--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's this brutal imperial power, that…" description: "\"There's this brutal imperial power, that my passport says I represent. But it will never represent where my heart lives, only vaguely where it went.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/ani-difranco-813_brutal_there-s-this-brutal-imperial-power-that_980577.png" --- # There's this brutal imperial power, that my passport says… ![“There's this brutal imperial power, that my passport says I represent. But it will never represent where my heart lives, only vaguely where it went.” quote by Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/ani-difranco-813_brutal_there-s-this-brutal-imperial-power-that_980577.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/ani-difranco-813_brutal_there-s-this-brutal-imperial-power-that_980577.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/ani-difranco-813_brutal_there-s-this-brutal-imperial-power-that_980577.png) > “There's this brutal imperial power, that my passport says I represent. But it will never represent where my heart lives, only vaguely where it went.” [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels disconnected from the nation they represent, as their heart lies elsewhere, highlighting identity conflict. **In simple terms:** Identity may clash with national representation. Key Takeaway Explore personal identity beyond labels. Themes identity nationalism belonging conflict Mood introspective poetic Type cultural political When to use this quote - Immigration discussions - activism - personal storytelling - artistic expression Key Concepts Sociology political science psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile personal identity with imposed roles? - What steps can you take to align heart and representation? A Different Perspective National affiliation may not reflect personal values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brutal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutal/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) ## Related quotes > [“When you offer peace instead of division, when you offer faith instead of fear, when you offer someone a place at your table instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/when-you-offer-peace-instead-of-division-when-you-offer-faith-instead/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [I'm very proud that on my passport it says: 'broadcaster,' and that's what I see myself as.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-edmonds/i-m-very-proud-that-on-my-passport-it-says-broadcaster-and-that-s/) [Noel Edmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-edmonds/) > [“In an oft-unfriendly world, Lord, help me to represent You with a heart full of love. —Roberta Messner”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guideposts/in-an-oft-unfriendly-world-lord-help-me-to-represent-you-with-a-heart/) Guideposts > [The House of Lords says I'm not a member of it. My passport says I am - get used to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-monckton/the-house-of-lords-says-i-m-not-a-member-of-it-my-passport-says-i-am/) [Christopher Monckton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-monckton/) > [How do you have a democratic empire, how do you have an imperial foreign policy built on a democracy polity. It's like some sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-danner/how-do-you-have-a-democratic-empire-how-do-you-have-an-imperial/) [Mark Danner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-danner/) > [The U.S. should come out openly and say to the world, "We are the only imperial power, and we're going to rule you, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ali/the-u-s-should-come-out-openly-and-say-to-the-world-we-are-the-only/) [Tariq Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ali/) > [It is in the nature of imperialism that citizens of the imperial power are always among the last to know-or care-about circumstances in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/it-is-in-the-nature-of-imperialism-that-citizens-of-the-imperial/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Imperialism is the factor in American policy, not just since 1898, but in fact long before it when we were expanding across this continent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/imperialism-is-the-factor-in-american-policy-not-just-since-1898-but/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [The great financial capital is not in one country, it is transnational, that is why it answers to power elites and that is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-castro-espin/the-great-financial-capital-is-not-in-one-country-it-is-transnational/) [Alejandro Castro Espin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-castro-espin/) > [How carelessly imperial power vivisected ancient civilizations. Palestine and Kashmir are imperial Britain's festering, blood-drenched gifts to the modem world. Both are fault lines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/how-carelessly-imperial-power-vivisected-ancient-civilizations/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Legions and fleets are not such sure bulwarks of imperial power as a numerous family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/legions-and-fleets-are-not-such-sure-bulwarks-of-imperial-power-as-a/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [I'm well-traveled. I've had to get a few passports because I ran out of pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-lepore/i-m-well-traveled-i-ve-had-to-get-a-few-passports-because-i-ran-out/) [Amanda Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-lepore/) > [If you actually look like your passport photo, you aren't well enough to travel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-fuchs/if-you-actually-look-like-your-passport-photo-you-aren-t-well-enough/) Vivian Fuchs > [We in US need active intelligence: people being on the streets, people being able to stop and ask questions of individuals that they suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-guilfoyle/we-in-us-need-active-intelligence-people-being-on-the-streets-people/) [Kimberly Guilfoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-guilfoyle/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More by Ani DiFranco > [I am getting nowhere with you and I can't let you go and I cant get through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-am-getting-nowhere-with-you-and-i-can-t-let-you-go-and-i-cant-get/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [You've decided to love me for eternity, I'm still deciding who I want to be today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/you-ve-decided-to-love-me-for-eternity-i-m-still-deciding-who-i-want/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [I'll walk the plank and I'll jump with a smile, cause if I'm gonna go down I'm gonna do it with style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-ll-walk-the-plank-and-i-ll-jump-with-a-smile-cause-if-i-m-gonna-go/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [Having more exposure is kind of a bittersweet thing for me, honestly, because it's nice to have a little more job security in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/having-more-exposure-is-kind-of-a-bittersweet-thing-for-me-honestly/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [I