--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What the nation's built on is discussion…" description: "\"What the nation's built on is discussion, contradiction and growth, and at the moment you can't discuss anything. If you do start to discuss it, you ge..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/donald-sutherland-14225_built_what-the-nation-s-built-on-is-discussion_2059361.png" --- # What the nation's built on is discussion, contradiction… ![“What the nation's built on is discussion, contradiction and growth, and at the moment you can't discuss anything. If you do start to discuss it, you get criticized. If people hate us, you have to find out why and try to solve that problem.” quote by Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/donald-sutherland-14225_built_what-the-nation-s-built-on-is-discussion_2059361.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/donald-sutherland-14225_built_what-the-nation-s-built-on-is-discussion_2059361.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/donald-sutherland-14225_built_what-the-nation-s-built-on-is-discussion_2059361.png) > “What the nation's built on is discussion, contradiction and growth, and at the moment you can't discuss anything. If you do start to discuss it, you get criticized. If people hate us, you have to find out why and try to solve that problem.” [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society thrives on open debate, but current climate suppresses discussion, leading to criticism and missed opportunities for understanding. **In simple terms:** Open debate is blocked, causing criticism and ignored problems. Key Takeaway Encourage respectful dialogue to uncover root causes. Themes politics communication conflict Mood frustrated concerned Type political social When to use this quote - public forums - online debates - community meetings - policy discussions Key Concepts democracy social dynamics critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster safe spaces for dissent? - What incentives promote constructive criticism? A Different Perspective Criticism may silence voices and hinder progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [When 'The Thin Blue Line' came out, I was criticized by many people for using reenactments, as if I wasn't dedicated to the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/when-the-thin-blue-line-came-out-i-was-criticized-by-many-people-for/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [“being criticized by people you care about is almost always a part of exercising leadership.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-linsky/being-criticized-by-people-you-care-about-is-almost-always-a-part-of/) [Martin Linsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-linsky/) > [I was criticized by some people for my first album because they said I was taking sacred music. They knew nothing about what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-john/i-was-criticized-by-some-people-for-my-first-album-because-they-said/) [Dr. John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-john/) > [If you get criticized, good - I don't think people get criticized enough. People talk behind your back and they criticize you, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mckellen/if-you-get-criticized-good-i-don-t-think-people-get-criticized-enough/) [Ian Mckellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mckellen/) > [Our nation was built on chips and Spam fritters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-wallace/our-nation-was-built-on-chips-and-spam-fritters/) [Gregg Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-wallace/) > [A confident and forward-looking nation is built by confident and forward-looking young people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-nath-kovind/a-confident-and-forward-looking-nation-is-built-by-confident-and/) [Ram Nath Kovind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-nath-kovind/) > [“A nation built from the flames of another mustn't last long”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eir-ka-krogs-ter/a-nation-built-from-the-flames-of-another-mustn-t-last-long/) Eiríka Krogsæter > [“A nation built on ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident’ cannot long survive when its people are taught that no truth is self-evident…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brutus/a-nation-built-on-we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-cannot-long/) Brutus > [The nation is built upon the foundation of its homes and the home upon its families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/the-nation-is-built-upon-the-foundation-of-its-homes-and-the-home/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [A disciplined and morally upright nation is built by disciplined and morally upright institutions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-nath-kovind/a-disciplined-and-morally-upright-nation-is-built-by-disciplined-and/) [Ram Nath Kovind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-nath-kovind/) > [Our nation was built on the promise of equality and opportunity, and the Equality Act extends that promise to our extraordinary LGBTQ community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-phillips/our-nation-was-built-on-the-promise-of-equality-and-opportunity-and/) [Dean Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-phillips/) > [That is how our nation has been built - by a partnership between citizen and government, between individual and society, between a family and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-nath-kovind/that-is-how-our-nation-has-been-built-by-a-partnership-between/) [Ram Nath Kovind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-nath-kovind/) > [Our nation was built by pioneers - pioneers who accepted untold risks in pursuit of freedom, not by pioneers seeking offshore profits at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-strickland/our-nation-was-built-by-pioneers-pioneers-who-accepted-untold-risks/) [Ted Strickland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-strickland/) > [We are a nation founded as a rebuke to tyranny. A nation of revolutionaries who refused sovereign reign from afar. Hear me - we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/we-are-a-nation-founded-as-a-rebuke-to-tyranny-a-nation-of/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [Ours is a great nation, built upon both free enterprise and the free exercise of basic democratic rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-warnock/ours-is-a-great-nation-built-upon-both-free-enterprise-and-the-free/) [Raphael Warnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-warnock/) ## More by Donald Sutherland > [You have a little bit of talent, a certain amount of good fortune and a lot of hard work in pursuit of whatever truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/you-have-a-little-bit-of-talent-a-certain-amount-of-good-fortune-and/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [I come from Nova Scotia, and I'd never seen a theater or been inside of a theater. When I was 17, my dad asked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/i-come-from-nova-scotia-and-i-d-never-seen-a-theater-or-been-inside/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [Everything was my fault. I was so dumb. But if I hadn't made the mistakes I made, I wouldn't have met the wonderful woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/everything-was-my-fault-i-was-so-dumb-but-if-i-hadn-t-made-the/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [ I think we're \[me and my son\] different. He plans, organizes and intellectualizes more than I do. It wasn't until I worked with Federico… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/i-think-we-re-me-and-my-son-different-he-plans-organizes-and/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [One measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/one-measurement-is-worth-a-thousand-expert-opinions/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [But no, I love acting, it's a wonderful job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/but-no-i-love-acting-it-s-a-wonderful-job/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [When you look in the eyes of someone and that's what you look into, I knew him with my blood. It's not something you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/when-you-look-in-the-eyes-of-someone-and-that-s-what-you-look-into-i/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [I