It is clear that the main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.
George F. KennanRead
One sometimes feels a guest of one's time and not a member of its household.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the feeling of being out of place or not fully belonging in the current era.
George F. Kennan's quote encapsulates the sentiment experienced by individuals who feel disconnected from the prevailing culture or societal norms of their time. It suggests that instead of feeling like an active participant in the world around them, they perceive themselves as a mere observer, highlighting the complexity of identity and belonging in a rapidly changing society.
In practice
This quote could be used during a lecture on the nature of societal change and individual identity.
It is clear that the main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.
The best thing we can do if we want the Russians to let us be Americans is to let the Russians be Russian.
We should cease to talk about vague and unreal objectives such as human rights, the raising of the living standards, and democratization. The day is not far off when we are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are then hampered by idealistic slogans, the better.
It is an undeniable privilege of every man to prove himself right in the thesis that the world is his enemy; for if he reiterates it frequently enough and makes it the background of his conduct he is bound eventually to be right.
Actually, the inability of any society to resist immigration, the inability to find other solutions to the problem of employment at the lower, more physical, and menial levels of the economic process, is a serious weakness, and possibly even a fatal one, in any national society. The fully healthy society would find ways to meet those needs out of its own resources.
The accords were fig leaves of democratic procedure to hide the nakedness of Stalinist dictatorship.
Opinions about obviousness are to a certain extent a function of time.
Americans have always been able to handle austerity and even adversity. Prosperity is what is doing us in.
We can forgive [the Arabs] for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with [the Arabs] when they love their children more than they hate us...
Itβs in the very trickery that it pleases me. But show me how the trick is done, and I have lost my interest therein.
You have deep-seated survival anxieties. And you don't like bigots, bullies, snobs or hypocrites. Subconsciously there are many people you hate." "Consciously, sir, consciously," Yossarian corrected in an effort to help. "I hate them consciously.
When we say we begin with God, we begin with our idea of God, and our idea of God is not God. Instead, we ought to begin with Godβs idea of God, and Godβs idea of God is Christ
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