When the missionaries first came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said, “Let us pray.” We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the Bible and they had the land.
—Desmond Tutu, 1984Quotes
In settling an island, the first building erected by a Spaniard will be a church, by a Frenchman a fort, by a Dutchman a warehouse, and by an Englishman an alehouse.
—Francis Grose, 1787I do desire we may be better strangers.
—William Shakespeare, 1600Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.
—George Bernard Shaw, 1903Intolerance is evidence of impotence.
—Aleister Crowley, c. 1925It’s good to remember that in crises, natural crises, human beings forget for a while their ignorances, their biases, their prejudices. For a little while, neighbors help neighbors and strangers help strangers.
—Maya Angelou, 2011Strangers are an endangered species.
—Adrienne Rich, 1980The almost insoluble task is to let neither the power of others, nor our own powerlessness, stupefy us.
—Theodor Adorno, 1951The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.
—L.P. Hartley, 1953This is not a clash between civilizations. It is a clash about civilization.
—Tony Blair, 2006Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own thoughts, unguarded.
—The Dhammapada, c. 400 BCOnce any group in society stands in a relatively deprived position in relation to other groups, it is genuinely deprived.
—Margaret Mead, 1972