--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Surely binationalism is not love, but…" description: "\"Surely binationalism is not love, but there is, we might say, a necessary and impossible attachment that makes a mockery of identity, an ambivalence th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/feb/judith-butler-1374_ambivalence_surely-binationalism-is-not-love-but-the_2909569.jpg" --- # Surely binationalism is not love, but there is, we might… ![“Surely binationalism is not love, but there is, we might say, a necessary and impossible attachment that makes a mockery of identity, an ambivalence that emerges from the decentering of the nationalist ethos and that forms the basis of a permanent ethical demand.” quote by Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/feb/judith-butler-1374_ambivalence_surely-binationalism-is-not-love-but-the_2909569.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/feb/judith-butler-1374_ambivalence_surely-binationalism-is-not-love-but-the_2909569.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/feb/judith-butler-1374_ambivalence_surely-binationalism-is-not-love-but-the_2909569.jpg) > “Surely binationalism is not love, but there is, we might say, a necessary and impossible attachment that makes a mockery of identity, an ambivalence that emerges from the decentering of the nationalist ethos and that forms the basis of a permanent ethical demand.” [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) ## 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 argues that binational identity creates a paradoxical bond that undermines fixed national identities, generating an ongoing ethical responsibility. **In simple terms:** Binational ties challenge fixed national identity, creating ethical tension. Key Takeaway Recognize and navigate the ethical complexities of overlapping identities. Themes identity ethics nationalism ambiguity Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type philosophical political theoretical When to use this quote - immigration policy - multicultural education - conflict resolution - citizen participation Key Concepts post‑structuralism political theory social contract Questions to Reflect On - How does overlapping identity affect personal responsibility? - What ethical duties arise from dual allegiances? A Different Perspective The concept may be too abstract for practical policy without concrete examples. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambivalence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambivalence/) [Ambivalence Emerges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambivalence-emerges-4183189/) [Attachment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attachment/) [Bases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bases/) [Binationalism Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/binationalism-love-4183186/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Ethical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethical/) [Ethos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethos/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Identity Ambivalence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity-ambivalence-4183187/) [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Mockery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mockery/) [Nationalist Ethos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nationalist-ethos-4183188/) [Permanent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permanent/) [Surely Binationalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surely-binationalism-4183185/) ## Related quotes > [The less obvious hurdle is that of preparing parents emotionally and putting forward realistic images of parenthood and motherhood. There also needs to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/the-less-obvious-hurdle-is-that-of-preparing-parents-emotionally-and/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [“Life had this unmoored quality, full of voids and barely acknowledged yearnings, and if I'd made a list of things I wanted desperately at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/life-had-this-unmoored-quality-full-of-voids-and-barely-acknowledged/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [My children cause me the most exquisite suffering of which I have any experience. It is the suffering of ambivalence: the murderous alternation between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/my-children-cause-me-the-most-exquisite-suffering-of-which-i-have-any/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Real love, the kind you have with a person, must go through ambivalence.There is simply no way around it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kumar-anupam/real-love-the-kind-you-have-with-a-person-must-go-through-ambivalence/) [Kumar Anupam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kumar-anupam/) > [From the beginning, there have been some religious leaders who greeted the funding of faith-based social services by government with ambivalence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/from-the-beginning-there-have-been-some-religious-leaders-who-greeted/) [Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/) > [Prudence is not hesitation, procrastination, or moderation. It is not driving in the middle of the road. It is not the way of ambivalence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/prudence-is-not-hesitation-procrastination-or-moderation-it-is-not/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [I think we have deluded ourselves into believing that people don't know that abortion is killing. So any pretense that abortion is not killing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faye-wattleton/i-think-we-have-deluded-ourselves-into-believing-that-people-don-t/) [Faye Wattleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faye-wattleton/) > ['The Simpsons' is about alienation and the ambivalence of living with a family who you love but who drive you completely crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-groening/the-simpsons-is-about-alienation-and-the-ambivalence-of-living-with-a/) [Matt Groening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-groening/) > [“The problem is that when you’re not fighting for survival, it’s easy to stop making decisions and fall into the trap of thinking you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-ryder-howe/the-problem-is-that-when-you-re-not-fighting-for-survival-it-s-easy/) [Ben Ryder Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-ryder-howe/) > [We don't do ambivalence well in America. We do courage of our convictions. We do might makes right. Ambivalence is French. Certainty is American.