--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't impose political responsibilities…" description: "\"I don't impose political responsibilities on my fiction. The last thing I would ever want to do, for example, is write a novel that would appear to wan..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18e/francisco-goldman-19172_ambition_i-don-t-impose-political-responsibilitie_61181.jpg" --- # I don't impose political responsibilities on my fiction… ![“I don't impose political responsibilities on my fiction. The last thing I would ever want to do, for example, is write a novel that would appear to want to tell people what to think about the immigration debate, and I would never write a novel whose sole ambition was to give a "positive" view of…” quote by Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18e/francisco-goldman-19172_ambition_i-don-t-impose-political-responsibilitie_61181.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18e/francisco-goldman-19172_ambition_i-don-t-impose-political-responsibilitie_61181.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18e/francisco-goldman-19172_ambition_i-don-t-impose-political-responsibilitie_61181.jpg) > “I don't impose political responsibilities on my fiction. The last thing I would ever want to do, for example, is write a novel that would appear to want to tell people what to think about the immigration debate, and I would never write a novel whose sole ambition was to give a "positive" view of immigrants. I'm for open borders, by the way - down with the nation state!” [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author insists that fiction should remain separate from political persuasion, refusing to embed explicit advocacy on contentious issues like immigration, while personally supporting open borders. **In simple terms:** Fiction should not be a vehicle for political persuasion. Key Takeaway Separate art from agenda. Themes artistic integrity political neutrality authorial intent immigration debate open borders Mood thoughtful defiant reflective Type statement philosophical political When to use this quote - writing a novel - public discourse - literary criticism - political activism - cultural commentary Key Concepts fiction politics authorial responsibility Practical Applications - maintaining artistic credibility - engaging readers without bias Questions to Reflect On - How does an author's personal stance affect their creative work? - Can literature influence public opinion without being overtly political? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Debate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debate/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Immigration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigration/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Citizenship in the 21st century requires more than paying your taxes and voting and occasionally running for office. That even if you're never in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/citizenship-in-the-21st-century-requires-more-than-paying-your-taxes/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [“in return for full bellies and entertainment, his people had given up their political responsibilities and therefore their power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/in-return-for-full-bellies-and-entertainment-his-people-had-given-up/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [I think the thing that I lost in myself when I stopped writing fiction and the thing that I rediscovered and started mining again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-think-the-thing-that-i-lost-in-myself-when-i-stopped-writing/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Science fiction was never my thing. I have no interest in it. So I don't think I could successfully pull off being on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/science-fiction-was-never-my-thing-i-have-no-interest-in-it-so-i-don/) [Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/) > [They say truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, but there's such a thing as believability when you're writing a novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kwan/they-say-truth-is-sometimes-stranger-than-fiction-but-there-s-such-a/) [Kevin Kwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kwan/) > [I think fiction is a very serious thing, that while it is fiction, it is also a revelation of truth, or facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/i-think-fiction-is-a-very-serious-thing-that-while-it-is-fiction-it/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [Time is, as you are probably aware, merely a convenient fiction. There is no such thing as time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-nesbit/time-is-as-you-are-probably-aware-merely-a-convenient-fiction-there/) [E. Nesbit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-nesbit/) > [My first and last love will always be fiction. It's the first thing I do in the morning and the last thing I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-alarcon/my-first-and-last-love-will-always-be-fiction-it-s-the-first-thing-i/) [Daniel Alarcon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-alarcon/) > [“Every healthy person at some period must feed on fiction as well as fact; because fact is a thing which the world gives to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/every-healthy-person-at-some-period-must-feed-on-fiction-as-well-as/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [Some people like just sitting down and being taken for a ride. That's a beautiful thing that fiction can do. But it's not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/some-people-like-just-sitting-down-and-being-taken-for-a-ride-that-s/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [Science fiction was never my thing. I have no interest in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/science-fiction-was-never-my-thing-i-have-no-interest-in-it/) [Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/) > [Fiction is the thing I esteem most in my own work; I feel that, even if it's no good, only I could have written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/fiction-is-the-thing-i-esteem-most-in-my-own-work-i-feel-that-even-if/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [When I write something, I can't remember in the end if this is a memory or if it's not - I'm talking about fiction.