--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We still dislike hypocrites. It's a very…" description: "\"We still dislike hypocrites. It's a very American characteristic. We still like people who have ideas and who are willing to stand up for what they bel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/david-mccullough-1091_america_we-still-dislike-hypocrites-it-s-a-very_2456380.png" --- # We still dislike hypocrites. It's a very American… ![“We still dislike hypocrites. It's a very American characteristic. We still like people who have ideas and who are willing to stand up for what they believe in. We're very forgiving of failures and very willing to give people a second and third chance if they mean to do better and are sorry for…” quote by David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/david-mccullough-1091_america_we-still-dislike-hypocrites-it-s-a-very_2456380.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/david-mccullough-1091_america_we-still-dislike-hypocrites-it-s-a-very_2456380.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/david-mccullough-1091_america_we-still-dislike-hypocrites-it-s-a-very_2456380.png) > “We still dislike hypocrites. It's a very American characteristic. We still like people who have ideas and who are willing to stand up for what they believe in. We're very forgiving of failures and very willing to give people a second and third chance if they mean to do better and are sorry for what they've done.” [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. American culture values dissent and forgiveness, rewarding those who stand by convictions and seek redemption. **In simple terms:** We admire principled, forgiving Americans. Key Takeaway Encourage open dialogue and second chances. Themes American values forgiveness civic engagement redemption Mood inspirational optimistic Type historical civic When to use this quote - political debates - community activism - rehabilitation programs - leadership training Key Concepts Democratic ideals social cohesion personal growth Questions to Reflect On - How do we foster forgiveness without enabling repeat offenses? - What role does dissent play in progress? 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They talk about killing witches but the Good Book’s full of magic. Turning the Nile to blood and parting the Red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/those-old-hypocrites-they-talk-about-killing-witches-but-the-good/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [There has never been a truly selfless rebel, just hypocrites—conscious hypocrites or unconscious hypocrites, it’s all the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/there-has-never-been-a-truly-selfless-rebel-just-hypocrites-conscious/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [We, hijras, are not hypocrites. We live our sexuality openly, being truthful to our souls and our bodies. Science and doctors assigned something else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laxmi-narayan-tripathi/we-hijras-are-not-hypocrites-we-live-our-sexuality-openly-being/) [Laxmi Narayan Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laxmi-narayan-tripathi/) > [“Denouncer and Hypocrites — Blemishes of Humanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sino-melo/denouncer-and-hypocrites-blemishes-of-humanity/) [Sino Melo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sino-melo/) > [Islam will be destroyed by the mistakes of scholars, the arguments of the hypocrites who misinterpret the Qur’an to support their views and misleading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umar/islam-will-be-destroyed-by-the-mistakes-of-scholars-the-arguments-of/) [Umar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umar/) > [There is not one redeeming feature in our superstition of Christianity. It has made one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-not-one-redeeming-feature-in-our-superstition-of/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The next time someone tells you, "The Church is full of a bunch of hypocrites." You can respond, "You don't even know the half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/the-next-time-someone-tells-you-the-church-is-full-of-a-bunch-of/) [Kevin DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-deyoung/) > [A bunch of money-grubbin', greenhouse-gasing, seal-clubbing, oil-drilling, Bible-thumping, missile-firing, right-to-life-ing, lethal-injecting hypocrites. People whose idea of a good time is strapping a dead panda…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jeni/a-bunch-of-money-grubbin-greenhouse-gasing-seal-clubbing-oil-drilling/) [Richard Jeni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jeni/) > [We're all hypocrites. We all say one thing and do another. But why don't we try to do what we say more than what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kasich/we-re-all-hypocrites-we-all-say-one-thing-and-do-another-but-why-don/) [John Kasich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kasich/) > [Virtually all political discourse in the days of my youth was devoted to the ferreting out of hypocrisy... Because they were hypocrites, the Victorians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/virtually-all-political-discourse-in-the-days-of-my-youth-was-devoted/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Hypocrites do the devil's drudgery in Christ's livery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-mcconaughey/hypocrites-do-the-devil-s-drudgery-in-christ-s-livery/) [Matthew McConaughey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-mcconaughey/) > [They are hypocrites, they think the Church is a cage to keep God in, so he will stay locked up there and not go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/they-are-hypocrites-they-think-the-church-is-a-cage-to-keep-god-in-so/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Those who make use of devotion as a means and end generally are hypocrites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/those-who-make-use-of-devotion-as-a-means-and-end-generally-are/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“If you wear a mask for too long, there will come a time when you can not remove it without removing your face.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/if-you-wear-a-mask-for-too-long-there-will-come-a-time-when-you-can/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [Jesus condemned no one except hypocrites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kallistos-ware/jesus-condemned-no-one-except-hypocrites/) [Kallistos Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kallistos-ware/) ## More by David McCullough > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Steamboats by this time were becoming a familiar presence on the rivers and coastal waters of America, but not until 1838 did steam-powered ships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/steamboats-by-this-time-were-becoming-a-familiar-presence-on-the/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [I feel that history is in many ways the most important of all subjects because it is about everything and because it's about who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/i-feel-that-history-is-in-many-ways-the-most-important-of-all/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Even mighty states and kingdoms are not exempted. 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Its general color is dark gray, but the thorax is marked with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/seen-under-the-microscope-stegomyia-is-a-creature-of-striking-beauty/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) [Explore all 291 David McCullough quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) ## 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? 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