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/we-don-t-do-ambivalence-well-in-america-we-do-courage-of-our/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“Raising a child is the very definition of ambivalence. I am overwhelmed at times by how something can simultaneously be so awful and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/raising-a-child-is-the-very-definition-of-ambivalence-i-am/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [We British play an important role in Europe, even if we have a traditional and historical ambivalence towards the continent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-barber/we-british-play-an-important-role-in-europe-even-if-we-have-a/) [Lionel Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-barber/) > [The base of artistic pursuit is ambivalence and complexity. And that's what I try to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-perez/the-base-of-artistic-pursuit-is-ambivalence-and-complexity-and-that-s/) [Fernando Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-perez/) > [“In starlit nights I saw you, So cruelly you kissed me. Your lips a magic world, Your sky all hung with jewels. The killing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/echo-and-the-bunnymen/in-starlit-nights-i-saw-you-so-cruelly-you-kissed-me-your-lips-a/) [Echo and the Bunnymen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/echo-and-the-bunnymen/) > [Horizontality is a desire to give up, to sleep. Verticality is an attempt to escape. Hanging and floating are states of ambivalence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/horizontality-is-a-desire-to-give-up-to-sleep-verticality-is-an/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) ## More by Judith Butler > [I don't think we have to have a personal relation to a life lost to understand that something terrible has taken place, especially in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/i-don-t-think-we-have-to-have-a-personal-relation-to-a-life-lost-to/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [We need a legal and political understanding of the right of the refugee, whereby no solution for one group produces a new class of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/we-need-a-legal-and-political-understanding-of-the-right-of-the/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [When we say gender is performed, we usually mean that we've taken on a role or we're acting in some way and that our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/when-we-say-gender-is-performed-we-usually-mean-that-we-ve-taken-on-a/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [Cameras help to minimize collateral damage, and very often, without a camera a missile cannot fire. Certainly, without a camera a drone can't function,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/cameras-help-to-minimize-collateral-damage-and-very-often-without-a/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [I would say that I'm a feminist theorist before I'm a queer theorist or a gay and lesbian theorist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/i-would-say-that-i-m-a-feminist-theorist-before-i-m-a-queer-theorist/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [Very often, if you just get the question: "Well, are you a Zionist?" if you say no, it's assumed that you want the destruction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/very-often-if-you-just-get-the-question-well-are-you-a-zionist-if-you/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [Sexual harassment law is very important. But I think it would be a mistake if the sexual harassment law movement is the only way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/sexual-harassment-law-is-very-important-but-i-think-it-would-be-a/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [Genocide is not a legitimate option. It's not ok to decide that an entire population has no right to live in the world. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/genocide-is-not-a-legitimate-option-it-s-not-ok-to-decide-that-an/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [“Let's face it. We're undone by each other. And if we're not, we're missing something. If this seems so clearly the case with grief,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/let-s-face-it-we-re-undone-by-each-other-and-if-we-re-not-we-re/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [The pleasurable part of public mourning can also lead to a sense of self-sanctification that justifies in advance any war effort, whether or not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/the-pleasurable-part-of-public-mourning-can-also-lead-to-a-sense-of/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [“There is no life without the conditions of life that variably sustain life, and those conditions are pervasively social, establishing not the discrete ontology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/there-is-no-life-without-the-conditions-of-life-that-variably-sustain/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [“That the power regimes of heterosexism and phallogocentrism seek to augment themselves through a constant repetition of their logic, their metaphysic, and their naturalized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/that-the-power-regimes-of-heterosexism-and-phallogocentrism-seek-to/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [I think that public grieving is a good thing. People need to be grieved; loss needs to be acknowledged publicly, because it helps to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/i-think-that-public-grieving-is-a-good-thing-people-need-to-be/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [Maybe we need to start with the rethinking of what is "west" and what is "non-west." It seems to me that there are any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/maybe-we-need-to-start-with-the-rethinking-of-what-is-west-and-what/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [It will not do to say that international law is the enemy of the Jewish people, since the Jewish people surely did not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/it-will-not-do-to-say-that-international-law-is-the-enemy-of-the/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) [Explore all 248 Judith Butler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) ## More Ambivalence quotes > [The less obvious