Quotes about western
page 12

Ravi Shankar photo

“Without…Yehudi Menuhin, the West may not have found Indian classical music and decades later…thanks to Menuhin’s chance meeting and later lasting friendship with the master sitarist Ravi Shankar, the Wets witnessed the sublimity that the merging of the Western and Indian classical music could produce.”

Ravi Shankar (1920–2012) Indian musician and sitar player

[Wetzel, Richard, The Globalization of Music in History, http://books.google.com/books?id=kjS9PnHJUE4C&pg=PA26, 17 June 2013, Routledge, 978-1-136-62624-1, 26–]

Doug Stanhope photo
John Muir photo
Edward Said photo
Richard Dawkins photo
Abby Martin photo
Rudyard Kipling photo
Caldwell Esselstyn photo

“In all of western civilization, there is nothing more common than coronary artery heart disease, and that is because of the foods that most people eat every day.”

Caldwell Esselstyn (1933) American physician, author and rower

Interview in the documentary-film The Game Changers by Louie Psihoyos (2018).

Thomas Hylland Eriksen photo

“Many social scientists, including anthropologists, have been interested in the power inherent in gender relations, often described through the idiom of female oppression. It can be argued that men usually tend to exert more power over women than vice versa. In most societies, men generally hold the most important political and religious positions, and very often men control the formal economy. In some societies, it may even be prescribed for women to cover their body and face when they appear in the public sphere, and, paradoxically, these practices sometimes become more common as their societies become more modern. On the other hand, women are often capable of exerting considerable informal power, not least in the domestic sphere. Anthropologists cannot state unequivocally that women are oppressed before they have investigated all aspects of their society, including how the women (and men) themselves perceive their situation. One cannot dismiss the possibility that certain women in western Asia (the Middle East) see the ‘liberated’ western woman as more oppressed – by professional career pressure, demands to look good and other expectations – than themselves.
When studying societies undergoing change, which perhaps most anthropologists do today, it is important to look at the value conflicts and tensions between different interest groups that are particularly central. Often these conflicts are expressed through gender relations.”

Thomas Hylland Eriksen (1962) Norwegian social anthropologist and professor

Source: What is Anthropology? (2nd ed., 2017), Ch. 2 : Key Concepts

Marilyn Ferguson photo
Marilyn Ferguson photo
Dana Arnold photo
Marilyn Ferguson photo
Maryam Rajavi photo

“In committing these crimes, the mullahs are testing Western governments. In such circumstances, a lack of resolve or a passive attitude by Western governments will intensify the regime’s terrorist actions.”

Maryam Rajavi (1953) Iranian politician

Maryam Rajavi as quoted in The Washington Times https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/sep/24/iranian-resistence-calls-european-action-against-r/ (24 September 2018)

Samuel P. Huntington photo

“The survival of the West depends on Americans reaffirming their Western identity and Westerners accepting their civilization as unique not universal and uniting to renew and preserve it against challenges from non-Western societies.”

Samuel P. Huntington (1927–2008) American political scientist

Source: The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (1996), Ch. 1: The New Era in World Politics, § 1 : Introduction: Flags And Cultural Identity

“What we call the Fall of the Western Roman Empire was an imaginative experiment that got a little out of hand.”

Walter Goffart (1934) American historian

Source: Quotaes, Barbarians and Romans, A.D. 418-584(1980), p. 35

Gianni Vattimo photo

“Soviet communism and Western capitalism share the same crazy ideology: forced industrialization of society.”

Gianni Vattimo (1936–2023) Italian philosopher, politician

"Only Weak Communism Can Save Us" (2013)

John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn photo
William Montgomery Watt photo

“Islam is now Wrestling with Western thought as it once wrestled with Greek philosophy, and is as much in need as it was then of a 'revival of the religious sciences.'”

William Montgomery Watt (1909–2006) Scottish historian

Deep study of al-Ghazali may suggest to Muslims steps to be taken if they are to deal successfully with the contemporary situation. Christians, too, now that the world is in a cultural melting-pot, must be prepared to learn from Islam, and are unlikely to find a more sympathetic guide than al-Ghazali.

The Deliverance from Error https://www.amazon.com/Al-Ghazalis-Path-Sufism-Deliverance-al-Munqidh/dp/1887752307, Introduction

Ennio Morricone photo
James K. Morrow photo
Mikhail Gorbachev photo
Henri-Frédéric Amiel photo
John F. Kennedy photo
Adolf Hitler photo

“Surrender is forbidden. Sixth Army will hold their positions to the last man and the last round and by their heroic endurance will make an unforgettable contribution toward the establishment of a defensive front and the salvation of the Western world.”

Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) Führer and Reich Chancellor of Germany, Leader of the Nazi Party

In a message to General Paulus https://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/defeat/catastrophe-stalingrad.htm, 24 January 1943
1940s

J. C. Kumarappa photo

“The Western nations have four arms-defensive and offensive-the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Church.”

