--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This isn’t a matter for the eyes, it is a…" description: "\"“This isn’t a matter for the eyes, it is a matter for the heart. Many signs point to a growing historical consciousness among the American people. I tr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/anonymous-1_american-people_this-isn-t-a-matter-for-the-eyes-it-is-a_2505520.jpg" --- # This isn’t a matter for the eyes, it is a matter for the… ![“This isn’t a matter for the eyes, it is a matter for the heart. Many signs point to a growing historical consciousness among the American people. I trust this is so. It is useful to remember that history is to the nation as memory is to the individual. As persons deprived of memory, they become…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/anonymous-1_american-people_this-isn-t-a-matter-for-the-eyes-it-is-a_2505520.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/anonymous-1_american-people_this-isn-t-a-matter-for-the-eyes-it-is-a_2505520.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/anonymous-1_american-people_this-isn-t-a-matter-for-the-eyes-it-is-a_2505520.jpg) > ““This isn’t a matter for the eyes, it is a matter for the heart. Many signs point to a growing historical consciousness among the American people. I trust this is so. It is useful to remember that history is to the nation as memory is to the individual. As persons deprived of memory, they become disoriented and lost, not knowing where they have been and where they are going. So a nation denied a conception of the past will be disabled in dealing with its present and its future. When I’m depressed, I ascribe our behavior to stupidity, the stupidity of our leadership, the stupidity of our culture.”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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 a nation's collective memory is essential for identity and direction; lacking it leads to disorientation and poor decision‑making. **In simple terms:** History shapes a nation's identity and future. Key Takeaway Cultivate collective memory to guide present actions. Themes history identity memory leadership culture Mood reflective concerned Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - education curricula - public commemorations - media narratives - policy planning - civic engagement Key Concepts collective memory national consciousness historical awareness Questions to Reflect On - How does collective memory influence current policies? - What mechanisms can preserve national history? A Different Perspective If a nation forgets its past, it may repeat mistakes despite good intentions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-people/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ## Related quotes > [It is useful to remember that history is to the nation as memory is to the individual. As a person deprived of memory becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/it-is-useful-to-remember-that-history-is-to-the-nation-as-memory-is/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [For history is to the nation as memory is to the individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/for-history-is-to-the-nation-as-memory-is-to-the-individual/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [When I despair I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won there have been tyrants and murderers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-despair-i-remember-that-all-through-history-the-way-of-truth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Even if published in written form, history, it is argued, is not embedded as a memory at an individual level: it has to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-keene/even-if-published-in-written-form-history-it-is-argued-is-not/) [Suzanne Keene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-keene/) > [Our memory is made up of our individual memories and our collective memories. The two are intimately linked. And history is our collective memory.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/our-memory-is-made-up-of-our-individual-memories-and-our-collective/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The philosopher R. G. Collingwood once observed that the past as past was wholly unknowable. What was knowable was something different: the elements of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ceri-crossley/the-philosopher-r-g-collingwood-once-observed-that-the-past-as-past/) Ceri Crossley > [“Historical consciousness therefore leaves you, as does maturity itself, with a simultaneous sense of your own significance and insignificance. Like Friedrich's wanderer, you dominate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lewis-gaddis/historical-consciousness-therefore-leaves-you-as-does-maturity-itself/) [John Lewis Gaddis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lewis-gaddis/) > [If we don't have historical consciousness we can't really understand problems in all their dimensions, and if we can't understand problems than we can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/if-we-don-t-have-historical-consciousness-we-can-t-really-understand/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [Nothing is so retentive as a nation's memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-a-schumpeter/nothing-is-so-retentive-as-a-nation-s-memory/) [Joseph A. Schumpeter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-a-schumpeter/) > [“What? We feel aesthetic pleasure at a sonata by Beethoven and not at one with the same style and charm if it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/what-we-feel-aesthetic-pleasure-at-a-sonata-by-beethoven-and-not-at/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [A generation without history is a generation that not only loses a nation's memory but loses a sense of what it's like to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/a-generation-without-history-is-a-generation-that-not-only-loses-a/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [I don't think the British carry a historical consciousness either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-paulin/i-don-t-think-the-british-carry-a-historical-consciousness-either/) [Tom Paulin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-paulin/) > [But he has gone, A nation's memory and veneration, Among the radiant, ever venturing on, Somewhere, with morning, as such spirits will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/but-he-has-gone-a-nation-s-memory-and-veneration-among-the-radiant/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [ \[T\]he visibility of styles is itself a product of historical consciousness. ... The very notion of "style" needs to be approached historically. Awareness of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/t-he-visibility-of-styles-is-itself-a-product-of-historical/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [It was clear to me that the forms of consciousness of our inherited and acquired historical education - aesthetic consciousness and historical consciousness -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-georg-gadamer/it-was-clear-to-me-that-the-forms-of-consciousness-of-our-inherited/) [Hans-Georg Gadamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-georg-gadamer/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More American people quotes > [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/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-as-much-as-government-can-do-and-must-do-it-is-ultimately-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Given a choice between two bald political candidates, the American people will vote for the less bald of the two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-gold/given-a-choice-between-two-bald-political-candidates-the-american/) Victor Gold > [When the American people saw the LA riots and crowds of Blacks cheering O.J. Simpson (who was acquitted by the almost all Black jury),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duke/when-the-american-people-saw-the-la-riots-and-crowds-of-blacks/) [David Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duke/) > [In any event, it is one thing to assert, then or now, that the Iraq war was ill-advised. It is quite another to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-silberman/in-any-event-it-is-one-thing-to-assert-then-or-now-that-the-iraq-war/) [Laurence Silberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-silberman/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [I don't know a politician who enjoys fundraising. The system is such that the American people have lost faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/i-don-t-know-a-politician-who-enjoys-fundraising-the-system-is-such/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [Probably the greatest single obstacle to the progress and happiness of the American people lies in the willingness of so many men to invest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-rockefeller/probably-the-greatest-single-obstacle-to-the-progress-and-happiness/) [John D. Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-rockefeller/) > [If a financial institution has business operations in the United States, hires people in the United States, if they are clogged with illiquid assets,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/if-a-financial-institution-has-business-operations-in-the-united/) [Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/) > [The American people reject the idea of giving Washington a blank check to increase the debt limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-roby/the-american-people-reject-the-idea-of-giving-washington-a-blank/) [Martha Roby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-roby/) > [The coronavirus has yet again exposed the strong contrast between President Trump - who is working ardently for the American people - and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayleigh-mcenany/the-coronavirus-has-yet-again-exposed-the-strong-contrast-between/) [Kayleigh McEnany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kayleigh-mcenany/) > [The American people demand results, not rhetoric, especially when it comes to national security issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-hayworth/the-american-people-demand-results-not-rhetoric-especially-when-it/) [J. D. Hayworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-hayworth/) > [Hillary Clinton truly is sincere, but she has to connect more with the American people in terms of what she believes in and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/hillary-clinton-truly-is-sincere-but-she-has-to-connect-more-with-the/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [The American people are incredibly generous and even playful when you open yourself up and feed the media beast until it goes away satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krystal-ball/the-american-people-are-incredibly-generous-and-even-playful-when-you/) [Krystal Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krystal-ball/) [Browse all 2,233 American people quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This isn’t a matter for the eyes, it is a matter for the heart. 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