--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every country has a founding mythology…" description: "\"Every country has a founding mythology. For Americans, it starts with our first president's youthful encounter with a cherry tree and refusal to tell a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/antony-blinken-6122_america_every-country-has-a-founding-mythology-f_2303294.jpg" --- # Every country has a founding mythology. For Americans, it… ![“Every country has a founding mythology. For Americans, it starts with our first president's youthful encounter with a cherry tree and refusal to tell a lie. Mr. Trump would do well to find inspiration in that story, which goes to the heart of what makes America different - and our foreign policy…” quote by Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/antony-blinken-6122_america_every-country-has-a-founding-mythology-f_2303294.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/antony-blinken-6122_america_every-country-has-a-founding-mythology-f_2303294.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/antony-blinken-6122_america_every-country-has-a-founding-mythology-f_2303294.jpg) > “Every country has a founding mythology. For Americans, it starts with our first president's youthful encounter with a cherry tree and refusal to tell a lie. Mr. Trump would do well to find inspiration in that story, which goes to the heart of what makes America different - and our foreign policy effective - around the world.” [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) ## 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 suggests that national identity is shaped by founding myths, using the cherry‑tree story as a symbol of American honesty and its influence on foreign policy. **In simple terms:** National myths shape identity and policy. Key Takeaway Recognize and learn from foundational stories. Themes identity myth foreign policy honesty leadership Mood reflective critical Type political historical When to use this quote - Political speeches - educational curricula - public diplomacy - media commentary Key Concepts American exceptionalism symbolic narrative soft power Questions to Reflect On - How do founding myths influence current policy? - What alternative narratives could broaden understanding? A Different Perspective Myths can oversimplify complex histories and exclude other perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-different-392647/) [Around the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/around-the-world/) [Country Founding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country-founding-1954683/) [Find](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/find/) [Founding Mythology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/founding-mythology-5449590/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lie/) [Mythology Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mythology-americans-5449591/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Trump Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump-inspiration-5314786/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I credit President Trump for being my inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-stanton-king/i-credit-president-trump-for-being-my-inspiration/) [Angela Stanton-King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-stanton-king/) > [Yeah, this country's founding fathers are a bunch of dead rich white men, but they did set things up so you could come and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-miller/yeah-this-country-s-founding-fathers-are-a-bunch-of-dead-rich-white/) [Dennis Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-miller/) > [You want to reclaim your country? 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So there's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/one-of-the-main-reasons-that-the-landscape-of-financial-stuff-in/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [Anyone who watches a lot of television, or listens to pop music, is familiar with a certain vision of America. If not exactly colorblind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/anyone-who-watches-a-lot-of-television-or-listens-to-pop-music-is/) [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) > [America was founded by religious people; devout people who came here because they wanted freedom of religion, It's what made America different from every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/america-was-founded-by-religious-people-devout-people-who-came-here/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [If a new president personalizes a rather different concept of America and a different sense of America's mission in the world than has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/if-a-new-president-personalizes-a-rather-different-concept-of-america/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [“When the American Spirit was in its youth, the language of America was different; Liberty, sir, was then the primary object.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-henry/when-the-american-spirit-was-in-its-youth-the-language-of-america-was/) [Patrick Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-henry/) > [The spirit of the West, of America, is different than the East. The cultural conditioning is very different. It seems to be harder for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-spirit-of-the-west-of-america-is-different-than-the-east-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by Antony Blinken > [The late 1990s were really a moment of still tremendous hope and optimism about the relationship between Russia and the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/the-late-1990s-were-really-a-moment-of-still-tremendous-hope-and/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [Pyongyang possesses thousands of artillery pieces 30 miles from Seoul. Just one retaliatory salvo could decimate South Korea's capital.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/pyongyang-possesses-thousands-of-artillery-pieces-30-miles-from-seoul/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [President Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize.' It is hard to imagine anyone other than Mr. Trump expressing that sentiment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/president-trump-should-win-the-nobel-peace-prize-it-is-hard-to/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [Day by day, we are meant to continue the work of building a nation that better reflects the values, honors the diversity, and lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/day-by-day-we-are-meant-to-continue-the-work-of-building-a-nation/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [It's hard to overstate the lasting harm Mr. Tillerson's tenure will do to America's diplomacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/it-s-hard-to-overstate-the-lasting-harm-mr-tillerson-s-tenure-will-do/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [When we're in the business of picking fights with our allies instead of working with them, that takes away from our strength in dealing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/when-we-re-in-the-business-of-picking-fights-with-our-allies-instead/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [As Vietnam increasingly opens its doors, it will reap the rewards of progress for its people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/as-vietnam-increasingly-opens-its-doors-it-will-reap-the-rewards-of/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [The liberal order led by the United States favored an open world connected by the free flow of people, goods, ideas and capital, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/the-liberal-order-led-by-the-united-states-favored-an-open-world/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [Without Madeleine Albright, our community of democracies might be smaller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/without-madeleine-albright-our-community-of-democracies-might-be/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [We deal, unfortunately, every single day with leaders of countries who are responsible for actions we find either objectionable or abhorrent, whether it's Vladimir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/we-deal-unfortunately-every-single-day-with-leaders-of-countries-who/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [The National Security Act of 1947 - which established the National Security Council - laid the foundation for a deliberate, multitiered process, managed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/the-national-security-act-of-1947-which-established-the-national/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [In the end, North Korea's conduct may change only when its leadership does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/in-the-end-north-korea-s-conduct-may-change-only-when-its-leadership/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [The contributions of refugees to the diverse mosaic of our nation are undeniable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/the-contributions-of-refugees-to-the-diverse-mosaic-of-our-nation-are/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [President Donald J. Trump was right to strike at the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for using a weapon of mass destruction, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/president-donald-j-trump-was-right-to-strike-at-the-regime-of-syrian/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [It's true that no policy fully survives first contact. 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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. 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