John Irving Quotes
I think better of our behaviour as individuals than I do when we see ourselves as members of a group. It's when people start forming groups that we have to watch our backs.
Quotes to Explore
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My dad only ever talked about two things: bicycles and Mercedes.
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Our parents all experimented with raising us in a fairly loose, unorthodox way. A huge emphasis was placed on creativity, and our artistic efforts were never dismissed as childish. There was a sense that we - kids and grown-ups - all had the potential to make something of value. Our drawings were not simply destined for the refrigerator.
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My life has been a dream. If someone had to write a story about it, it would seem a little unreal. It's the kind of story I would read and say, 'Nah, that's not possible.'
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Dealing with the government does not mean you have to give a bribe.
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Russia can be quite a dangerous place sometimes, but I never think about it.
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I gratefully look forward to oblivion, but I must be sure of it.
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I've done movies I'm very proud of, but there's always a sense of: 'Come see this shiny new car!' The question I hate the most is: 'Why should people see it?'
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Truth, when not sought after, rarely comes to light.
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The closer a Negro got to the ballot box, the more he looked like a rapist.
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It's a shallow life that doesn't give a person a few scars.
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I find celebrity really scary.
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In Maryland, we have the unfortunate distinction of being the most gerrymandered state in the entire nation.
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I'm vehemently against population transfer. I'm against expelling anyone from his house, ever - whether it be a Jew or an Arab.
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A fine world in which man reproaches woman with fulfilling his heart's desire!
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Religion is the recognition of all our duties as divine commands.
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I'm a Sufi Muslim, I would say. I believe in using the medium to create a good vibration because art is so important to society. Some projects I don't do because I feel that it's going to create a bad vibe. I don't do propaganda films that are anti another religion, anti-Muslim or anti-Hindu.
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We create success or failure on the course primarily by our thoughts.
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The cultural expectation should be if there's infidelity, the marriage is more important than fidelity.
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I was all about my thoughts, my work, my inspiration. I was always in hair.
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Bob Forestier had pretended for so many years to be a gentleman that in the end, forgetting that it was all a fake, he had found himself driven to act as in that stupid, conventional brain of his he thought a gentleman must act. No longer knowing the difference between sham and real, he had sacrificed his life to a spurious heroism.
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When I'm being funny, I try not to offend. I don't think much of what I've done has been in really ghastly taste. I don't think I have embarrassed many people or distressed them.
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After all those years in Asia, I don't have to do promotion anymore. We just release a Jackie Chan movie and - Boom! - people go.
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I don't believe in charity. I believe in solidarity. Charity is so vertical. It goes from the top to the bottom. Solidarity is horizontal. It respects the other person. I have a lot to learn from other people.
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I think better of our behaviour as individuals than I do when we see ourselves as members of a group. It's when people start forming groups that we have to watch our backs.
