--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I feel a responsibility, as I get older…" description: "\"I feel a responsibility, as I get older, to be responsible to what I've experienced, to what I've lived and been in a position to witness. I realize no..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84f/francisco-goldman-19172_american-writer_i-feel-a-responsibility-as-i-get-older-t_1462221.jpg" --- # I feel a responsibility, as I get older, to be responsible… ![“I feel a responsibility, as I get older, to be responsible to what I've experienced, to what I've lived and been in a position to witness. I realize now that as a consequence of having lived the life I have, quite apart from the one, as I understand it, lived by most American writers, maybe I now…” quote by Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84f/francisco-goldman-19172_american-writer_i-feel-a-responsibility-as-i-get-older-t_1462221.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84f/francisco-goldman-19172_american-writer_i-feel-a-responsibility-as-i-get-older-t_1462221.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84f/francisco-goldman-19172_american-writer_i-feel-a-responsibility-as-i-get-older-t_1462221.jpg) > “I feel a responsibility, as I get older, to be responsible to what I've experienced, to what I've lived and been in a position to witness. I realize now that as a consequence of having lived the life I have, quite apart from the one, as I understand it, lived by most American writers, maybe I now know some things and have some stories to tell that others don't know about or wouldn't be able to tell. Maybe there's an intrinsic value in that lived experience and knowledge, though of course what you do with it is everything.” [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 speaker sees aging as a duty to share unique lived experiences that differ from mainstream narratives, emphasizing the value of personal testimony. **In simple terms:** Older people should share their unique stories. Key Takeaway Share your story to add perspective. Themes responsibility experience storytelling Mood reflective thoughtful Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - public speaking - writing - teaching - community dialogue Key Concepts cultural memory authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How can you make your experiences relevant to others? - What platforms best amplify unheard voices? A Different Perspective Personal stories may be dismissed if not framed compellingly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-writer/) [American writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-writers/) [Consequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/) [Intrinsic value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intrinsic-value/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [“I felt so much older now, so much more responsible. I guess that there were some positive outcomes: I knew more things than usual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-sehyun-song/i-felt-so-much-older-now-so-much-more-responsible-i-guess-that-there/) [Erica Sehyun Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-sehyun-song/) > [To keep our hearts open is probably the most urgent responsibility you have as you get older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/to-keep-our-hearts-open-is-probably-the-most-urgent-responsibility/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [I think philosophy is all about lived experience, which is to say life in the streets, life in a variety of different contexts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-think-philosophy-is-all-about-lived-experience-which-is-to-say-life/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“In the case of lived experience, there is no difference between an object that is perceived and the eye that perceives it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-dilthey/in-the-case-of-lived-experience-there-is-no-difference-between-an/) [Wilhelm Dilthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-dilthey/) > [“It is the character of lived experience I want to explore, not the nature of man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-d-jackson/it-is-the-character-of-lived-experience-i-want-to-explore-not-the/) Michael D. Jackson > [“life is not to lived but to experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darwin-araman-ergina/life-is-not-to-lived-but-to-experience/) [darwin araman ergina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darwin-araman-ergina/) > [“The spiritual realm is not the ethereal beyond our lived experience. It is our experience, lived fully and well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/the-spiritual-realm-is-not-the-ethereal-beyond-our-lived-experience/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [If you're too lucky, it can be very easy to lack the ability to believe that other people's lived experience is real when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/if-you-re-too-lucky-it-can-be-very-easy-to-lack-the-ability-to/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [The more challenges you face in life, the more of life you experience - this lived experience gives one the 'influence' to impact others'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lubna-olayan/the-more-challenges-you-face-in-life-the-more-of-life-you-experience/) [Lubna Olayan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lubna-olayan/) > [Shift the dynamic as much as you can, so you hear the truth from people that have lived experience. Listen intently and honor their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-buffett/shift-the-dynamic-as-much-as-you-can-so-you-hear-the-truth-from/) [Peter Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-buffett/) > [For me, a novel is always the result of my attempt to impose myself on raw circumstances. It is a concrete form of lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/for-me-a-novel-is-always-the-result-of-my-attempt-to-impose-myself-on/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [What I bring to Congress is not a college degree or credentials, what I'm going to bring to Congress is the wisdom of lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/what-i-bring-to-congress-is-not-a-college-degree-or-credentials-what/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [Nobody is exactly like you. Nobody has had your exact lived experience or has your mind or heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/nobody-is-exactly-like-you-nobody-has-had-your-exact-lived-experience/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [“The more we listen to and learn from those with different backgrounds and present circumstances from our own, the more we can find connections…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilhan-omar/the-more-we-listen-to-and-learn-from-those-with-different-backgrounds/) [Ilhan Omar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilhan-omar/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Francisco Goldman > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/i-don-t-impose-political-responsibilities-on-my-fiction-the-last/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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/) [Explore all 32 Francisco Goldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) ## More American writer quotes > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [It's the tradition of American writers getting away in order to see the country - to get a better view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-anderson/it-s-the-tradition-of-american-writers-getting-away-in-order-to-see/) [Laurie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-anderson/) > [American writers, at least those of us who are fortunate enough to support ourselves in the field, are by and large a lucky lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-burrough/american-writers-at-least-those-of-us-who-are-fortunate-enough-to/) [Bryan Burrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-burrough/) > [“One of the vital things for a writer who’s writing a book, which is a lengthy project and is going to take about a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/one-of-the-vital-things-for-a-writer-who-s-writing-a-book-which-is-a/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [I'm definitely more influenced by European writers than I am by American writers, there's no doubt about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-m-definitely-more-influenced-by-european-writers-than-i-am-by/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [I have a well-balanced show. It's 50/50 on men/women, and also African-American/white writers, it's the same thing. I have four African-American writers, and four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanda-sykes/i-have-a-well-balanced-show-it-s-50-50-on-men-women-and-also-african/) [Wanda Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanda-sykes/) > [Henry David Thoreau, who never earned much of a living or sustained a relationship with any woman that wasn't brotherly -- who lived mostly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/henry-david-thoreau-who-never-earned-much-of-a-living-or-sustained-a/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [To an American writer, I should think it must be a flattering distinction to escape the admiration of the newspapers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-trollope/to-an-american-writer-i-should-think-it-must-be-a-flattering/) [Frances Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-trollope/) > [“Failing to be American (The Sonnet) I've tried to rekindle the American sentiment of my early days of writing, but in vain. Once you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/failing-to-be-american-the-sonnet-i-ve-tried-to-rekindle-the-american/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Let me now praise the American writer James Dickey. In 1970, his novel 'Deliverance' was published. I found it to be 278 pages that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/let-me-now-praise-the-american-writer-james-dickey-in-1970-his-novel/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [James Baldwin is one of the greatest, North American writers of the second half of the Twentieth Century. A prolific writer and a brilliant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-peck/james-baldwin-is-one-of-the-greatest-north-american-writers-of-the/) [Raoul Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raoul-peck/) > [I'm a writer. In Latin America, they say I'm a Latin-American writer because I also write in Spanish and my books are translated, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-m-a-writer-in-latin-america-they-say-i-m-a-latin-american-writer/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > ['Freeing' a literary work into the public domain is less a public benefit than a transfer of wealth from the families of American writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/freeing-a-literary-work-into-the-public-domain-is-less-a-public/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [Every time I make an American film I just trust the American director and American writer. Myself, I would never make this kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-chan/every-time-i-make-an-american-film-i-just-trust-the-american-director/) [Jackie Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-chan/) > [I want people to read good work. If I see someone reading a book by Lorrie Moore or Jennifer Egan, I'm psyched. If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-alarcon/i-want-people-to-read-good-work-if-i-see-someone-reading-a-book-by/) [Daniel Alarcon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-alarcon/) [Browse all 155 American writer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-writer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I feel a responsibility, as I get older, to be responsible to what I've experienced, to what I've lived and been in a position to witness. I realize now that as a consequence of having lived the life I have, quite apart from the one, as I understand it, lived by most American writers, maybe I now know some things and have some stories to tell that others don't know about or wouldn't be able to tell. 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