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/when-i-write-something-i-can-t-remember-in-the-end-if-this-is-a/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [If it has horses and swords in it, it's a fantasy, unless it also has a rocketship in it, in which case it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-doyle/if-it-has-horses-and-swords-in-it-it-s-a-fantasy-unless-it-also-has-a/) Debra Doyle > [Lost in much of the national debate about immigration reform is how Democrats ultimately stand to gain electorally with any legislation or executive action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-klein/lost-in-much-of-the-national-debate-about-immigration-reform-is-how/) [Aaron Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-klein/) ## More by Francisco Goldman > [What I see of the US Presidential elections from down here makes me want to disengage from that particular reality and just hole up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/what-i-see-of-the-us-presidential-elections-from-down-here-makes-me/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) > [“Hold her tight, if you have her; hold her tight, I thought, that's my advice to all the living. Breathe her in, put your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/hold-her-tight-if-you-have-her-hold-her-tight-i-thought-that-s-my/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) > [Great fiction has been written out of the very darkest circumstances of our narco violence, and nothing written in either fiction or nonfiction has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/great-fiction-has-been-written-out-of-the-very-darkest-circumstances/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) > [Maybe Pope Francis will say something on his visit to the US, maybe he'll rebuke Donald Trump and anti-immigrant racism and demagoguery beautifully, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/maybe-pope-francis-will-say-something-on-his-visit-to-the-us-maybe-he/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) > [Interviewing is in some ways the art of memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/interviewing-is-in-some-ways-the-art-of-memory/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) > [The Democrats are hardly agents of change, or even remotely interesting talkers or reality observers. The workings of actual power in the US is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/the-democrats-are-hardly-agents-of-change-or-even-remotely/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) > [“I can go years thinking that it seems impossible that I will ever satisfy that appetite again and then it is easy to satisfy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/i-can-go-years-thinking-that-it-seems-impossible-that-i-will-ever/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) > [Narco fiction novels have a reputation, at least here in Mexico among some of the writers I know, of being somewhat rushed productions, usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/narco-fiction-novels-have-a-reputation-at-least-here-in-mexico-among/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) > [There's a certain advantage to living in a small country like Guatemala, I think. You don't feel so distant from political reality there. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/there-s-a-certain-advantage-to-living-in-a-small-country-like/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) > [I'm a little skeptical of so-called narco fiction, I have to say, though some writers I admire may have written some narco fiction. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/i-m-a-little-skeptical-of-so-called-narco-fiction-i-have-to-say/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) > [I've written one book-length piece of journalism. The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed Bishop Gerardi? That book had an impact. Eight years after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/i-ve-written-one-book-length-piece-of-journalism-the-art-of-political/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) > [People in the big rich countries are often extremely dismissive of the small countries. They think nothing that happens there is of any interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/people-in-the-big-rich-countries-are-often-extremely-dismissive-of/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) > [Someone wrote in the New York Times recently that if Donald Trump was allowed to go through with his plans, he'd become one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/someone-wrote-in-the-new-york-times-recently-that-if-donald-trump-was/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) > [Donald Trump is seriously dark and disturbing. You can't just dismiss it as one more example of American pop culture grotesque.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/donald-trump-is-seriously-dark-and-disturbing-you-can-t-just-dismiss/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) > [I'm specifically referring to this certain feeling of sadness, fear, and helplessness that descended on me at the Mexico City protest a day or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/i-m-specifically-referring-to-this-certain-feeling-of-sadness-fear/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) [Explore all 32 Francisco Goldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't impose political responsibilities on my fiction. 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