Every empire suffers from hubris, arrogance and condescension, and therefore a moral blindness. That's true of the American empire, it was true of the British Empireearlier, and it will certainly be true of the Chinese Empire in the future. Cornel West More Quotes by Cornel West More Quotes From Cornel West There is a price to pay for speaking the truth. There is a bigger price for living a lie. Cornel West living-a-lie pay lying You can't lead the people if you don't love the people. You can't save the people if you don't serve the people. Cornel West ifs people Hope and optimism are different. Optimism tends to be based on the notion that there's enough evidence out there to believe things are gonna be better, much more rational, deeply secular, whereas hope looks at the evidence and says, "It doesn't look good at all. Doesn't look good at all. Gonna go beyond the evidence to create new possibilities based on visions that become contagious to allow people to engage in heroic actions always against the odds, no guarantee whatsoever." That's hope. I'm a prisoner of hope, though. Gonna die a prisoner of hope. Cornel West odds believe people The country is in deep trouble. We've forgotten that a rich life consists fundamentally of serving others, trying to leave the world a little better than you found it. We need the courage to question the powers that be, the courage to be impatient with evil and patient with people, the courage to fight for social justice. In many instances we will be stepping out on nothing, and just hoping to land on something. But that's the struggle. To live is to wrestle with despair, yet never allow despair to have the last word. Cornel West patience life country Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public Cornel West justice love looks You have to have a habitual vision of greatness ... you have to believe in fact that you will refuse to settle for mediocrity. You won't confuse your financial security with your personal integrity, you won't confuse your success with your greatness or your prosperity with your magnanimity ... believe in fact that living is connected to giving. Cornel West greatness integrity believe Empathy is not simply a matter of trying to imagine what others are going through, but having the will to muster enough courage to do something about it. In a way, empathy is predicated upon hope. Cornel West compassion hope courage We are who we are because somebody loved us. Cornel West who-we-are The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of inspiration. Cornel West purpose-driven-life inspirational giving Too many young folk have addiction to superficial things and not enough conviction for substantial things like justice, truth and love. Cornel West superficial-things truth love It takes tremendous discipline, takes tremendous courage, to think for yourself, to examine yourself. Cornel West think-for-yourself discipline thinking None of us alone can save the nation or the world. But each of us can make a positive difference if we commit ourselves to do so. (p. 109) Cornel West commit differences world You must let suffering speak, if you want to hear the truth Cornel West speak suffering want We have to recognise that there cannot be relationships unless there is commitment, unless there is loyalty, unless there is love, patience, persistence. Cornel West loyalty inspirational relationship Music is what we need when language fails us, but we cannot remain silent. Cornel West jazz music needs The love of wisdom is a way of life; that is to say, it's a set of practices that have to do with mustering the courage to think critically about ourselves, society, and the world; mustering the courage to empathize; the courage, I would say, to love; the courage to have compassion with others, especially the widow and the orphan, the fatherless and the motherless, poor and working peoples, gays and lesbians, and so forth - and the courage to hope. Cornel West gay compassion thinking We have to be militants for kindness, subversive for sweetness and radicals for tenderness. Cornel West sweetness radical kindness Courage is being true to yourself, true to a sense of integrity. Cornel West true-to-yourself be-true-to-yourself integrity Racism is a moral catastrophe, most graphically seen in the prison industrial complex and targeted police surveillance in black and brown ghettos rendered invisible in public discourse. Cornel West ghetto police racism You've got to love yourself enough, not only so that others will be able to love you, but that you'll be able to love others. Cornel West able self-esteem love-you
