The Middle Of Everywhere Quotes

“Telling stories never fails to produce good in the universe.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Memmi believes racism has four elements—an insistence on difference, a negative valuation of that difference, the generalization of that difference to an entire group, and finally the use of that difference to justify hostility and aggression.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“For our own positive mental health, we need to reconstruct some constraints. It is no accident that retreat centers are an increasingly popular vacation spot. Retreats restrict choice and thus, paradoxically, allow certain kinds of freedom.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“To truly recover, one must find a deep sense of purpose and meaning.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Without a certain number of these attributes, a newcomer is unlikely to make it in America. The attributes of resilience are Future orientation Energy and good health The ability to pay attention Ambition and initiative Verbal expressiveness Positive mental health The ability to calm down Flexibility Intentionality Lovability The ability to love new people Good moral character”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Why don't they go back where they belong?"
Refugees are here because they had no choices but to be here.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Anyone who wants to can come to America.
This is not true. We have strict rules and quotas on new refugee arrivals.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Most refugees end up on welfare.
In feet, all of the refugees I know do 3-D work—difficult, dirty, and dangerous.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Newcomers don't want to learn English.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Tax dollars go to teach refugees in their own languages.
Actually, the concept of ELL is that our publicly funded schools teach newcomers English.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Newcomers do not pay taxes.
In fact, refugees pay taxes, including property taxes.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Newcomers are taking American jobs.
In fact, they are filling jobs that Americans won't take and thus enabling businesses to prosper in a time when minimum-wage workers are hard to find.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Most refugees are here illegally.
This also is not true. Most have the proper papers and are desperately seeking to comply with the INS. My INS story about Sadia and her daughter going to Hastings illustrated how difficult that can be.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“The United States takes in most of the world's refugees.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Ten Common Beliefs of the JPI Refugees are ignorant and have no formal education.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“In our strange and difficult times, one reason the American dream stays alive is that new people keep showing up who believe in it. And, because they believe that America is the land of freedom and opportunity and because they act on that belief, they sometimes make it true.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“It seems counterintuitive that more choice leads to more depression. However, when we increase people's opportunities for control, we increase their expectations of control and their sense of responsibility for failure. When we have more choices in every domain, we must spend more time researching choices and negotiating these decisions with family members.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Breathing properly, meditating, and focusing on the impermanence of all things are healing activities. In fact, some of our most successful psychotherapy incorporates aspects of Buddhism.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Laughter, music, prayer, touch, truth telling, and forgiveness are universal methods of healing.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Good Moral Character”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“The Ability to Love New People”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Lovability”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Intentionality, or Being Thoughtful about Choices”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Flexibility”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“The Ability to Calm Down”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Positive Mental Health”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Verbal Expressiveness
One of the most important attributes is simply being able to express one's needs clearly and appropriately.”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Ambition and Initiative”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“The Ability to Pay Attention”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community

“Energy and Good Health”
― Mary Pipher, The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community