--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Alas, we have not yet the power to render…" description: "\"Alas, we have not yet the power to render completely sterile or make impossible the errors and lies which will merely be America being itself rather th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f5/amiri-baraka-8050_america_alas-we-have-not-yet-the-power-to-render_652605.jpg" --- # Alas, we have not yet the power to render completely… ![“Alas, we have not yet the power to render completely sterile or make impossible the errors and lies which will merely be America being itself rather than its unconvincing promise.” quote by Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f5/amiri-baraka-8050_america_alas-we-have-not-yet-the-power-to-render_652605.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f5/amiri-baraka-8050_america_alas-we-have-not-yet-the-power-to-render_652605.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f5/amiri-baraka-8050_america_alas-we-have-not-yet-the-power-to-render_652605.jpg) > “Alas, we have not yet the power to render completely sterile or make impossible the errors and lies which will merely be America being itself rather than its unconvincing promise.” [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. America cannot fully eliminate errors and lies; its flaws are inherent to its identity. **In simple terms:** America's flaws are part of its nature. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection while striving for improvement. Themes identity truth error political critique Mood critical reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political discourse - media analysis - public policy - education Key Concepts national myth self‑deception Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to be "America itself"? - How can we confront systemic lies? A Different Perspective Ignoring flaws prevents progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Unconvincing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-unconvincing-5215473/) [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Errors Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/errors-lies-3123887/) [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Lies Merely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies-merely-1838510/) [Merely America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merely-america-5215474/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Unconvincing Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unconvincing-promise-5215475/) [Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/will/) ## Related quotes > [Truth has not single victories; all things are its organs,--not only dust and stones, but errors and lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/truth-has-not-single-victories-all-things-are-its-organs-not-only/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Compliments do not fall under the category of lies. They are merely good deeds unsupported by facts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanmar-meyers/compliments-do-not-fall-under-the-category-of-lies-they-are-merely/) [Tanmar Meyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanmar-meyers/) > [“No sentimentality, no romance, no false hope, no self-petting lies, merely that which is!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-s-tepper/no-sentimentality-no-romance-no-false-hope-no-self-petting-lies/) [Sheri S. Tepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-s-tepper/) > [In such a diversity it was impossible I should be disposed to melancholy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-boone/in-such-a-diversity-it-was-impossible-i-should-be-disposed-to/) [Daniel Boone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-boone/) > [Ronaldo is just an athlete. He works so hard and back to back; he is always there. But if you work hard, can you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-davids/ronaldo-is-just-an-athlete-he-works-so-hard-and-back-to-back-he-is/) [Edgar Davids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-davids/) > [Among the many factors that make a return to halcyon days of the first decades of the postwar era virtually impossible is the decline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gilpin/among-the-many-factors-that-make-a-return-to-halcyon-days-of-the/) [Robert Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gilpin/) > [I've heard from the movie marketplace that James Cameron did such a killer job with 'Titanic' that it's almost impossible to do anything better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-ve-heard-from-the-movie-marketplace-that-james-cameron-did-such-a/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [It is not enough to dream of the Impossible Love - it is necessary to conquer it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-is-not-enough-to-dream-of-the-impossible-love-it-is-necessary-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [every being is unique.god neva creates carbon copies,he alys creates originals.he is truly a creator.he neva repeats.but man goes on living in imitation.we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-being-is-unique-god-neva-creates-carbon-copies-he-alys-creates/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [History is, in its essentials, the science of change. It knows and it teaches that it is impossible to find two events that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bloch/history-is-in-its-essentials-the-science-of-change-it-knows-and-it/) [Marc Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bloch/) > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) [James Cross Giblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cross-giblin/) > [Making movies seemed so impossible as far as getting my ideas funded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/making-movies-seemed-so-impossible-as-far-as-getting-my-ideas-funded/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) ## More by Amiri Baraka > [I had just been in some repressive situations - the black middle-class college scene and the crazy United States Air Force - and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/i-had-just-been-in-some-repressive-situations-the-black-middle-class/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [what is lost because it is most precious what is most precious because it is lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/what-is-lost-because-it-is-most-precious-what-is-most-precious/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [You have to get an individual who's willing to actually struggle with the system to change it. As long as you have people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/you-have-to-get-an-individual-who-s-willing-to-actually-struggle-with/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [I had a little portable typewriter. I call it my Harlem Literary Fellowship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/i-had-a-little-portable-typewriter-i-call-it-my-harlem-literary/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [I'm fully conscious all the time that I'm an American Negro, because it's part of my life. But I also know that if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/i-m-fully-conscious-all-the-time-that-i-m-an-american-negro-because/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [The artist's role is to raise the consciousness of the people. To make them understand life, the world and themselves more completely. That's how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/the-artist-s-role-is-to-raise-the-consciousness-of-the-people-to-make/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [Mao Zedong was a revolutionary. He made a revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/mao-zedong-was-a-revolutionary-he-made-a-revolution/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [The films of Warhol, when they are about anything are about sucking people off. This can be high art, to people who are interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/the-films-of-warhol-when-they-are-about-anything-are-about-sucking/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [The poet is someone, I think, who's interested in registering experience immediately or giving you the sense of immediacy and directness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/the-poet-is-someone-i-think-who-s-interested-in-registering/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [“Poems are bullshit unless they are teeth or trees or lemons piled on a step. Or black ladies dying of men leaving nickel hearts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/poems-are-bullshit-unless-they-are-teeth-or-trees-or-lemons-piled-on/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [Thought is more important than art…To revere art and have no understanding of the process that forces it into existence, is finally not even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/thought-is-more-important-than-art-to-revere-art-and-have-no/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [Jimmy Baldwin was not only a writer, an international literary figure: he was a man, spirit, voice - old and black and terrible as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/jimmy-baldwin-was-not-only-a-writer-an-international-literary-figure/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [The future is always here in the past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/the-future-is-always-here-in-the-past/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [I am inside someone who hates me. I look out from his eyes. Smell what fouled tunes come in to his breath. Love his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/i-am-inside-someone-who-hates-me-i-look-out-from-his-eyes-smell-what/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [The further jazz moves away from the stark blue continuum and the collective realities of Afro-American and American life, the more it moves into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/the-further-jazz-moves-away-from-the-stark-blue-continuum-and-the/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) [Explore all 85 Amiri Baraka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Alas, we have not yet the power to render completely sterile or make impossible the errors and lies which will merely be America being itself rather than its unconvincing promise.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Amiri Baraka" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/alas-we-have-not-yet-the-power-to-render-completely-sterile-or-make/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/alas-we-have-not-yet-the-power-to-render-completely-sterile-or-make/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f5/amiri-baraka-8050_america_alas-we-have-not-yet-the-power-to-render_652605.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f5/amiri-baraka-8050_america_alas-we-have-not-yet-the-power-to-render_652605.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f5/amiri-baraka-8050_america_alas-we-have-not-yet-the-power-to-render_652605.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Alas, we have not yet the power to render completely sterile or make impossible the errors and lies which…” — Amiri Baraka", "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": "Amiri Baraka", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Alas, we have not yet the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/alas-we-have-not-yet-the-power-to-render-completely-sterile-or-make/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/alas-we-have-not-yet-the-power-to-render-completely-sterile-or-make/#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 } } ] } ```