One of our worst traits in journalism is that when we have a narrative in our minds, we often plug in anecdotes that confirm it. Thus we managed to portray President Gerald Ford, a first-rate athlete, as a klutz.
Nicholas KristofRead
I wouldn't want everybody to be an art or literature major, but the world would be poorer - figuratively, anyway - if we were all coding software or running companies. We also want musicians to awaken our souls, writers to lead us into fictional lands, and philosophers to help us exercise our minds and engage the world.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of diverse fields like art and literature in enriching human experience.
Nicholas Kristof suggests that while not everyone should pursue art or literature, the richness of life would diminish if society were comprised solely of those in technical or corporate roles. He advocates for the value of creative disciplines, which inspire, challenge, and expand our thinking, highlighting the necessity of musicians, writers, and philosophers in fostering a well-rounded and thoughtful society.
Themes
ArtLiteratureCreativityPhilosophyDiversity
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech advocating for arts funding, this quote could illustrate the essential role of creativity in society.
More from Nicholas Kristof
All quotes →A basic element of the American dream is equal access to education as the lubricant of social and economic mobility.
Nicholas KristofRead
Worrying about bills, food, or other problems leaves less capacity to think ahead or to exert self-discipline. So, poverty imposes a mental tax.
Nicholas KristofRead
Most moms and dads, they want to be good moms and dads. But it's an incredibly hard job when you are stressed out, when you are poor, when your life is in chaos. And giving them some of the tools to be better parents, to whittle away at that parenting gap, gives those kids a much better starting point in life.
Nicholas KristofRead
Since the end of the 1970s, something has gone profoundly wrong in America. Inequality has soared. Educational progress slowed. Incarceration rates quintupled. Family breakdown accelerated. Median household income stagnated.
Nicholas KristofRead
The news media's silence, particularly television news, is reprehensible. If we knew as much about Darfur as we do about Michael Jackson, we might be able to stop these things from continuing.
Nicholas KristofRead
Similar quotes
In film, we sculpt time, we sculpt behaviour and we sculpt light.
David FincherRead
My job in this life is to give people spiritual ecstasy through music. In my concerts people cry, laugh, dance. If they climaxed spiritually, I did my job. I did it decently and honestly.
Carlos SantanaRead
I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do ever - was write novels.
J. K. RowlingRead
Art comes to you proposing frankly to give nothing but the highest quality to your moments as they pass.
Walter PaterRead
What is the explanation of the seemingly insane drive of man to be painter and poet if it is not an act of defiance against mans fall and an assertion that he return to the Garden of Eden? For the artists are the first men.
Barnett NewmanRead
What is drawing? It is working oneself through an invisible iron wall that seems to stand between what one feels and what one can do.
Vincent Van GoghRead