--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We're all looking for an authentic way to…" description: "\"We're all looking for an authentic way to be engaged in the community, engaged in politics, engaged in national discussion - and so, we're clunky. We'r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6b/mona-simpson-11854_authentic_we-re-all-looking-for-an-authentic-way-t_1443853.png" --- # We're all looking for an authentic way to be engaged in… ![“We're all looking for an authentic way to be engaged in the community, engaged in politics, engaged in national discussion - and so, we're clunky. We're all clunky. But it's better than not doing it.” quote by Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6b/mona-simpson-11854_authentic_we-re-all-looking-for-an-authentic-way-t_1443853.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6b/mona-simpson-11854_authentic_we-re-all-looking-for-an-authentic-way-t_1443853.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6b/mona-simpson-11854_authentic_we-re-all-looking-for-an-authentic-way-t_1443853.png) > “We're all looking for an authentic way to be engaged in the community, engaged in politics, engaged in national discussion - and so, we're clunky. We're all clunky. But it's better than not doing it.” [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People desire genuine participation in civic life, yet feel awkward and imperfect, which is preferable to disengagement. **In simple terms:** We want real involvement but feel clumsy; better than not trying. Key Takeaway Embrace imperfect participation. Themes civic engagement authenticity political involvement Mood hopeful reflective Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - community meetings - voting - online discussions - local activism - public forums Key Concepts social psychology public discourse Questions to Reflect On - How can we make civic spaces more welcoming? - What steps reduce the feeling of clunkiness? A Different Perspective Imperfection may limit influence and credibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authentic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authentic/) [Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better/) [Clunky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clunky-5173859/) [Clunky Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clunky-better-5173857/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Community Engaged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community-engaged-5173858/) [Discussion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discussion/) [Discussion Clunky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discussion-clunky-5173856/) [Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing/) [Engaged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engaged/) [Engaged Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engaged-community-2901274/) [Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking/) [National](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Than](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/than/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [The faith community has a really critical role to play. Both giving out accurate and important information and ensuring that everyone in the household…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-birx/the-faith-community-has-a-really-critical-role-to-play-both-giving/) [Deborah Birx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-birx/) > [If your pal or neighbour is in the SNP, you're more likely to listen to them than if you just turn on the telly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/if-your-pal-or-neighbour-is-in-the-snp-you-re-more-likely-to-listen/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [Wherever we are, we can call for and create these kinds of settings for authentic dialogue. This is the seedbed of social change. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/wherever-we-are-we-can-call-for-and-create-these-kinds-of-settings/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [Christie led the way - with a bulldozer. The governor is blunt, brash, and self-consciously authentic, the antithesis to what turns off today's voters:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-fournier/christie-led-the-way-with-a-bulldozer-the-governor-is-blunt-brash-and/) [Ron Fournier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-fournier/) > [“Some days I like to wander to old and warn our places, forests ripped apart by man and streams that carry stagnant water where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/some-days-i-like-to-wander-to-old-and-warn-our-places-forests-ripped/) [Nikki Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) > [“The biggest mistake people make when trying to be authentic is just that: they try. They see these role models of what an "authentic"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vironika-tugaleva/the-biggest-mistake-people-make-when-trying-to-be-authentic-is-just/) [Vironika Tugaleva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vironika-tugaleva/) > [“But now? Being a sellout is the authentic thing. When”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-hill/but-now-being-a-sellout-is-the-authentic-thing-when/) [Nathan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-hill/) > [I had always wanted to expand to beauty, but I knew I wanted to be able to translate my design aesthetic in an authentic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-ronson/i-had-always-wanted-to-expand-to-beauty-but-i-knew-i-wanted-to-be/) [Charlotte Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-ronson/) > [I think as long as you're authentic, people will relate to that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-woodson/i-think-as-long-as-you-re-authentic-people-will-relate-to-that/) [Charles Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-woodson/) > [I've put my days of fantasy behind me and make authentic realistic films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-bhatt/i-ve-put-my-days-of-fantasy-behind-me-and-make-authentic-realistic/) [Vikram Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-bhatt/) > [“REMEMBER Do you live your life according to how you want to remember it or how you will be remembered?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-downer/remember-do-you-live-your-life-according-to-how-you-want-to-remember/) [Kitty Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-downer/) > [Being authentic can be a good thing in that often people who are fixated on that are also fixated on having very high standards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-meyer/being-authentic-can-be-a-good-thing-in-that-often-people-who-are/) [Edgar Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-meyer/) > [Anything that I ever do is from the heart and authentic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belinda-carlisle/anything-that-i-ever-do-is-from-the-heart-and-authentic/) [Belinda Carlisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belinda-carlisle/) > [When somebody comes across as authentic and genuine and sweet, people just want to spend time with that person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-holmes/when-somebody-comes-across-as-authentic-and-genuine-and-sweet-people/) [Pete Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-holmes/) > [“RIGHT Do you do what feels right or what is seen right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-downer/right-do-you-do-what-feels-right-or-what-is-seen-right/) [Kitty Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-downer/) ## More by Mona Simpson > [“Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? Does it improve upon the silence?