can jump ship and swim-- that the ocean will hold me, that there's got to be more than this boat I'm in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-can-jump-ship-and-swim-that-the-ocean-will-hold-me-that-there-s-got/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [God help you if you are an ugly girl, 'course too pretty is also your doom, 'cause everyone harbors a secret hatred for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/god-help-you-if-you-are-an-ugly-girl-course-too-pretty-is-also-your/) [Ani Difranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [I cannot name this, I cannot explain this, and I really don't want to so just call me shameless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-cannot-name-this-i-cannot-explain-this-and-i-really-don-t-want-to/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [Somedays the line I walk turns out to be straight - Other days the line tends to deviate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/somedays-the-line-i-walk-turns-out-to-be-straight-other-days-the-line/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [Taking me seriously is a big mistake. I certainly wouldn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/taking-me-seriously-is-a-big-mistake-i-certainly-wouldn-t/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [I am a work in progress Dressed in the fabric of a world unfolding Offering me intricate patterns of questions Rhythms that never come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-am-a-work-in-progress-dressed-in-the-fabric-of-a-world-unfolding/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [We have a complete void of progressive politics in this country right now. The will of the people goes ignored and unrealized. I'm searching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/we-have-a-complete-void-of-progressive-politics-in-this-country-right/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [I'm home in New Orleans!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-m-home-in-new-orleans/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [I don't take good pictures 'cause I have the kind of beauty that moves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-don-t-take-good-pictures-cause-i-have-the-kind-of-beauty-that-moves/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [The scary truth is, you have to scratch some veneer off to gauge where the moral fiber really is in certain pockets of society.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/the-scary-truth-is-you-have-to-scratch-some-veneer-off-to-gauge-where/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [Both hands... Now use both hands. Oh no, don't close your eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/both-hands-now-use-both-hands-oh-no-don-t-close-your-eyes/) [Ani Difranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) [Explore all 363 Ani DiFranco quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) ## More Brutal quotes > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Hitler recruited around him homosexuals to make up his Stormtroopers, they were his enforcers, they were his thugs. And Hitler discovered that he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-fischer/hitler-recruited-around-him-homosexuals-to-make-up-his-stormtroopers/) [Bryan Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-fischer/) > [The Lord expects us to enjoy our lives. He says there will be some brutal times, but we shouldn't get all bent out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-henderson/the-lord-expects-us-to-enjoy-our-lives-he-says-there-will-be-some/) [Paul Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-henderson/) > [We face a brutal enemy who will kill the innocent for one purpose and that is to gain control of the Middle East and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rove/we-face-a-brutal-enemy-who-will-kill-the-innocent-for-one-purpose-and/) [Karl Rove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rove/) > [No matter how well-born, how intelligent, how highly educated, how virtuous, how rich, how refined, the women of to-day constitutea political class below that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-corinna-putnam-jacobi/no-matter-how-well-born-how-intelligent-how-highly-educated-how/) [Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-corinna-putnam-jacobi/) > [I find that truly heartbreaking that, like, it's such a common, constant thing in people's lives - a brutal abuse of people by other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-duritz/i-find-that-truly-heartbreaking-that-like-it-s-such-a-common-constant/) [Adam Duritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-duritz/) > [I think brutal honesty is extremely important. Don't be afraid of being up-front about your feelings and your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minka-kelly/i-think-brutal-honesty-is-extremely-important-don-t-be-afraid-of/) [Minka Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minka-kelly/) > [When my friends have been heartbroken, I give them a shoulder to cry on and some brutal advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maura-higgins/when-my-friends-have-been-heartbroken-i-give-them-a-shoulder-to-cry/) [Maura Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maura-higgins/) > [Something that comes to us, some gym shoe that comes to us as a result of child labor from a brutal dictatorship, where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/something-that-comes-to-us-some-gym-shoe-that-comes-to-us-as-a-result/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [In my experience sometimes the darker the material that you're doing, the more necessary it is to have some sort of levity around. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-stahl/in-my-experience-sometimes-the-darker-the-material-that-you-re-doing/) [Nick Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-stahl/) > [I do have one very brutal writing ritual. If I'm working in the morning, I don't allow myself a cup of tea until I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lane/i-do-have-one-very-brutal-writing-ritual-if-i-m-working-in-the/) [Anthony Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lane/) > [The circle of an empty day is brutal and at night it tightens around your neck like a noose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/the-circle-of-an-empty-day-is-brutal-and-at-night-it-tightens-around/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [“I had brutal beginnings. I will not let the darkness in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jennings/i-had-brutal-beginnings-i-will-not-let-the-darkness-in/) [Melissa Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jennings/) > [Usually I avoided college students, whom I considered brutal, wrapped up in themselves, particularly in their youth, in which they found material for drama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/usually-i-avoided-college-students-whom-i-considered-brutal-wrapped/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 790 Brutal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's this brutal imperial power, that my passport says I represent. 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