--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This lack of what may roughly be called…" description: "\"“This lack of what may roughly be called social paranoia causes the American writer in Europe to feel—almost certainly for the first time in his life—t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe3/james-baldwin-995_american-writer_this-lack-of-what-may-roughly-be-called_2845433.jpg" --- # This lack of what may roughly be called social paranoia… ![“This lack of what may roughly be called social paranoia causes the American writer in Europe to feel—almost certainly for the first time in his life—that he can reach out to everyone, that he is accessible to everyone and open to everything. This is an extraordinary feeling. He feels, so to speak…” quote by James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe3/james-baldwin-995_american-writer_this-lack-of-what-may-roughly-be-called_2845433.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe3/james-baldwin-995_american-writer_this-lack-of-what-may-roughly-be-called_2845433.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe3/james-baldwin-995_american-writer_this-lack-of-what-may-roughly-be-called_2845433.jpg) > ““This lack of what may roughly be called social paranoia causes the American writer in Europe to feel—almost certainly for the first time in his life—that he can reach out to everyone, that he is accessible to everyone and open to everything. This is an extraordinary feeling. He feels, so to speak, his own weight, his own value.”” [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer feels unprecedented openness and value in Europe, contrasting with prior isolation, highlighting the liberating effect of acceptance. **In simple terms:** Feeling accepted expands self-worth. Key Takeaway Seek inclusive environments. Themes identity acceptance freedom Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - travel experiences - expat life - creative collaborations Key Concepts cultural exchange self-perception social belonging Questions to Reflect On - How does acceptance change your work? - What risks come with feeling exposed? A Different Perspective Acceptance may be temporary or conditional. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-writer/) [Europe Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe-feel-1870862/) [Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling/) [Feels Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels-speak-3753906/) [First time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-time/) [Social Paranoia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-paranoia-3753904/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-europe-3753905/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“You—and I’ll venture every third writer in Europe nowadays—fancies himself a poet, when all you’re doing is building little towers of words set prettily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/therese-anne-fowler/you-and-i-ll-venture-every-third-writer-in-europe-nowadays-fancies/) [Therese Anne Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/therese-anne-fowler/) > [Dirk became very Americanized - where Germany and Europe could feel like he was theirs, and the people of Dallas could feel like he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-carlisle/dirk-became-very-americanized-where-germany-and-europe-could-feel/) [Rick Carlisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-carlisle/) > [I am not conscious of a single experience throughout my three months' stay in England and Europe that made me feel that after all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-am-not-conscious-of-a-single-experience-throughout-my-three-months/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Every time I go to Haiti after a season of busy work in Europe, I feel like I'm submerging into a certain state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-leth/every-time-i-go-to-haiti-after-a-season-of-busy-work-in-europe-i-feel/) [Jørgen Leth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-leth/) > [Countries that work with Europe should feel safer than they would if they worked with non-democratic regimes. 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S. 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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/) ## More by James Baldwin > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“The South is very beautiful but its beauty makes one sad because the lives that people live, and have lived here, are so ugly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/the-south-is-very-beautiful-but-its-beauty-makes-one-sad-because-the/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“All cultures have, furthermore, an economic, social, and political base, and no culture can continue to live if its political destiny is not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/all-cultures-have-furthermore-an-economic-social-and-political-base/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“I remembered that life in that room seemed to be occuring beneath the sea, time flowed past indiffrently above us, hours and days had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/i-remembered-that-life-in-that-room-seemed-to-be-occuring-beneath-the/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“No. It would help if I were able to feel guilty.But the end of innocence is also the end of guilt”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/no-it-would-help-if-i-were-able-to-feel-guilty-but-the-end-of/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“Perhaps now, though, he had hit bottom. One thing about the bottom, he told himself, you can't fall any further. He tried to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/perhaps-now-though-he-had-hit-bottom-one-thing-about-the-bottom-he/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“What kind of friendship have you had? Or for that matter...what kind of love affairs?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/what-kind-of-friendship-have-you-had-or-for-that-matter-what-kind-of/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“For these are all our children, we will all profit by or pay for what they become.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/for-these-are-all-our-children-we-will-all-profit-by-or-pay-for-what/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“Every society is really governed by hidden laws, by unspoken but profound assumptions on the part of the people, and ours is no exception.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/every-society-is-really-governed-by-hidden-laws-by-unspoken-but/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“In those days my mother was given to the exasperating and mysterious habit of having babies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-those-days-my-mother-was-given-to-the-exasperating-and-mysterious/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“He was suggesting that all Negroes were held in a state of supreme tension between the difficult, dangerous relationship in which they stood to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/he-was-suggesting-that-all-negroes-were-held-in-a-state-of-supreme/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“In the beginning—and neither can this be overstated—a Negro just cannot believe that white people are treating him as they do; he does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-the-beginning-and-neither-can-this-be-overstated-a-negro-just/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“If the world wasn't so full of dead folks maybe those of us that's trying to live wouldn't have to suffer so bad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/if-the-world-wasn-t-so-full-of-dead-folks-maybe-those-of-us-that-s/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“I am very much concerned that American Negroes achieve their freedom here in the United States. But I am also concerned for their dignity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/i-am-very-much-concerned-that-american-negroes-achieve-their-freedom/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“The paradox—and a fearful paradox it is—is that the American Negro can have no future anywhere, on any continent, as long as he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/the-paradox-and-a-fearful-paradox-it-is-is-that-the-american-negro/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) [Explore all 312 James Baldwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) ## 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. 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