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/is-it-true-is-it-kind-is-it-necessary-does-it-improve-upon-the-silence/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I've never had an exclusive relationship to a room where I write. I used to want one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-ve-never-had-an-exclusive-relationship-to-a-room-where-i-write-i/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I do have food in my books. Different people eat different ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-do-have-food-in-my-books-different-people-eat-different-ways/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I grew up as an only child with a single mother. Because we were poor and because I knew my father had emigrated from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-grew-up-as-an-only-child-with-a-single-mother-because-we-were-poor/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [“A mother's happiness; something you recognize and then forget; it didn't seem to matter much, though it spread through our bodies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/a-mother-s-happiness-something-you-recognize-and-then-forget-it-didn/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I'm a simple cook, and there's a lot I don't eat. But food is important. It translates so easily into pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-m-a-simple-cook-and-there-s-a-lot-i-don-t-eat-but-food-is-important/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I knew I would hate my best memory because it would prove that people could fake love or that love could end or worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-knew-i-would-hate-my-best-memory-because-it-would-prove-that-people/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [Once upon a time, my mother lived in the posh downtown of Homs, Syria. She described my grandfather as a king in a storybook,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/once-upon-a-time-my-mother-lived-in-the-posh-downtown-of-homs-syria/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [In my 30s, I wrote in the back house of a ramshackle Spanish Revival we rented across from the ocean in the Santa Monica…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/in-my-30s-i-wrote-in-the-back-house-of-a-ramshackle-spanish-revival/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I read a lot of books about psychopaths. I read a wonderful book Amy Hempel gave me about the guy who created criminal profiling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-read-a-lot-of-books-about-psychopaths-i-read-a-wonderful-book-amy/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [Fashion is what seems beautiful now but looks ugly later; art can be ugly at first but it becomes beautiful later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/fashion-is-what-seems-beautiful-now-but-looks-ugly-later-art-can-be/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I eventually made the reunion with my father that I'd used as a default daydream throughout my childhood, but by then, we'd both outgrown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-eventually-made-the-reunion-with-my-father-that-i-d-used-as-a/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [I remember the excitement of finding a great pancake recipe in 'Gourmet.' It felt as if it were mine. And it was Berkeley, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/i-remember-the-excitement-of-finding-a-great-pancake-recipe-in/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [Gossip is essentially storytelling: storytelling about people whom we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/gossip-is-essentially-storytelling-storytelling-about-people-whom-we/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > ['Casebook' is my attempt at a love story. I had a vision of a difficult love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/casebook-is-my-attempt-at-a-love-story-i-had-a-vision-of-a-difficult/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) [Explore all 57 Mona Simpson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) ## More Authentic quotes > [“RIGHT Do you do what feels right or what is seen right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-downer/right-do-you-do-what-feels-right-or-what-is-seen-right/) [Kitty Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-downer/) > [When somebody comes across as authentic and genuine and sweet, people just want to spend time with that person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-holmes/when-somebody-comes-across-as-authentic-and-genuine-and-sweet-people/) [Pete Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-holmes/) > [Anything that I ever do is from the heart and authentic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belinda-carlisle/anything-that-i-ever-do-is-from-the-heart-and-authentic/) [Belinda Carlisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belinda-carlisle/) > [Being authentic can be a good thing in that often people who are fixated on that are also fixated on having very high standards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-meyer/being-authentic-can-be-a-good-thing-in-that-often-people-who-are/) [Edgar Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-meyer/) > [“REMEMBER Do you live your life according to how you want to remember it or how you will be remembered?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-downer/remember-do-you-live-your-life-according-to-how-you-want-to-remember/) [Kitty Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-downer/) > [I've put my days of fantasy behind me and make authentic realistic films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-bhatt/i-ve-put-my-days-of-fantasy-behind-me-and-make-authentic-realistic/) [Vikram Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-bhatt/) > [I think as long as you're authentic, people will relate to that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-woodson/i-think-as-long-as-you-re-authentic-people-will-relate-to-that/) [Charles Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-woodson/) > [I had always wanted to expand to beauty, but I knew I wanted to be able to translate my design aesthetic in an authentic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-ronson/i-had-always-wanted-to-expand-to-beauty-but-i-knew-i-wanted-to-be/) [Charlotte Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-ronson/) > [“But now? Being a sellout is the authentic thing. When”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-hill/but-now-being-a-sellout-is-the-authentic-thing-when/) [Nathan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-hill/) > [“The biggest mistake people make when trying to be authentic is just that: they try. They see these role models of what an "authentic"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vironika-tugaleva/the-biggest-mistake-people-make-when-trying-to-be-authentic-is-just/) [Vironika Tugaleva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vironika-tugaleva/) > [“Some days I like to wander to old and warn our places, forests ripped apart by man and streams that carry stagnant water where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/some-days-i-like-to-wander-to-old-and-warn-our-places-forests-ripped/) [Nikki Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) > [Christie led the way - with a bulldozer. The governor is blunt, brash, and self-consciously authentic, the antithesis to what turns off today's voters:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-fournier/christie-led-the-way-with-a-bulldozer-the-governor-is-blunt-brash-and/) [Ron Fournier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-fournier/) > [“Show up authentically and synergy will meet you there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/show-up-authentically-and-synergy-will-meet-you-there/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [Disturb reality, defy gravity, be authentic and above all... be happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-gonzalez/disturb-reality-defy-gravity-be-authentic-and-above-all-be-happy/) [Joaquin Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-gonzalez/) > [We have to express ourselves in the most true and authentic way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-lee-yang/we-have-to-express-ourselves-in-the-most-true-and-authentic-way/) [Eugene Lee Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-lee-yang/) [Browse all 784 Authentic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authentic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We're all looking for an authentic way to be engaged in the community, engaged in politics, engaged in national discussion - and so, we're clunky. 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