The most difficult idea to reconcile in war is the notion that anything is going to be solved by killing a stranger, or in risking your life for a cause anchored in some distant political arena.
Walter Dean MyersRead
On the streets of the city They have taken my Who-I-Am As well as my What-I-Was And now I am desperate for them both Again
Interpretation
The quote reflects a deep sense of loss and longing for one's identity and past.
Walter Dean Myers poignantly expresses a feeling of desperation and disconnection from oneβs sense of self due to the circumstances of urban life. The contrast between 'Who-I-Am' and 'What-I-Was' highlights how personal identity can be shaped and sometimes lost in the harsh realities of city living, leading to a yearning for a reconnection with oneβs former self.
In practice
In a discussion about personal identity during a community meeting.
The most difficult idea to reconcile in war is the notion that anything is going to be solved by killing a stranger, or in risking your life for a cause anchored in some distant political arena.
I remember one time being told I could not play in a basketball game at the College of William and Mary because I was black, even though I was playing with a United States Army team.
As a writer, I absorb stories, allow them to churn within my own head and heart - often for years - until I find a way of telling them that fits both my time and temperament.
We need to tell young people that America was built by men and women of all colors and that the future of this country is dependent on the participation of all of our citizens.
Yeah, that's funny, huh?...Something hurts you real bad and you get used to it. Like being hurt becomes part of who you are.
Books transmit values. They explore our common humanity. What is the message when some children are not represented in those books?
Suicide is not abominable because God prohibits it; God prohibits it because it is abominable.
When we really worship anything, we love not only its clearness but its obscurity. We exult in its very invisibility.
In view of the tide of religiosity engulfing a once secular republic it is refreshing to be reminded by Freethinkers that free thought and skepticism are robustly in the American tradition. After all the Founding Fathers began by omitting God from the American Constitution.
Thou art a man God is no more Thy own humanity Learn to adore
Allah the Exalted loves him who forgoes worldly life, the Angels love him who rejects the vices, and the Muslims love him who gives up greediness in respect of the Muslims.
I don't normally talk about my religion publicly because I don't want people to associate me and my flaws with this beautiful thing. And I believe it is beautiful religion if you learn it the right way.
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