American Context Quotes

I'm not an icon. Not even in America.

Their problem was how to adapt English principles and precedents to the new conditions of American life.

You look at Superman, the story of an orphan coming to America, keeping his identity secret and even the names, Kal-El and Jor-El, you can trace lines to the background of the creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, both Jewish. Overall, there was a remarkable confluence of events that led to the medium and the Jewish participation.

The blues are important primarily because they contain the cultural expression and the cultural response to blacks in America and to the situation that they find themselves in. And contained in the blues is a philosophical system at work. And as part of the oral tradition, this is a way of passing along information.

What made al-Awlaki so influential is that, unlike a number of leaders of al Qaeda such as Osama bin Laden, he was a cleric, so he could present himself as a leading religious figure. Second, because al-Awlaki had spent much of his adult life in the States, he communicated with his followers in colloquial, accessible American English.

In an American context, let's say gay rights or marriage policy - that's a progressive thing. I understand that in an American context.

Every race I've been in, I calculated race into the equation. If you're in America, you calculate it into the equation. It is a factor. I never make it an issue. I don't run the campaign wearing it on my sleeve, but I don't run away from it, either.

While I might not have a specific experience that is fully American, there is still a knowledge, something that I logically understand as a black woman and a black woman who is existing in America and a black woman who is in the diaspora that are just known quantities that I think anyone can relate to who is black.

I don't think there is another person in America that wants to tell this story as much as I do.

I feel very English in a suit. There's something about being in a suit abroad, particularly in America, that feels empowering.