--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can think of no honorable answer. Why…" description: "\"I can think of no honorable answer. Why must some of us deliberate between brands of toothpaste, while others deliberate between damp dirt and bone dus..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/barbara-kingsolver-200_another-world_i-can-think-of-no-honorable-answer-why-m_1640310.jpg" --- # I can think of no honorable answer. Why must some of us… ![“I can think of no honorable answer. Why must some of us deliberate between brands of toothpaste, while others deliberate between damp dirt and bone dust to quiet the fire of an empty stomach lining? There is nothing about the United States I can really explain to this child of another world.” quote by Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/barbara-kingsolver-200_another-world_i-can-think-of-no-honorable-answer-why-m_1640310.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/barbara-kingsolver-200_another-world_i-can-think-of-no-honorable-answer-why-m_1640310.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/barbara-kingsolver-200_another-world_i-can-think-of-no-honorable-answer-why-m_1640310.jpg) > “I can think of no honorable answer. Why must some of us deliberate between brands of toothpaste, while others deliberate between damp dirt and bone dust to quiet the fire of an empty stomach lining? There is nothing about the United States I can really explain to this child of another world.” [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights the stark contrast between trivial consumer choices and life‑or‑death struggles, emphasizing how some people face existential hardships while others worry about minor preferences. **In simple terms:** People face very different hardships; some are about survival, others about trivial choices. Key Takeaway Recognize privilege and empathy for those in dire need. Themes privilege empathy survival consumerism inequality Mood reflective concerned Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - discussions about wealth inequality - political debates on aid - personal reflection on privilege - teaching global awareness Key Concepts existential disparity social justice human dignity Questions to Reflect On - How can we better support those facing basic survival challenges? - What responsibilities come with privilege? A Different Perspective Not all hardships are comparable; trivial concerns can also be meaningful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Another world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-world/) [Answer Deliberate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answer-deliberate-561112/) [Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) [Bones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bones/) [Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brands/) [Brands Toothpaste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brands-toothpaste-561111/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Deliberate Damp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deliberate-damp-561113/) [Dirt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirt/) [Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust/) [Empty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) [Empty stomach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty-stomach/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Honorable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honorable/) [Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Stomach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stomach/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tooth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tooth/) [Toothpaste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toothpaste/) [Toothpaste Deliberate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toothpaste-deliberate-561110/) [United](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Why must some of us deliberate between brands of toothpaste while others deliberate between damp dirt and bone dust to quiet the fire of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/why-must-some-of-us-deliberate-between-brands-of-toothpaste-while/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Our unconscious is really good at quick decision-making - it often delivers a better answer than more deliberate and exhaustive ways of thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/our-unconscious-is-really-good-at-quick-decision-making-it-often/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“Two brands of toothpaste can sell alongside each other on a shelf, and consolidating them into one brand would make few savings and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-thain/two-brands-of-toothpaste-can-sell-alongside-each-other-on-a-shelf-and/) [Greg Thain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-thain/) > [An empty stomach is not a good political advisor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/an-empty-stomach-is-not-a-good-political-advisor/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“Yawning, Aden rubbed his eyes, blinked three more times, and yawned again. “Without breakfast? I never run away on an empty stomach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lewis-baillot/yawning-aden-rubbed-his-eyes-blinked-three-more-times-and-yawned/) [Jack Lewis Baillot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lewis-baillot/) > [“Most scientists who study human perception no longer assume that we have five senses: taste, touch, smell, sight, and hearing. The current number ranges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/most-scientists-who-study-human-perception-no-longer-assume-that-we/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [I will not listen to your verse on an empty stomach!" declared the Vicomte. "You have no soul," said Philippe sadly. "But I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgette-heyer/i-will-not-listen-to-your-verse-on-an-empty-stomach-declared-the/) [Georgette Heyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgette-heyer/) > [No man can be wise on an empty stomach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/no-man-can-be-wise-on-an-empty-stomach/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Except I think it feels more like an empty stomach than a broken heart. An aching hollowness that food can't cure. You know. You've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-laymon/except-i-think-it-feels-more-like-an-empty-stomach-than-a-broken/) [Richard Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-laymon/) > [“Choice- Judgement. Black coffee acid on an empty stomach. Perception. Cool, clear water.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keelie-breanna/choice-judgement-black-coffee-acid-on-an-empty-stomach-perception/) [Keelie Breanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keelie-breanna/) > [Sensible people advise against drinking on an empty stomach, but to my mind it is the best sort of drinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/sensible-people-advise-against-drinking-on-an-empty-stomach-but-to-my/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [“He stared at her in insolent silence, unable to believe the alluring, impulsive girl he remembered had become this coolly aloof, self-possessed young woman.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-mcnaught/he-stared-at-her-in-insolent-silence-unable-to-believe-the-alluring/) [Judith McNaught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-mcnaught/) > [No man can be a patriot on an empty stomach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/no-man-can-be-a-patriot-on-an-empty-stomach/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [I perform so much better on an empty stomach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-perform-so-much-better-on-an-empty-stomach/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Being packed all the time, even when not in use, must feel something like going to bed on an empty stomach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-kondo/being-packed-all-the-time-even-when-not-in-use-must-feel-something/) [Marie Kondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-kondo/) ## More by Barbara Kingsolver > [“Jesus was a more reliable backer, evidently, less likely to drink himself unconscious or get liver cancer. No wonder people chose Him as their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/jesus-was-a-more-reliable-backer-evidently-less-likely-to-drink/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Now I'm starting to think he wasn't supposed to be my whole life, he was just this doorway to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/now-i-m-starting-to-think-he-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-my-whole-life-he/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“In Bobby Ogle's version of heaven everyone would wind up in one place, criminals and Muslims included.