--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We [Americans] have to get beyond the…" description: "\"We [Americans] have to get beyond the greed-run-amok. We have to get beyond indifference to the poor and working people. We have to get beyond polarize..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/cornel-west-708_americans_we-americans-have-to-get-beyond-the-gree_384791.jpg" --- # We \[Americans\] have to get beyond the greed-run-amok. We… ![“We [Americans] have to get beyond the greed-run-amok. We have to get beyond indifference to the poor and working people. We have to get beyond polarized politics.” quote by Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/cornel-west-708_americans_we-americans-have-to-get-beyond-the-gree_384791.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/cornel-west-708_americans_we-americans-have-to-get-beyond-the-gree_384791.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/cornel-west-708_americans_we-americans-have-to-get-beyond-the-gree_384791.jpg) > “We \[Americans\] have to get beyond the greed-run-amok. We have to get beyond indifference to the poor and working people. We have to get beyond polarized politics.” [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. America must move past greed, indifference, and polarization to support the poor and working class. **In simple terms:** Overcome greed, apathy, division. Key Takeaway Prioritize empathy and unity. Themes social equity political reform economic justice Mood urgent thoughtful Type philosophical advocacy When to use this quote - community service - policy reform - public discourse Key Concepts systemic inequality collective responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What actions can reduce greed in society? - How can we bridge political divides? A Different Perspective Change requires structural shifts, not just attitudes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans/) [Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) [Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Working people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-people/) ## Related quotes > [In a time of polarized politics there's one thing that more than ninety percent of Americans agree on, that our government is broken, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/in-a-time-of-polarized-politics-there-s-one-thing-that-more-than/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [Martin Luther King was not a Marxist or a communist, but his radical love leads him to put poor and working people at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/martin-luther-king-was-not-a-marxist-or-a-communist-but-his-radical/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The most important assets we have are our bodies and our energy which can be put to good use as resources in political activism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-most-important-assets-we-have-are-our-bodies-and-our-energy-which/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [There are different varieties and forms of capitalism. There are priorities within the capitalist society so that you can have countervailing forces come in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-are-different-varieties-and-forms-of-capitalism-there-are/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The condition of truth, is to allow suffering to speak. Which means attend to suffering of the least of these, of the orphan, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-condition-of-truth-is-to-allow-suffering-to-speak-which-means/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The problem is that affirmative action could never really get at the issue of corporate power in the workplace, and so you ended up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-problem-is-that-affirmative-action-could-never-really-get-at-the/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Martin Luther King would celebrate the symbolic status (of having a black president), but he would examine what the real substance was. And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/martin-luther-king-would-celebrate-the-symbolic-status-of-having-a/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [We want an economic team, Paul Krugman and Robert Kuttner, Joseph Steiglitz's people and others, who say, you know what? We're sophisticated economists but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/we-want-an-economic-team-paul-krugman-and-robert-kuttner-joseph/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Certainly Martin Luther King, in the mainstream perception of him, had a dream. Yes, he did. 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We've been through worse than this - working people been through worse than this.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-m-not-pessimistic-because-poor-people-tend-to-bounce-back-we-ve/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [We need to put strong Democratic pressure on President Obama in the name of poor and working people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/we-need-to-put-strong-democratic-pressure-on-president-obama-in-the/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I think Martin Luther King would always keep track of collective insurgencies among poor and working people. He was concerned about the treatment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-think-martin-luther-king-would-always-keep-track-of-collective/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [A neoliberal disaster is one who generates a mass incarceration regime, who deregulates banks and markets, who promotes chaos of regime change in Libya,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/a-neoliberal-disaster-is-one-who-generates-a-mass-incarceration/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## More by Cornel West > [There has certainly been ugly, right-wing hatred targeting Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-has-certainly-been-ugly-right-wing-hatred-targeting-barack-obama/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I feel as if I have been blessed to undergo a transformation from 'gangster' to 'redeemed sinner with gangster proclivities.