--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I meet someone and discover that…" description: "\"If I meet someone and discover that they're an absolute, very earnest nationalist, it's unlikely that I'm going to get much closer to them. I don't und..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/william-gibson-642_absolutes_if-i-meet-someone-and-discover-that-they_1792517.png" --- # If I meet someone and discover that they're an absolute… ![“If I meet someone and discover that they're an absolute, very earnest nationalist, it's unlikely that I'm going to get much closer to them. I don't understand them. It doesn't matter where they're from, I just don't get it. I'm a multi-national kind of guy.” quote by William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/william-gibson-642_absolutes_if-i-meet-someone-and-discover-that-they_1792517.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/william-gibson-642_absolutes_if-i-meet-someone-and-discover-that-they_1792517.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/william-gibson-642_absolutes_if-i-meet-someone-and-discover-that-they_1792517.png) > “If I meet someone and discover that they're an absolute, very earnest nationalist, it's unlikely that I'm going to get much closer to them. I don't understand them. It doesn't matter where they're from, I just don't get it. I'm a multi-national kind of guy.” [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Strong nationalist views can create social distance for those with a global outlook. **In simple terms:** Nationalism can hinder connection with open‑minded people. Key Takeaway Recognize and navigate ideological gaps. Themes politics nationalism identity social dynamics Mood curious skeptical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - political debates - online forums - community gatherings Key Concepts cultural differences ideological barriers globalism Questions to Reflect On - How do you bridge ideological divides? - When can you find common ground? A Different Perspective Some nationalists may share common values beyond politics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Nationalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nationalist/) ## Related quotes > [It's true that I run a multi-national group but I have no interests in India. 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That's the obligation of the multi-national corporation: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/when-an-industry-matures-it-means-it-s-not-advancing-and-of-course/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I am a Yugoslav nationalist, aiming for the unification of all Yugoslavs, and I do not care what form of state, but it must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavrilo-princip/i-am-a-yugoslav-nationalist-aiming-for-the-unification-of-all/) [Gavrilo Princip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavrilo-princip/) > [“The nationalist, however loves his own kind as the extension of his family, realizing that universal values are primitive values or no values at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-carto/the-nationalist-however-loves-his-own-kind-as-the-extension-of-his/) Willis Carto > [The difference between patriotism and nationalism is that the patriot is proud of his country for what it does, and the nationalist is proud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/the-difference-between-patriotism-and-nationalism-is-that-the-patriot/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [My critics began saying I was a chauvinist, nationalist, mad nationalist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subramanian-swamy/my-critics-began-saying-i-was-a-chauvinist-nationalist-mad-nationalist/) [Subramanian Swamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subramanian-swamy/) > [In many parts of the country, like South India, people don't bother much about the nationalist passions that BJP was attempting to rouse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-chandrababu-naidu/in-many-parts-of-the-country-like-south-india-people-don-t-bother/) [N. Chandrababu Naidu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-chandrababu-naidu/) > [I don't think the alt-right would call me alt-right. They call me alt-lite, usually. I just consider myself a nationalist or a traditionalist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-southern/i-don-t-think-the-alt-right-would-call-me-alt-right-they-call-me-alt/) [Lauren Southern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-southern/) > [Personally, I am a nationalist, but my race is my nation, and I see all true Europeans as my racial brethren and part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/varg-vikernes/personally-i-am-a-nationalist-but-my-race-is-my-nation-and-i-see-all/) [Varg Vikernes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/varg-vikernes/) > [Let's be clear: a nationalist is not a patriot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-timmermans/let-s-be-clear-a-nationalist-is-not-a-patriot/) [Frans Timmermans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-timmermans/) > [“For all his paranoid alarm, Bannon believes that the rise of nationalist movements across the world, from Europe to Japan to the United States,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/for-all-his-paranoid-alarm-bannon-believes-that-the-rise-of/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [The Chinese public is deeply nationalist, which matters to China's unelected political leadership as much as U.S. nationalism does to American politicians. As China…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/the-chinese-public-is-deeply-nationalist-which-matters-to-china-s/) [Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/) > [I am a secular rationalist Nationalist proud Indian who is inconvenient to both Hindu and Muslim communalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javed-akhtar/i-am-a-secular-rationalist-nationalist-proud-indian-who-is/) [Javed Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javed-akhtar/) > [There's a number of journalists and politicians who are interested in the rise of the National Front and the huge nationalist gathering, the movements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/there-s-a-number-of-journalists-and-politicians-who-are-interested-in/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) > [I am not a nationalist in any way, and I hate flag waving, and I don't think much good has come out of nationalism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stellan-skarsgard/i-am-not-a-nationalist-in-any-way-and-i-hate-flag-waving-and-i-don-t/) [Stellan Skarsgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stellan-skarsgard/) ## More by William Gibson > [“We have no idea, now, of who or what the inhabitants of our future might be. In that sense, we have no future. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/we-have-no-idea-now-of-who-or-what-the-inhabitants-of-our-future/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“No," said Blackwell, "she won't, because that would be a violation of the very personal terms I will have established in our conversation. 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The story actually generates in the course of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/i-don-t-generate-a-storyline-and-then-fill-it-out-in-the-course-of/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“What happened to your arm?" she asked me one night in the Gentleman Loser, the three of us drinking at a small table in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/what-happened-to-your-arm-she-asked-me-one-night-in-the-gentleman/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“In Heathrow a vast chunk of memory detached itself from a blank bowl of airport sky and fell on him. He vomited into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/in-heathrow-a-vast-chunk-of-memory-detached-itself-from-a-blank-bowl/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [And, for an instant, she stared directly into those soft blue eyes and knew, with an instinctive mammalian certainty, that the exceedingly rich were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/and-for-an-instant-she-stared-directly-into-those-soft-blue-eyes-and/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [ \[When\] Johnny Mnemonic was coming out and I realized that all the kids that worked in 7-11 knew more - or thought they knew… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/when-johnny-mnemonic-was-coming-out-and-i-realized-that-all-the-kids/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Andrea maintained that men like Alain lied so constantly, so passionately, that some basic distinction had been lost. They were artists in their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/andrea-maintained-that-men-like-alain-lied-so-constantly-so/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Because he had a good agent, he had a good contract. Because he had a good contract, he was in Singapore an hour after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/because-he-had-a-good-agent-he-had-a-good-contract-because-he-had-a/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) [Explore all 430 William Gibson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) ## More Absolutes quotes > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. 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He said he gave his son for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/those-are-decisions-only-the-lord-will-make-i-believe-the-love-of-god/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“The Gods know what it is to be eternal, and they love to toy with mortals who use absolutes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/the-gods-know-what-it-is-to-be-eternal-and-they-love-to-toy-with/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [The only "definitive truth" for Buddhism is the absolute negation of any one truth as the Definitive Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-only-definitive-truth-for-buddhism-is-the-absolute-negation-of/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [The nature of the Absolute is neither perceptible nor imperceptible; and with phenomena it is just the same. 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