have no idea. I get involved because I think there's value in the project and because I love the character that is presented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/i-have-no-idea-i-get-involved-because-i-think-there-s-value-in-the/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [I was obsessed with not knowing what happened after you were dead. And I sat or kneeled for a whole day with my head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/i-was-obsessed-with-not-knowing-what-happened-after-you-were-dead-and/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [ It's a very serious endeavor for me \[to play in the same movie with my son\]. It's not for a lot of people. It… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/it-s-a-very-serious-endeavor-for-me-to-play-in-the-same-movie-with-my/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [I have been able to play a lot of guys and they have kept me working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/i-have-been-able-to-play-a-lot-of-guys-and-they-have-kept-me-working/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [No, I'm not rich. I had a tax problem in this country, curiously enough, and my accountant said the British government was patently wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/no-i-m-not-rich-i-had-a-tax-problem-in-this-country-curiously-enough/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [But even with no money you could still go to places like the Scotch Club and, you know, John Lennon might be sitting right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/but-even-with-no-money-you-could-still-go-to-places-like-the-scotch/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [To them though, not to us, we were just a catalyst for their imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/to-them-though-not-to-us-we-were-just-a-catalyst-for-their-imagination/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [I have never planned anything. I have been doing this job for over 50 years. I have been paid to work with some wonderful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/i-have-never-planned-anything-i-have-been-doing-this-job-for-over-50/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) [Explore all 47 Donald Sutherland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) ## More Built quotes > [It's really fun and challenging to build things that have never been built before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/it-s-really-fun-and-challenging-to-build-things-that-have-never-been/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) > [Astronomers have built telescopes which can show myriads of stars unseen before; but when a man looks through a tear in his own eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/astronomers-have-built-telescopes-which-can-show-myriads-of-stars/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [So I concentrated on the rhythmic side of things, and therefore left a lot of holes. I didn't want to use big pad chords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/midge-ure/so-i-concentrated-on-the-rhythmic-side-of-things-and-therefore-left-a/) [Midge Ure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/midge-ure/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [Most startups are not just built for the person who is using them. When you do that, every now and then you get really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmett-shear/most-startups-are-not-just-built-for-the-person-who-is-using-them/) [Emmett Shear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmett-shear/) > [Call me the rap assassinator / rhymes rugged and built like Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raekwon/call-me-the-rap-assassinator-rhymes-rugged-and-built-like/) [Raekwon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raekwon/) > [Do we make ourselves into what we become or is it built into our genes, into the fate spun for us by whatever shapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-bruchac/do-we-make-ourselves-into-what-we-become-or-is-it-built-into-our/) [Joseph Bruchac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-bruchac/) > [Democracy must be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. When there is debate, there are solutions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atifete-jahjaga/democracy-must-be-built-through-open-societies-that-share-information/) [Atifete Jahjaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atifete-jahjaga/) > [The dark ages still reign over all humanity, and the depth and persistence of this domination are only now becoming clear. This Dark Ages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/the-dark-ages-still-reign-over-all-humanity-and-the-depth-and/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [God and I have built an immense fire together. We keep each other happy and warm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hafez/god-and-i-have-built-an-immense-fire-together-we-keep-each-other/) [Hafez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hafez/) > [When we built Roomba, we explicitly designed it to not have a face. We didn't want to think it was cute; we wanted people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-angle/when-we-built-roomba-we-explicitly-designed-it-to-not-have-a-face-we/) [Colin Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-angle/) > [Winning a competition in architecture is a ticket to oblivion. It's just an idea. Ninety-nine per cent never get built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-libeskind/winning-a-competition-in-architecture-is-a-ticket-to-oblivion-it-s/) [Daniel Libeskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-libeskind/) > [Good churches are not built by bad men; at least, there must be probity and enthusiasm somewhere in the society. These minsters were neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/good-churches-are-not-built-by-bad-men-at-least-there-must-be-probity/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Mostly what I'm focused on is finding people who are younger who haven't built companies before but have a good idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hughes/mostly-what-i-m-focused-on-is-finding-people-who-are-younger-who/) [Chris Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hughes/) > [“Imagine what I could have done in ten years. I could have learned to speak Japanese. I could have played every RPG video game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/imagine-what-i-could-have-done-in-ten-years-i-could-have-learned-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 3,164 Built quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What the nation's built on is discussion, contradiction and growth, and at the moment you can't discuss anything. If you do start to discuss it, you get criticized. If people hate us, you have to find out why and try to solve that problem.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donald Sutherland" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/what-the-nation-s-built-on-is-discussion-contradiction-and-growth-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Built" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/what-the-nation-s-built-on-is-discussion-contradiction-and-growth-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/donald-sutherland-14225_built_what-the-nation-s-built-on-is-discussion_2059361.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/donald-sutherland-14225_built_what-the-nation-s-built-on-is-discussion_2059361.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/donald-sutherland-14225_built_what-the-nation-s-built-on-is-discussion_2059361.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What the nation's built on is discussion, contradiction and growth, and at the moment you can't discuss…” — Donald Sutherland", "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": "Donald Sutherland", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What the nation's built on is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/what-the-nation-s-built-on-is-discussion-contradiction-and-growth-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/what-the-nation-s-built-on-is-discussion-contradiction-and-growth-and/#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 } } ] } ```