--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: America is not an ethnostate. We are not…" description: "\"America is not an ethnostate. We are not rooted in blood and soil.\" — Daniel Fried" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/daniel-fried-8925_america_america-is-not-an-ethnostate-we-are-not_1452211.jpg" --- # America is not an ethnostate. We are not rooted in blood… ![“America is not an ethnostate. We are not rooted in blood and soil.” quote by Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/daniel-fried-8925_america_america-is-not-an-ethnostate-we-are-not_1452211.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/daniel-fried-8925_america_america-is-not-an-ethnostate-we-are-not_1452211.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/daniel-fried-8925_america_america-is-not-an-ethnostate-we-are-not_1452211.jpg) > “America is not an ethnostate. We are not rooted in blood and soil.” [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) ## 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 asserts that America is not defined by ethnicity or bloodlines, but by other principles. **In simple terms:** America isn’t an ethnic state. Key Takeaway Recognize inclusive identity. Themes national identity ethnicity inclusion Mood reflective serious Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy debates - education curricula - public discourse Key Concepts civic values immigration social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect immigration policy? - What alternative identities exist? A Different Perspective May overlook historical complexities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ## Related quotes > [It's rooted in my blood to consume you and be consumed by you. To protect you. To please you, in every way. To make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/it-s-rooted-in-my-blood-to-consume-you-and-be-consumed-by-you-to/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [“The human story is one of continual branching movement, out of Africa to every corner of the globe. When people talk of blood and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolina-de-robertis/the-human-story-is-one-of-continual-branching-movement-out-of-africa/) [Carolina De Robertis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolina-de-robertis/) > [I love, cherish, and respect women in my mind, in my heart, and in my soul. This love of women is the soil in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/i-love-cherish-and-respect-women-in-my-mind-in-my-heart-and-in-my/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [If your faith isn't rooted in the Bible, it will wither like a plant pulled out of the soil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/if-your-faith-isn-t-rooted-in-the-bible-it-will-wither-like-a-plant/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Here is a tree rooted in African soil, nourished with waters from the rivers of Afrika. Come and sit under its shade and become,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sobukwe/here-is-a-tree-rooted-in-african-soil-nourished-with-waters-from-the/) Robert Sobukwe > [Private property creates for the individual a sphere in which he is free of the state. It sets limits to the operation of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/private-property-creates-for-the-individual-a-sphere-in-which-he-is/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Let us depart! the universal sun Confines not to one land his blessed beams; Nor is man rooted, like a tree, whose seed, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/let-us-depart-the-universal-sun-confines-not-to-one-land-his-blessed/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [There rise authors now and then, who seem proof against the mutability of language, because they have rooted themselves in the unchanging principles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/there-rise-authors-now-and-then-who-seem-proof-against-the-mutability/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Lo! sweeten'd with the summer light, The full-juiced apple, waxing over-mellow, Drops in a silent autumn night. All its allotted length of days The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/lo-sweeten-d-with-the-summer-light-the-full-juiced-apple-waxing-over/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I take great pleasure, every day, in seeing my work deeply rooted in our native soil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/i-take-great-pleasure-every-day-in-seeing-my-work-deeply-rooted-in/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [America's grand strategy did not come from nowhere. It followed from our deeper conception of ourselves, and our American identity. Who are we, Americans?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/america-s-grand-strategy-did-not-come-from-nowhere-it-followed-from/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) > [If you abide in the love of Christ, rooted in the faith, you will encounter, even amid setbacks and suffering, the source of true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/if-you-abide-in-the-love-of-christ-rooted-in-the-faith-you-will/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Everything, every part that you approach has to be somehow rooted in yourself. You have to somehow root everything so that it's not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-dench/everything-every-part-that-you-approach-has-to-be-somehow-rooted-in/) [Judi Dench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-dench/) > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## More by Daniel Fried > [We're a little bit low in the 1970s, right, post-Vietnam, Watergate era, malaise, all that, but this is more like the 1930s where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/we-re-a-little-bit-low-in-the-1970s-right-post-vietnam-watergate-era/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) > [I think, Russia is pushing against the West in general, not just the United States but the institutions of the West, the key governments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/i-think-russia-is-pushing-against-the-west-in-general-not-just-the/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) > [ \[Russians\] want to bring us down to make them feel better about the failure of the Soviet Union. I don't mean bring us down… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/russians-want-to-bring-us-down-to-make-them-feel-better-about-the/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) > [It was my honor to have done what I could do to help. I learned to never underestimate the possibility of change, that values…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/it-was-my-honor-to-have-done-what-i-could-do-to-help-i-learned-to/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) > [I think that Hillary Clinton has an appreciation that American power needs to be put in the service of American values, which is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/i-think-that-hillary-clinton-has-an-appreciation-that-american-power/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) > [The West in its modern form since 1945 is a miracle, and that's in our American interests. It's its good that the West is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/the-west-in-its-modern-form-since-1945-is-a-miracle-and-that-s-in-our/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) > [Nothing can be taken for granted and this great achievement is now under assault by Russia. But what we did in my time is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/nothing-can-be-taken-for-granted-and-this-great-achievement-is-now/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) > [Two World Wars are sufficient and we are the ones who supported this notion of a united Europe, so there would never be another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/two-world-wars-are-sufficient-and-we-are-the-ones-who-supported-this/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) > [George W. Bush tried working with the Russians after 9/11; Obama had the reset. Both presidents achieved less than they wanted, but they both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/george-w-bush-tried-working-with-the-russians-after-9-11-obama-had/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) > [I am not one of these people that believes that Russia is doomed, or somehow, you know, inevitably disposed to act according to its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/i-am-not-one-of-these-people-that-believes-that-russia-is-doomed-or/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) > [I think that President George W. Bush was ahead of most of his government, in realizing that Putin was not the person we thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/i-think-that-president-george-w-bush-was-ahead-of-most-of-his/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) > [ In my view, \[Vladimir\] Putin despises the West in general and the United States in particular, both for who we are, our liberal values,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/in-my-view-vladimir-putin-despises-the-west-in-general-and-the-united/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) > [ \[Russians would like to\] undermine the West and its institutions, create doubts about NATO, create doubts about the European Union, support nationalists on the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/russians-would-like-to-undermine-the-west-and-its-institutions-create/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) > [Republicans - Reagan but also George W. Bush - believed in freedom, and they believed in America's role. To have the governing party speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/republicans-reagan-but-also-george-w-bush-believed-in-freedom-and/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) > [At least in my country, we have come to accept the flags burning, but what we cannot accept is violence, burning of embassies and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/at-least-in-my-country-we-have-come-to-accept-the-flags-burning-but/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) [Explore all 77 Daniel Fried quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) ## 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": "America is not an ethnostate. We are not rooted in blood and soil.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Daniel Fried" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/america-is-not-an-ethnostate-we-are-not-rooted-in-blood-and-soil/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/america-is-not-an-ethnostate-we-are-not-rooted-in-blood-and-soil/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/daniel-fried-8925_america_america-is-not-an-ethnostate-we-are-not_1452211.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/daniel-fried-8925_america_america-is-not-an-ethnostate-we-are-not_1452211.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/daniel-fried-8925_america_america-is-not-an-ethnostate-we-are-not_1452211.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“America is not an ethnostate. We are not rooted in blood and soil.” — Daniel Fried", "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": "Daniel Fried", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "America is not an ethnostate. We...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/america-is-not-an-ethnostate-we-are-not-rooted-in-blood-and-soil/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/america-is-not-an-ethnostate-we-are-not-rooted-in-blood-and-soil/#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 } } ] } ```