Those who have never despaired have neither lived nor loved. Hope is inseparable from despair. Those of us who truly hope make despair a constant companion whom we out-wrestle every day Cornel West More Quotes by Cornel West More Quotes From Cornel West Why I can't stand this phrase about I don't have any permanent enemies, any permanent friends, only permanent interests. I can't stand that. It's a matter of principles. What kind of integrity, what kind of morality do you have? Cornel West principles integrity enemy This is what it is for Asians to be part of - support affirmative action, even though it may be against their interest, but they feel it's a matter of justice. Cornel West support justice may I love the academy in terms of the life of the mind and the world of ideas. I also love the streets. I love the churches and mosques and synagogues. I love the trade union centers. I love the community centers. I speak regularly at prisons and so forth. Cornel West community mind ideas If you are always trying to do something for a cause bigger than you - connected with serving others - then it is hard to be guilty. Cornel West serving-others always-trying causes Life is such a mysterious thing that you are up one day; you are down the next day. A lot of the homeless brothers and sisters who were a success ten years ago, they are now on the street. Maybe ten years later they will be a success, but the crucial question is what is the quality of their life. Cornel West mysterious-things brother years We have a market-driven society so obsessed with buying and selling and obsessed with power and pleasure and property, it doesn't leave a whole lot of time for non-market values and non-market activity so that love and trust and justice, concern for the poor, that's being pushed to the margins, and you can see it. Cornel West love-and-trust buying justice There ought to be a robust, uninhibited conversation in black America with different black ideological perspectives. Cornel West perspective black america I think we must never, ever demonize one another. That's true not just black people to black people; that's human being to human being. Cornel West black people thinking The problem is that in America is that the nation state has been so weak when it comes to the history of big markets the history of big business in a way so we have a very weak welfare state compared to European nation states. Cornel West problem america way The question is really how do we think seriously about this mechanism called a market. It ought to be determining not values but prices. Cornel West mechanism ought thinking I think anytime we talk about transforming in capitalist society, we are talking about a process not a particular event so you can't talk about a socialist revolution. Cornel West events talking thinking A philosopher's a lover of wisdom. Cornel West philosopher lovers For me music is central, so when one's talking about poetry, for the most part Plato's talking primarily about words, where I talk about notes, I talk about tone, I talk about timbre, I talk about rhythms. Cornel West tone plato talking If the churches don't move, much of the community won't move. We've got a situation in which a black church is still a major institution in the black community where 55 percent of the black folk attend and over 75 pass through its doors. Cornel West community doors moving The black church is dormant, much of the community is dormant. If the black church is leaning toward the right, much of the community is leaning toward the right. If it is leaning in the left wing direction having repercussions. Cornel West black community wings One is that I am a regular, everyday person, you know what I mean. I feel that wherever I am, I really am. Cornel West everyday feels mean I think that when we talk about education I was also blessed to talk with my dear brother Arne Duncan. I had never met him, the secretary of Education. We had a wonderful talk. And I had told him quite explicitly education is a right, it's not a race to the top. Cornel West brother blessed thinking Jesus loves a free black man. Cornel West black men jesus I'm praying for Barack Obama to stay on the tightrope because I want to fight his right-wing critics. I want to down I want to ensure they don't lie about him. I'm sure they don't demonize him, and too much of that is going on. So I don't want my critiques to be in any way confused with the right-wing critiques, even though I'll fight for the right wing to be wrong in that regard. Cornel West confused fighting lying Going all the way back to Jeremiah Wright and Tavis Smiley and Van Jones and even Shirley Sherrod and maybe even Maxine Waters and Charles Rangel. We're going to see what his [Barack Obama] response is. Cornel West smiley water way