J. C. Kumarappa (1892–1960) Jōsaph Celladurai; b. 01/04/1892; economist; mem., Indian Planning Comm.; protagonist of Gandhian principle…

Shri J. C. Kumarappa. Can Indira Accept this Challenge? Dadoomiyan, S. Vijayanand Bharathi. Vora, 1966. as Quoted in Madhya Pradesh (India)., Goel, S. R., Niyogi, M. B. (1956, [1998 reprint]). Vindicated by time: The Niyogi Committee report on Christian missionary activities.

Richard Feynman photo

“Western civilization, it seems to me, stands by two great heritages. One is the scientific spirit of adventure — the adventure into the unknown, an unknown which must be recognized as being unknown in order to be explored; the demand that the unanswerable mysteries of the universe remain unanswered; the attitude that all is uncertain; to summarize it — the humility of the intellect. The other great heritage is Christian ethics — the basis of action on love, the brotherhood of all men, the value of the individual — the humility of the spirit.
These two heritages are logically, thoroughly consistent. But logic is not all; one needs one's heart to follow an idea. If people are going back to religion, what are they going back to? Is the modern church a place to give comfort to a man who doubts God — more, one who disbelieves in God? Is the modern church a place to give comfort and encouragement to the value of such doubts? So far, have we not drawn strength and comfort to maintain the one or the other of these consistent heritages in a way which attacks the values of the other? Is this unavoidable? How can we draw inspiration to support these two pillars of western civilization so that they may stand together in full vigor, mutually unafraid? Is this not the central problem of our time?”

Richard Feynman (1918–1988) American theoretical physicist

remarks (2 May 1956) at a Caltech YMCA lunch forum http://calteches.library.caltech.edu/49/2/Religion.htm

Justin Barrett photo
Camille Paglia photo

“Everything great in western culture has come from the quarrel with nature.”

Source: Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson (1990), p. 28

Richard Crossman photo

“The last ten years have proved that the most backward totalitarian form of Socialism is superior to the decadent type of Capitalism we have in the Western World.”

Richard Crossman (1907–1974) British Member of Parliament

Letter to The Guardian (1 December 1961), quoted in Bryan Magee, The New Radicalism (1963), p. 102, n.

“The true Germany, with its western traditions, must be separated from Prussia, which belongs to the east.”

Friedrich Thyssen (1804–1877) German banker

Source: I Paid Hitler (1941), p. 291

Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Bret Weinstein photo

“I have often wondered why anger is considered by some Western religions to be a sin. It is such a marvelous protection against evil.”

Sheri S. Tepper (1929–2016) American fiction writer

Source: The Marianne Trilogy, Marianne, the Magus, and the Manticore (1985), Chapter 2 (p. 45)

Susan Sontag photo

“If America is the culmination of Western white civilisation, as everyone from the Left to the Right declares, then there must be something terribly wrong with Western white civilisation.”

Susan Sontag (1933–2004) American writer and filmmaker, professor, and activist

Source: Partisan Review (Winter 1967), p. 57

Quentin Tarantino photo

“I've got so many movies I would like to make. I've got my western, my World War II bunch of guys on a mission, my spaghetti western, my horror film. But since I know I won't live long enough to do all the movies I want to do, with every movie the goal is to wipe out as many as I can.”

Quentin Tarantino (1963) American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor

Source: Interview, circa 1994; as quoted in Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies (2003) by Leslie Halliwell, p. 450

Buchi Emecheta photo

“Being a woman writer, I would be deceiving myself if I said I write completely through the eye of a man. There’s nothing bad in it, but that does not make me a feminist writer. I hate that name. The tag is from the Western world – like we are called the Third World.”

Buchi Emecheta (1944–2017) author

Speaking on her writing not as a feminist [as quoted in "Zikoko" https://www.zikoko.com/life/oldies/9-thought-provoking-quotes-from-the-literary-icon-buchi-emecheta/).

Paul Gosar photo

“My background is laden with natural resources and forestry. I am originally from western Wyoming and I have lived in the forest. My dad is a geologist. Natural resources and how we interact with, utilize and benefit from them is going to be a big issue for me.”

Paul Gosar (1958) American politician and dentist

On his background and priorities, as quoted in * 2011-03-11
Thomas Giacobbi
Dental Town
An interview with Congressman and dentist Paul Gosar.
Source: https://www.dentaltown.com/Images/Dentaltown/magimages/0311/DTMar11pg86.pdf

Max Müller photo

“If I live for one purpose it is for this, that I will preach the union of Eastern and Western philosophy, the reconciliation of Europe and Asia. The idea may seem absurd to many in the present age. It may provoke ridicule and angry reviling. But posterity will prove a better judge.”

Max Müller (1823–1900) German-born philologist and orientalist

Source: quoted in Ibn, W. (2009). Defending the West: A critique of Edward Said's Orientalism. Amherst, N.Y: Prometheus Books.