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-feel-as-if-i-have-been-blessed-to-undergo-a-transformation-from/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“Like King, we need to put on our cemetery clothes and be coffin-ready for the next great democratic battle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/like-king-we-need-to-put-on-our-cemetery-clothes-and-be-coffin-ready/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [ “You can't really move forward until you look back. \[From Remaking America panel discussion at George Washington University\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-t-really-move-forward-until-you-look-back-from-remaking/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [When we think of globalization we are thinking in part of structures and institutions that have been developed over time and that have allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/when-we-think-of-globalization-we-are-thinking-in-part-of-structures/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The challenge artists face today is whether to be an underground, unheard genius, or to dilute their art for the marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-challenge-artists-face-today-is-whether-to-be-an-underground/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The need of black conservatives to gain the respect of their white peers deeply shapes certain elements of their conservatism. In this regard, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain-the-respect-of-their-white/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-describes-himself-as-a-poet-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I don't draw any distinctions between forms of bigotry or forms of ideology that lose sight of the humanity of people. I can't stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-don-t-draw-any-distinctions-between-forms-of-bigotry-or-forms-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Barack Obama has domesticated the left in such a way that we feel as if we have no alternative but him...I refuse to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/barack-obama-has-domesticated-the-left-in-such-a-way-that-we-feel-as/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Larry Summers, I think, he had a long history of arrogance and relative ignorance about poor people's culture and working people's culture and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/larry-summers-i-think-he-had-a-long-history-of-arrogance-and-relative/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-someone-is-the-gift-of-inspiration/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [You can see it in terms of the obsession on Wall Street with not just profits but greed, more profit, more profit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-see-it-in-terms-of-the-obsession-on-wall-street-with-not-just/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Anybody who takes Martin Luther King seriously has got to go beyond the standard understanding of who he was, has to connect those dots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/anybody-who-takes-martin-luther-king-seriously-has-got-to-go-beyond/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Explore all 400 Cornel West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## More Americans quotes > [“People – Americans, mostly – realise how attached they are to material comforts when they arrive in India.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-william-roberts/people-americans-mostly-realise-how-attached-they-are-to-material/) Paul William Roberts > [Music has an intrinsic value that touches Americans - they love their music, and want more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-rosen/music-has-an-intrinsic-value-that-touches-americans-they-love-their/) [Hilary Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-rosen/) > [Americans are very friendly and very suspicious, that is what Americans are and that is what always upsets the foreigner, who deals with them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/americans-are-very-friendly-and-very-suspicious-that-is-what/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [Just because the Americans are so good at rattling out accessible and cheap junk food, nobody looks twice when it comes to their food.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-oliver/just-because-the-americans-are-so-good-at-rattling-out-accessible-and/) [Jamie Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-oliver/) > [My parents don't care what Americans think of us; we just care what the other Indian people in our community think of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/himanshu-suri/my-parents-don-t-care-what-americans-think-of-us-we-just-care-what/) [Himanshu Suri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/himanshu-suri/) > [When Americans, who have no idea who I am, laugh at my jokes, it's exactly the same if someone loves you even if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gad-elmaleh/when-americans-who-have-no-idea-who-i-am-laugh-at-my-jokes-it-s/) [Gad Elmaleh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gad-elmaleh/) > [So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-americans-understand-the-costs-of-war-yet-as-a-country-we-will/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We Americans tend to be a prodigal lot. We are as careless with our personal resources as we are with the resources of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/we-americans-tend-to-be-a-prodigal-lot-we-are-as-careless-with-our/) [Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/) > [Americans will put up with anything provided it doesn't block traffic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/americans-will-put-up-with-anything-provided-it-doesn-t-block-traffic/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) > [Most Americans believe in fairness; we believe that people should work hard but there should be a safety net. 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You love this country. Together we are entrusted with the principles that represent mankind's greatest political and social achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/you-are-americans-you-love-this-country-together-we-are-entrusted/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) [Browse all 1,536 Americans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We [Americans] have to get beyond the greed-run-amok. We have to get beyond indifference to the poor and working people. 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