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 More Quotes by Cornel West More Quotes From Cornel West John Coltrane was an addict; Billie Holiday was an addict; Eugene O'Neill was an addict. What would America be without addicts and post-addicts who make such grand contributions to our society? Cornel West holiday our-society america So more and more black folk tend to be well-adjusted to [Barack] Obama's presidency, but does that mean they're well-adjusted to injustice? Because we don't hear our president talking about the new Jim Crow, the prison-industrial complex. Cornel West crow talking mean The capacity to produce social chaos is the last resort of desperate people. Cornel West chaos lasts people The most dangerous thing in American society is a self-respecting and self-loving black person, because they're on the road to freedom and that means they're gonna run up against the powers that be. Cornel West self running mean In situations of sparse resources along with degraded self-images and depoliticized sensibilities, one avenue for poor people is in existential rebellion and anarchic expression. The capacity to produce social chaos is the last resort of desperate people. Cornel West expression self people I don't believe in the elimination of evil. But I believe in fightin' against evil. Cornel West elimination evil believe All individuals have the same value, not to be determined by market price. They're made in the image and likeness of God. Cornel West individual determined made We're all vanishing organisms and disappearing creatures in space and time - that death sentence in space in time that Kafka talked about with such profundity. Cornel West vanishing disappear space What does it really mean to be a leftist in the early part of the 21st century? What are we really talking about? And I can just be very candid with you. It means to have a certain kind of temperament, to make certain kinds of political and ethical choices, and to exercise certain analytical focuses in targeting on the catastrophic and the monstrous, the scandalous, the traumatic, that are often hidden and concealed in the deodorized and manicured discourses of the mainstream. That's what it means to be a leftist. So let's just be clear about it. Cornel West exercise talking mean Faith is stepping out on nothing and landing on something. Cornel West landing faith You're going to end up with a government in Egypt that is concerned about the precious Palestinians, the same way we ought to be concerned about both precious Palestinians and precious Jews. Cornel West egypt government way confining life to an eternal present is an insidious form of soul murder Cornel West murder form soul It takes unbelievable spiritual courage, moral fortitude, to engage in militant nonviolence. Cornel West fortitude moral spiritual I think Martin Luther King would always keep track of collective insurgencies among poor and working people. He was concerned about the treatment of Jews in the Soviet Union, for example. He would have closely followed the Arab Spring. And certainly he would be very critical of the massive surveillance state that has emerged in America in the last five to 10 years. He would have approved of the movements trying to gain some accountability in U.S. foreign policy, such as drones being (used) on innocent people. I think he would march against drones. Cornel West kings spring thinking Music at its best...is the grand archeology into and transfiguration of our guttural cry, the great human effort to grasp in time our deepest passions and yearnings as prisoners of time. Profound music leads us--beyond language--to the dark roots of our scream and the celestial heights of our silence. Cornel West passion roots dark We are a democracy and we don't believe in just hunting down gangsters and killing them. We believe in trying to find the gangsters and bring them back for trial, and give them a trial under rule of law. That's what democracies do. Cornel West hunting law believe I think hip-hop can be prophetic and progressive, and at the same time, the dominant forms tend to be homophobic, misogynistic and something that we need to critically call into question. Cornel West hip-hop needs thinking I cannot be an optimist but I am a prisoner of hope. Cornel West prisoner optimist The challenge artists face today is whether to be an underground, unheard genius, or to dilute their art for the marketplace. Cornel West genius challenges art We have a market-driven society so obsessed with buying and selling and obsessed with power and pleasure and property. Cornel West selling pleasure buying