hurdle is that of preparing parents emotionally and putting forward realistic images of parenthood and motherhood. There also needs to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/the-less-obvious-hurdle-is-that-of-preparing-parents-emotionally-and/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [“In starlit nights I saw you, So cruelly you kissed me. Your lips a magic world, Your sky all hung with jewels. The killing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/echo-and-the-bunnymen/in-starlit-nights-i-saw-you-so-cruelly-you-kissed-me-your-lips-a/) [Echo and the Bunnymen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/echo-and-the-bunnymen/) > [The base of artistic pursuit is ambivalence and complexity. And that's what I try to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-perez/the-base-of-artistic-pursuit-is-ambivalence-and-complexity-and-that-s/) [Fernando Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-perez/) > [We British play an important role in Europe, even if we have a traditional and historical ambivalence towards the continent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-barber/we-british-play-an-important-role-in-europe-even-if-we-have-a/) [Lionel Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-barber/) > [“Raising a child is the very definition of ambivalence. I am overwhelmed at times by how something can simultaneously be so awful and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/raising-a-child-is-the-very-definition-of-ambivalence-i-am/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [We don't do ambivalence well in America. We do courage of our convictions. We do might makes right. Ambivalence is French. Certainty is American.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/we-don-t-do-ambivalence-well-in-america-we-do-courage-of-our/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“The problem is that when you’re not fighting for survival, it’s easy to stop making decisions and fall into the trap of thinking you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-ryder-howe/the-problem-is-that-when-you-re-not-fighting-for-survival-it-s-easy/) [Ben Ryder Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-ryder-howe/) > ['The Simpsons' is about alienation and the ambivalence of living with a family who you love but who drive you completely crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-groening/the-simpsons-is-about-alienation-and-the-ambivalence-of-living-with-a/) [Matt Groening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-groening/) > [I think we have deluded ourselves into believing that people don't know that abortion is killing. So any pretense that abortion is not killing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faye-wattleton/i-think-we-have-deluded-ourselves-into-believing-that-people-don-t/) [Faye Wattleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faye-wattleton/) > [Prudence is not hesitation, procrastination, or moderation. It is not driving in the middle of the road. It is not the way of ambivalence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/prudence-is-not-hesitation-procrastination-or-moderation-it-is-not/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [From the beginning, there have been some religious leaders who greeted the funding of faith-based social services by government with ambivalence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/from-the-beginning-there-have-been-some-religious-leaders-who-greeted/) [Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/) > [Real love, the kind you have with a person, must go through ambivalence.There is simply no way around it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kumar-anupam/real-love-the-kind-you-have-with-a-person-must-go-through-ambivalence/) [Kumar Anupam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kumar-anupam/) > [My children cause me the most exquisite suffering of which I have any experience. It is the suffering of ambivalence: the murderous alternation between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/my-children-cause-me-the-most-exquisite-suffering-of-which-i-have-any/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Life had this unmoored quality, full of voids and barely acknowledged yearnings, and if I'd made a list of things I wanted desperately at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/life-had-this-unmoored-quality-full-of-voids-and-barely-acknowledged/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Horizontality is a desire to give up, to sleep. Verticality is an attempt to escape. Hanging and floating are states of ambivalence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/horizontality-is-a-desire-to-give-up-to-sleep-verticality-is-an/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) [Browse all 121 Ambivalence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambivalence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Surely binationalism is not love, but there is, we might say, a necessary and impossible attachment that makes a mockery of identity, an ambivalence that emerges from the decentering of the nationalist ethos and that forms the basis of a permanent ethical demand.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Judith Butler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/surely-binationalism-is-not-love-but-there-is-we-might-say-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambivalence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/surely-binationalism-is-not-love-but-there-is-we-might-say-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/feb/judith-butler-1374_ambivalence_surely-binationalism-is-not-love-but-the_2909569.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/feb/judith-butler-1374_ambivalence_surely-binationalism-is-not-love-but-the_2909569.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/feb/judith-butler-1374_ambivalence_surely-binationalism-is-not-love-but-the_2909569.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Surely binationalism is not love, but there is, we might say, a necessary and impossible attachment that…” — Judith Butler", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Judith Butler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Surely binationalism is not love, but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/surely-binationalism-is-not-love-but-there-is-we-might-say-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/surely-binationalism-is-not-love-but-there-is-we-might-say-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```