A handful of works in history have had a direct impact on social policy: one or two works of Dickens, some of Zola, 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' and, in modern drama, Larry Kramer's 'The Normal Heart.'
Tony KushnerRead
One has to have a complicated kind of optimism. You can't refuse to look at how horrible things are.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True optimism involves acknowledging the existence of harsh realities while still maintaining a hopeful outlook.
Tony Kushner's quote highlights the complexity of optimism in the face of adversity. It suggests that a genuine optimistic perspective does not ignore or deny the difficult and often horrifying aspects of life; rather, it embraces them while still choosing to find hope and positivity despite those challenges. This nuanced view allows for a more realistic and resilient approach to life.
Themes
OptimismAdversityRealismHopeReality
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared during a motivational speech to inspire resilience in difficult times.
More from Tony Kushner
All quotes βArtists know that diligence counts as much, if not more, as inspiration; in art, as in politics, patience counts as much as revolution.
Tony KushnerRead
I don't understand why I'm not dead. When your heart breaks, you should die
Tony KushnerRead
In this world, there is a kind of painful progress. Longing for what we've left behind, and dreaming ahead.
Tony KushnerRead
The way that same-sex marriage should reach the federal level is that it absolutely should be decided by the Supreme Court as quickly as possible. It's a 14th Amendment issue. There's no argument about it.
Tony KushnerRead
Gay TV has been immensely important in transforming American culture in a more gay-positive direction.
Tony KushnerRead
Similar quotes
Generally, I tend to despise human behavior rather than human creatures.
Sidney PoitierRead
I suppose that every one of us hopes secretly for immortality; to leave, I mean, a name behind him which will live forever in this world, whatever he may be doing, himself, in the next.
A. A. MilneRead
I kept imagining these people, just living their daily lives, and then having them suddenly ended in unjust tragedy. When we watch the news, we grieve all of this, but when we go to the movies, we want more of it. Somehow we realize that great stories are told in conflict, but we are unwilling to embrace the potential greatness of the story we are actually in. We think God is unjust, rather than a master storyteller.
Donald MillerRead
Truth is, I've always been selling out. The difference is that in the past, I looked like I had integrity because there were no buyers.
Lily TomlinRead
I enjoyed having a reputation as being wild, but these days I try not to worry about what people think in the privacy of their own brain or what they write in the bizarre publicity of their own newspapers, because all of those things are meaningless.
Russell BrandRead
One day the absurdity of the almost universal human belief in the slavery of other animals will be palpable. We shall then have discovered our souls and become worthier of sharing this planet with them.
Martin Luther King, Jr.Read