I'll tell you something, and this is true: I've never been able to write a film which I didn't respect. I just can't do it. I'm very happy about all the films I haven't done.
Iraq is just a symbol of the attitude of western democracies to the rest of the world.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques Western democracies' views and actions toward other nations, using Iraq as a representation.
Harold Pinter's quote highlights the perception that Iraq, as a conflict zone, symbolizes the broader, often arrogant, attitude of Western democracies towards the rest of the world. It suggests that the foreign policies and interventions of these democracies reflect a lack of respect and understanding for diverse cultures and political systems, portraying a one-dimensional view of global interaction driven by power dynamics rather than genuine diplomacy.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a panel discussion on international relations, you might say, 'As Harold Pinter pointed out, Iraq is just a symbol of the attitude of western democracies to the rest of the world.'
More from Harold Pinter
All quotes βAll that happens is that the destruction of human beings - unless they're Americans - is called collateral damage.
I do tend to think that I've written a great deal out of my unconscious because half the time I don't know what a given character is going to say next.
I never think of myself as wise. I think of myself as possessing a critical intelligence which I intend to allow to operate.
It's so easy for propaganda to work, and dissent to be mocked.
There are places in my heart...where no living soul...has...or can ever...trespass.
Similar quotes
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Food prices are often kept artificially high. The result is that the Millennium Development Goals set out by the United Nations at the start of the new millennium are not being reached. Fine words have not yet been turned into deeds.
Infuriatingly stupid analysts - especially people who called themselves Arabists, yet who seemed to know next to nothing about the reality of the Islamic world - wrote reams of commentary [after 9/11]. Their articles were all about Islam saving Aristotle and the zero, which medieval Muslim scholars had done more than eight hundred years ago; about Islam being a religion of peace and tolerance, not the slightest bit violent. These were fairy tales, nothing to do with the real world I knew.
Even if you tell yourself "Today I'm going to drink coffee the wrong way ... from a dirty boot." Even that would be right, because you chose to drink coffee from that boot. Because you can do nothing wrong. You are always right. Even when you say, "I'm such an idiot, I'm so wrong..." you're right. You're right about being wrong. You're right even when you're an idiot. No matter how stupid your idea, you're doomed to be right because it's yours.
Of course it is a very simple matter to identify genes which might modify intelligence or memory and start thinking about whether you want to enhance a human, and the next generation is going to have to deal with that issue. Should we be trying to enhance humans rather than trying to educate them and so on?
The religious idea of God cannot do full duty for the metaphysical infinity.