Rajiv Malhotra photo

“The point being that the influence of dharmic philosophy on Western culture runs deep and yet consistently goes unacknowledged.”

Source: Being Different: An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism (2011)

Rajiv Malhotra photo
John Derbyshire photo

“Wherever there is a jackboot stomping on a human face there will be a well-heeled Western liberal to explain that the face does, after all, enjoy free health care and 100 percent literacy.”

John Derbyshire (1945) writer

Source: Derb Quotes https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/derb-quotes-john-derbyshire/, National Review, November 20, 2003.

John Derbyshire photo
Peter F. Drucker photo
Bobby Heenan photo

“There's only two kinds of music I don't like....Country and Western.”

Bobby Heenan (1944–2017) American professional wrestler, professional wrestling commentator and manager

Misc.

Mikheil Saakashvili photo

“Well, killing me makes no sense because Georgia already has a Western-educated political class.”

Mikheil Saakashvili (1967) Georgian-Ukrainian politician, President of Georgia and Governor of Odessa

Interview with the New York Times (2008)
Source: As quoted in "An American Friend" https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/magazine/19WWln-q4-t.html (19 October 2008), The New York Times

Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad photo
Marek Forgáč photo

“After the so-called Velvet Revolution Slovakia became part of the Western Civilization, and along with a lot of good things, Christians here are confronted with problems such as relativism and materialism, but I think that a lot of people look forward to meeting the Pope.”

Marek Forgáč (1974) Slovak bishop

Source: Auxiliary Bishop of Košice: Pope comes to strengthen the faith https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-09/auxiliary-bishop-of-kosice-pope-comes-to-strengthen-the-faith.html (13 September 2021)

D.H. Lawrence photo

“The Rhine is still the Rhine, the great divider... Immediately you are over the Rhine, the spirit of place has changed... It is as if the life had retreated eastwards. As if the Germanic life were slowly ebbing away from contact with western Europe, ebbing to the deserts of the east.”

D.H. Lawrence (1885–1930) English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter

Source: 'A Letter from Germany', written 19 February 1924, printed in The New Statesman (13 October 1934), quoted in D. H. Lawrence, Selected Essays (1950), pp. 175-176

Sergey Lavrov photo

“In many Western countries, everyday Russophobia has become of an unprecedented nature, and, to our great regret, is encouraged by government circles in a number of countries.”

Sergey Lavrov (1950) Russian politician and Foreign Minister

"West has declared ‘total war’ on Russia: Lavrov" https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ukraines-zelensky-accuses-russia-of-genocide-in-donbas-onslaught-174101, Hurriyet Daily news, 27 May 2022
About the Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022

Dmitry Peskov photo

“We accuse Western countries of taking a series of unlawful actions that has led to the blockade.”

Dmitry Peskov (1967) Russian politician

Said about the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports, stopping export of food from Ukraine, quoted in "Russia slams sanctions, seeks to shift blame for food crisis" https://www.opb.org/article/2022/05/26/russia-slams-sanctions-seeks-to-shift-blame-for-food-crisis/, OPB/Associated Press, 26 May 2022
CNN Interview (March 2022)

Kevin Devine photo
Douglas Murray photo

“Just a couple of decades ago, a course in the history of Western civilisation was commonplace. Today, it is so disreputable that you can’t pay universities to do it.”

Douglas Murray (1979) British political commentator and far-right activist

The War on the West: How to Prevail in the Age of Unreason (2022)

Ayaan Hirsi Ali photo

“That is my dream. But frankly, I do not know if Western feminists have the courage or clarity of vision to help me realize it.”

Ayaan Hirsi Ali (1969) Dutch feminist, author

Source: 2010s, Nomad: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations (2010), Chapter 15, “Dishonor, Death, and Feminists” (p. 235)

Ayaan Hirsi Ali photo

“Ignoring the problem means abandoning the next victims to their fate; even worse, it means abandoning the core values that sustain Western society.”

Ayaan Hirsi Ali (1969) Dutch feminist, author

Source: 2010s, Nomad: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations (2010), Chapter 15, “Dishonor, Death, and Feminists” (p. 232)

Ayaan Hirsi Ali photo

“I believe that the dysfunctional Muslim family constitutes a real threat to the very fabric of Western life.”

Ayaan Hirsi Ali (1969) Dutch feminist, author

Introduction (p. xiv)
2010s, Nomad: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations (2010)

Zhang Yimou photo

“I have seen a lot of films, but no Western filmmaker has ever had a great impact or influence on me. We always feel there is a great gap between Chinese films and Western films. Western films are far more advanced, but we don’t feel any shock about this gap. It seems natural.”

Zhang Yimou (1950) Chinese actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer

"Zhang Yimou by Lawrence Chua" in BOMB Magazine https://bombmagazine.org/articles/zhang-yimou/ (1 April 1991)

René Guénon photo