--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's a certain advantage to living in…" description: "\"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 things h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/francisco-goldman-19172_audience_there-s-a-certain-advantage-to-living-in_1063422.jpg" --- # There's a certain advantage to living in a small country… ![“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 things happen, they almost seem to happen on a Shakespearian stage with the audience so close they can become actors too. This is partly what Joseph…” quote by Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/francisco-goldman-19172_audience_there-s-a-certain-advantage-to-living-in_1063422.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/francisco-goldman-19172_audience_there-s-a-certain-advantage-to-living-in_1063422.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/francisco-goldman-19172_audience_there-s-a-certain-advantage-to-living-in_1063422.jpg) > “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 things happen, they almost seem to happen on a Shakespearian stage with the audience so close they can become actors too. This is partly what Joseph Brodsky meant when he wrote that small countries have big politics.” [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. Living in a small nation makes political events feel immediate and theatrical, echoing Brodsky’s idea of “big politics” in tiny states. **In simple terms:** Small countries feel politics intensely. Key Takeaway Appreciate close‑knit civic life. Themes politics scale community engagement Mood engaged thoughtful Type analysis philosophical When to use this quote - local elections - community activism - civic education Key Concepts political theory theatre metaphor national identity Questions to Reflect On - How does proximity affect political participation? - What responsibilities arise from this closeness? A Different Perspective Small scale can limit resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Distant Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distant-political-1252867/) [Guatemala Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guatemala-think-2609889/) [Like Guatemala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-guatemala-664513/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-reality-333408/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Small countries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-countries/) [Things happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-happen/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [There are many young Americans that are very distant from our political process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-angle/there-are-many-young-americans-that-are-very-distant-from-our/) [Kurt Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-angle/) > [I am a postmodern romantic. I try to use their way to photograph, and at the same time, incorporate the problems that I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-gonzalez/i-am-a-postmodern-romantic-i-try-to-use-their-way-to-photograph-and/) [Luis Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-gonzalez/) > [Christopher Hitchens's autobiography, 'Hitch 22', is a poignant read and very interesting because I have a very poor knowledge of recent political history -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-minchin/christopher-hitchens-s-autobiography-hitch-22-is-a-poignant-read-and/) [Tim Minchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-minchin/) > [It's very hard to try to be a cultural . . . people who organize cultural things . . . it's very complicated. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-gonzalez/it-s-very-hard-to-try-to-be-a-cultural-people-who-organize-cultural/) [Luis Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-gonzalez/) > [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/) > [Going to any place that you view as more politically oppressed than your own country, there's a weird tendency to assume that the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jeremiah-sullivan/going-to-any-place-that-you-view-as-more-politically-oppressed-than/) [John Jeremiah Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jeremiah-sullivan/) > [There are realities that one needs to deal with, but very often what we are told is political reality is merely cynicism. One could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/payam-akhavan/there-are-realities-that-one-needs-to-deal-with-but-very-often-what/) [Payam Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/payam-akhavan/) > [Color is not a human or a personal reality it is a political reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/color-is-not-a-human-or-a-personal-reality-it-is-a-political-reality/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [“There’s a curious courage to them both: they believe in a political reality which is utterly terrifying, and they’re fighting it. Joe is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/there-s-a-curious-courage-to-them-both-they-believe-in-a-political/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [A writer must face up to the test of reality, including political reality, and that can't be done if he keeps his distance. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/a-writer-must-face-up-to-the-test-of-reality-including-political/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [That was the political reality of 1987: Saxophones made you cool. That's real! That really happened in our society!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-miller/that-was-the-political-reality-of-1987-saxophones-made-you-cool-that/) [Christopher Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-miller/) > [I think the political reality for the Democratic Party is, you know, there are two sides. There's one side saying that we weren't liberal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hickenlooper/i-think-the-political-reality-for-the-democratic-party-is-you-know/) [John Hickenlooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hickenlooper/) > [“The 'smoke-filled room' as political reality is now as dead as Prohibition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-h-white/the-smoke-filled-room-as-political-reality-is-now-as-dead-as/) [Theodore H. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-h-white/) > [At 19, I basically held the position that if you were intellectually honest and really wanted to get in touch with political reality then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/at-19-i-basically-held-the-position-that-if-you-were-intellectually/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) > [I think as English people, we don't want to be reminded that at one point we ruled three-quarters of the globe, and now we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-bell/i-think-as-english-people-we-don-t-want-to-be-reminded-that-at-one/) [Jamie Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-bell/) ## 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/) > [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 Audience quotes > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's the adrenaline rush you only get from being in front of an audience. It's addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-saadiq/it-s-the-adrenaline-rush-you-only-get-from-being-in-front-of-an/) [Raphael Saadiq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-saadiq/) > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [The liveness of theater, and the excitement of experiencing it alongside an audience, is something you can't get at home. That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. 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My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) [Browse all 9,118 Audience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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 things happen, they almost seem to happen on a Shakespearian stage with the audience so close they can become actors too. 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