Quotes about Misunderstanding

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Richard M. Nixon

Businessman, President, 37th U.S. President

No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now.
Events - Military - Misunderstanding - Vietnam - War
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Friedrich Schlegel

Poet, Literary Critic, Philosopher, Philologist, Indologist

You wanted to destroy philosophy and poetry in order to make room for religion and morality which you misunderstood: but you wereable to destroy only yourself.
Misunderstanding - Morals - Order - Philosophy - Poetry - Religion - Wants
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Rajneesh

Guru

I want to be taken playfully, not seriously - not with a long British face, but with beautiful laughter. Your laughter, your playfulness is the recognition that you have understood me. Your seriousness shows that you have misunderstood me, you have missed it - because seriousness is nothing but sickness. It is another name of sadness; it is a shadow of death. And I am all for life. If it is needed for your laughter, your dance, even to reject me, then reject me - but don't reject the dance and the song and the life, because that is my teaching.
Laughing - Misunderstanding - Recognition - Reject - Sadness - Serious - Show - Sickness - Songs - Taking - Teaching - Wants
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George Bernard Shaw

Playwright, Critic, Political Activist

I find that socialism is often misunderstood by its least intelligent supporters and opponents to mean simply unrestrained indulgence of our natural propensity to heave bricks at respectable persons.
Intelligence - Meaning - Misunderstanding - Opposition - Support
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Ralph Waldo Emerson

Essayist, Lecturer, Philosopher, Poet

To be great is to be misunderstood.
Greatness - Misunderstanding
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Jean Rostand

Novelist, Scientist, Biologist

When a scientist is ahead of his times, it is often through misunderstanding of current, rather than intuition of future truth. In science there is never any error so gross that it won't one day, from some perspective, appear prophetic.
Future - Intuition - Misunderstanding - Perspective - Prophecy - Science - Someday - Truth
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Oscar Wilde

Poet, Playwright

Nowadays, saying what you really think can be a serious error since one risks being misunderstood.
Misunderstanding
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James Madison

Former President of the United States

The best reason to be assigned, in this case, for not having made the Constitution more free from a charge of uncertainty in its meaning, is believed to be, that it was not suspected that any such charge would ever take place; and it appears that no such charge did take place, during the early period of the Constitution, when the meaning of its authors could be best ascertained, nor until many of the contemporary lights had in the lapse of time been extinguished. How often does it happen, that a notoriety of intention diminishes the caution against its being misunderstood or doubted!
Cautious - Doubt - Making - Misunderstanding
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Albert Schweitzer

Theologian, Organist, Writer, Humanitarian, Philosopher, Physician

Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.
Accomplishment - Compassion - Generosity - Humility - Karma - Kindness - Mistrust - Misunderstanding - People - Relationship
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Alan Greenspan

Economist, Former Chair of the US Federal Reserve

Since I've become a central banker, I've learned to mumble with great incoherence. If I seem unduly clear to you, you must have misunderstood what I said.
Bank - Misunderstanding
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Alan Greenspan

Economist, Former Chair of the US Federal Reserve

If I turn out to be particularly clear, you've probably misunderstood what I've said.
Misunderstanding
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Ayn Rand

Writer, Philosopher

If a life could have a theme song - and I believe every worthwhile one has - mine is a religion, an obsession, a mania or all of these expressed in one word - individualism. I was born with that obsession, and I've never seen and do not know now a cause more worthy, more misunderstood, more seemingly hopeless and tragically needed.
Belief - Hopelessness - Individualism - Life - Misunderstanding - Obsession - Songs - Worth
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Erich Fromm

Actor, Psychologist, Psychologist

The most important misunderstanding seems to me to lie in a confusion between the human necessities which I consider part of human nature, and the human necessities as they appear as drives, needs, passions, etc., in any given historical period.
Confusion - Giving - History - Human - Lie - Misunderstanding - Passion
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Ralph Waldo Emerson

Essayist, Lecturer, Philosopher, Poet

With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall.
Misunderstanding - Wellness
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Ralph Waldo Emerson

Essayist, Lecturer, Philosopher, Poet

To be great, you must be misunderstood
Misunderstanding
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Ralph Waldo Emerson

Essayist, Lecturer, Philosopher, Poet

Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.
Misunderstanding - Spirits - Wisdom
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Ralph Waldo Emerson

Essayist, Lecturer, Philosopher, Poet

To be great is to be misunderstood.
Misunderstanding
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Ralph Waldo Emerson

Essayist, Lecturer, Philosopher, Poet

With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall.
Misunderstanding - Wellness
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Edgar Guest

Poet

The lectures you deliver may be wise and true, But I'd rather get my lessons by observing what you do. I may not understand the high advise you like to give, But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.
Giving - Misunderstanding - Observation - Wisdom
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Simone de Beauvoir

Writer, Philosopher, Political Activist, Social Theorist

The word love has by no means the same sense for both sexes, and this is one cause of the serious misunderstandings that divide them.
Meaning - Misunderstanding - Sameness - Sex
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