Ali Shariati Quotes
No nation is formed within a night, one generation's era of even two. A nation can be described as the continuous string of many generations that time, this pitiless, thoughtless sword of nature, separates their physical connections along the course of their history.
Ali Shariati, 1933–1977, Iranian Revolutionary and Sociologist,, Norouz; Declaration of Iranians' Livelihood, Eternity
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
1st Earl of Beaconsfield
See Montesquieu {618579} for a slightly earlier version.
The President was referring to the lasting divisions in the country over the Vietnam war. “Sundered” means separated into parts.
Very few countries make such overt recognition of the arts and their cultural heritage a part of their constitutions. Even nations which are fanatic about their cultures such as France do not have such overt constitutional provisions.
Most countries have long national memories that can be very destructive at times because the past cannot be forgotten. The Balkan nations for example, often determine their current policies by what occurred over 1000 years ago.
Note the belief that the author has the belief that over time homogeneity is important in a state, whereas the most successful modern states have been ones that are diverse—i.e. America, Britain, China, France. There have been some small successful states like Norway that are homogeneous, but large states need the heterogeneity.
Ali Shariati Mazinani was an Iranian revolutionary and sociologist who focused on the sociology of religion. He is held as one of the most influential Iranian intellectuals of the 20th century and has been called the "ideologue of the Iranian Revolution", although his ideas ended up not forming the basis of the Islamic Republic.
