#sen

I hope you're representing the devil's advocate. ↗

— Charles Olson

#devil #hope #i #representing #you

Style and Structure are the essence of a book; great ideas are hogwash. ↗

— Vladimir Nabokov

#essence #great #great ideas #hogwash #ideas

The 'democracy gap' in our politics and elections spells a deep sense of powerlessness by people who drop out, do not vote, or listlessly vote for the 'least worst' every four years and then wonder why after every cycle the 'least worst' gets worse. ↗

— Ralph Nader

#cycle #deep #democracy #drop #elections

Those in the west who dismiss the repressiveness of laws against women in countries like Iran, no matter how benign their intentions, present a condescending view not just of the religion but also of women living in Muslim majority countries, as if the desire for choice and happiness is the monopoly of women in the west. ↗

— Azar Nafisi

#also #benign #choice #condescending #countries

This is a good time to ask apologists for the Islamic regime, who degrades Islam? Who imposes stoning, forced marriage of underage girls and flogging for not wearing the veil? Do such practices represent Iran's ancient history and culture, its ethnic and religious diversity? Its centuries of sensual and subversive poetry? ↗

— Azar Nafisi

#apologists #ask #centuries #culture #degrades

The best work of literature to represent the American Dream is 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It shows us how dreaming can be tainted by reality, and that if you don't compromise, you may suffer. ↗

— Azar Nafisi

#american dream #best #best work #compromise #dream

The stories from Iran's present and past are reminders that freedom, democracy and human rights, or fundamentalism, fascism and terrorism are not geographically and culturally determined, but universal. ↗

— Azar Nafisi

#democracy #determined #fascism #freedom #fundamentalism

Thus the regime has deprived Iranian women not just of their present rights, but also of their history and their past. ↗

— Azar Nafisi

#deprived #history #iranian #just #past

I was worried people would laugh at me when I started to talk the language, but they were just pleasantly surprised that I could. The sense of humour here is great - once I could have a giggle, I settled down. ↗

— Parminder Nagra

#down #giggle #great #here #humour

I want to present interesting stories that don't qualify themselves just by virtue of their ethnographic type. ↗

— Ajay Naidu

#interesting #interesting stories #just #present #qualify