The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
Elie WieselRead
When my father was born, it was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. When I was born, it was Lithuania. When I left, it was Hungary. It is difficult to say where I come from.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses the complex nature of identity shaped by changing national borders and history.
Elie Wiesel's quote reflects on the fluidity of personal and national identity through the lens of historical changes in geography and governance. It illustrates how one's sense of belonging can be complicated, especially when the political landscape shifts dramatically over time, making it challenging to define where one truly comes from or belongs.
Themes
IdentityHistoryBelongingNationalityChange
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on cultural identity, you might use this quote to emphasize how complex our backgrounds can be.
More from Elie Wiesel
All quotes →With every cell of my being and with every fiber of my memory I oppose the death penalty in all forms. I do not believe any civilized society should be at the service of death. I don't think it's human to become an agent of the angel of death.
Elie WieselRead
Certain things, certain events, seem inexplicable only for a time: up to the moment when the veil is torn aside.
Elie WieselRead
We're alone, but we are capable of communicating to one another both our loneliness and our desire to break through it. You say, 'I'm alone.' Someone answers, 'I'm alone too.' There's a shift in the scale of power. A bridge is thrown between the two abysses.
Elie WieselRead
No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has escaped the kingdom of night.
Elie WieselRead
My loyalty to my people, to our people, and to Israel comes first and prevents me from saying anything critical of Israel outside Israel… As a Jew I see my role as a melitz yosher, a defender of Israel: I defend even her mistakes… I must identify with whatever Israel does – even with her errors.
Elie WieselRead
Similar quotes
During my three years in Vietnam, I certainly heard plenty of last words by dying American footsoldiers. Not one of them, however, had illusions that he had somehow accomplished something worthwhile in the process of making the Supreme Sacrifice.
Kurt VonnegutRead
I am proud of my country. But we need to unite to make a unified India, free of communalism and casteism. We need to build India into a land of equal opportunity for all. We can be a truly great nation if we set our sights high and deliver to the people the fruits of continued growth, prosperity and equal opportunity.
Ratan TataRead
If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God.
Saint PatrickRead
For 6,000 years, these rules have been unquestionably right. And yet we break them every day. People feel that something is wrong in life. There is some kind of atmosphere that makes people now turn to other values. They want to contemplate the basic questions of life, and that is probably the real reason for wanting to tell these stories.
Krzysztof KieslowskiRead
Sex is the mysticism of materialism and the only possible religion in a materialistic society.
Malcolm MuggeridgeRead
In the long term the most important question for a company is not what you are but what you are becoming.
Gary HamelRead