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/in-bobby-ogle-s-version-of-heaven-everyone-would-wind-up-in-one-place/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Weeds are job security for the gardener.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/weeds-are-job-security-for-the-gardener/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“It's what you do that makes your soul, not the other way around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/it-s-what-you-do-that-makes-your-soul-not-the-other-way-around/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Lusa turned to Crys, her eyes shining. "That was a luna." Crys shrugged. "So?" "So? So what? You want it should sing, too?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/lusa-turned-to-crys-her-eyes-shining-that-was-a-luna-crys-shrugged-so/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [The strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-strength-of-motherhood-is-greater-than-natural-laws/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“An imperfectly remembered life is a useless treachery. Every day, more fragments of the past roll around heavily in the chambers of an empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/an-imperfectly-remembered-life-is-a-useless-treachery-every-day-more/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Respecting the dignity of a spectacular food means enjoying it at its best. Europeans celebrate the short season of abundant asparagus as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/respecting-the-dignity-of-a-spectacular-food-means-enjoying-it-at-its/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Somehow it had come to pass that this man was her whole world, and she had failed to take his measure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/somehow-it-had-come-to-pass-that-this-man-was-her-whole-world-and-she/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [After 'The Poisonwood Bible' was published, several people believed that my parents were missionaries, which could not be further from the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/after-the-poisonwood-bible-was-published-several-people-believed-that/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I can count all the ways in which being a mother has enriched my understanding of the world, of character, my sense of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-can-count-all-the-ways-in-which-being-a-mother-has-enriched-my/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [But we've all ended up giving body and soul to Africa, one way or another. Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [If the Lord hasn't got a boyfriend lined up for me to marry, that's his business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-the-lord-hasn-t-got-a-boyfriend-lined-up-for-me-to-marry-that-s/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) [Explore all 939 Barbara Kingsolver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## More Another world quotes > [I identify with Superman. I am adopted, I am an only child, and I love the idea that he comes from another world, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-singer/i-identify-with-superman-i-am-adopted-i-am-an-only-child-and-i-love/) [Bryan Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-singer/) > [Every time you touch me I stop breathing, that's why I never have much to say. Every time I see you, my heart skips…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-time-you-touch-me-i-stop-breathing-that-s-why-i-never-have-much/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Remove from the history of the past all those actions which have either sprung directly from the religious nature of man, or been modified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hopkins/remove-from-the-history-of-the-past-all-those-actions-which-have/) [Mark Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hopkins/) > [“Here, in the garden at night, it is another world, strange and yet friendly and familiar, never frightening. There is such quietness, such sweetness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/here-in-the-garden-at-night-it-is-another-world-strange-and-yet/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [“A novel is not an allegory...it is a sensual experience of another world. If you don't enter that world, hold your breath with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/a-novel-is-not-an-allegory-it-is-a-sensual-experience-of-another/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [To try to really land a spacecraft really on another world is really difficult, and if we lose that ability, it's going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/to-try-to-really-land-a-spacecraft-really-on-another-world-is-really/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [“Story is a butterfly whose wings transport us to another world where we receive gifts that change who we are and who we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harley-king/story-is-a-butterfly-whose-wings-transport-us-to-another-world-where/) [Harley King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harley-king/) > [“And it was then that the things I've never liked to talk about began. Not that they were particularly terrible; I've no wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-it-was-then-that-the-things-i-ve-never-liked-to-talk-about-began/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The young man knows that he is irretrievably lost. This is no town of cats, he finally realizes. It is the place where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-young-man-knows-that-he-is-irretrievably-lost-this-is-no-town-of/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [ \[The Utopia of Rules\] should offer a challenge to us all. Should we just accept this bureaucracy as inevitable? Or is there a way… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-tett/the-utopia-of-rules-should-offer-a-challenge-to-us-all-should-we-just/) [Gillian Tett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-tett/) > [We are here to make another world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-edwards-deming/we-are-here-to-make-another-world/) [W. Edwards Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-edwards-deming/) > [“How often since then has she wondered what might have happened if she'd tried to remain with him; if she’d returned Richard's kiss on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/how-often-since-then-has-she-wondered-what-might-have-happened-if-she/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“There is another world and it is in this one. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-eluard/there-is-another-world-and-it-is-in-this-one/) [Paul Éluard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-eluard/) > [“One late-autumn day I opened the back door to fetch some water, and there was a young hare sat on my back step. Save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-ansell/one-late-autumn-day-i-opened-the-back-door-to-fetch-some-water-and/) [Neil Ansell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-ansell/) [Browse all 707 Another world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can think of no honorable answer. Why must some of us deliberate between brands of toothpaste, while others deliberate between damp dirt and bone dust to quiet the fire of an empty stomach lining? 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