaigne invited us to to exchange local prejudices and the self division they induced for less constraining identities as citizens of the world.

I never considered myself a patriot. I like to think I recognize only humanity as my nation.

We must travel; we must go to foreign parts. We must see how the engine of society works in other countries, and keep free and open communication with what is going on in the minds of other nations, if we really want to be a nation again.