James Baldwin — "I can't be a pessimist because I'm alive. To be a pessimist means that you have …"
I can't be a pessimist because I'm alive. To be a pessimist means that you have agreed that human life is an academic matter.
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More from James Baldwin
"It is a terrible thing to see a person without a country."
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"I think the great problem in America is that we've never been able to face the fact that we were founded on a lie."
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"All of us know, whether we say it or not, that life is a battle."
Details
A frequently quoted statement from interviews, emphasizing his commitment to life and struggle despite the bleak realities he often described, a personal justification for hope and engagement.
Date: Approx. 1960s-1980s
WisdomVerification
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Found in 1 providers: gemini
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