--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Here is a pragmatic and idealistic…" description: "\"Here is a pragmatic and idealistic suggestion, White America! When you see my kids on the playground, on the street, can you remember to smile at them ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/emily-raboteau-38044_angel_here-is-a-pragmatic-and-idealistic-sugge_2191907.jpg" --- # Here is a pragmatic and idealistic suggestion, White… ![“Here is a pragmatic and idealistic suggestion, White America! When you see my kids on the playground, on the street, can you remember to smile at them as you would smile at your own? Because believe me as your better angel already does they are every bit as lovable.” quote by Emily Raboteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/emily-raboteau-38044_angel_here-is-a-pragmatic-and-idealistic-sugge_2191907.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/emily-raboteau-38044_angel_here-is-a-pragmatic-and-idealistic-sugge_2191907.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/emily-raboteau-38044_angel_here-is-a-pragmatic-and-idealistic-sugge_2191907.jpg) > “Here is a pragmatic and idealistic suggestion, White America! When you see my kids on the playground, on the street, can you remember to smile at them as you would smile at your own? Because believe me as your better angel already does they are every bit as lovable.” [Emily Raboteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-raboteau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourages empathy and kindness toward all children, urging people to treat others as they would their own. **In simple terms:** Treat all kids with love and respect. Key Takeaway Show compassion to every child. Themes empathy kindness racial equality community parenting Mood hopeful inspirational gentle Type advice motivational When to use this quote - schools - neighborhoods - public spaces Key Concepts social responsibility human dignity inclusion Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster lasting empathy? - What barriers prevent equal treatment? A Different Perspective Assuming goodwill may overlook systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Angel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Pragmatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pragmatic/) ## Related quotes > [You know when someone's over-flattering you in a way. You smile but you can't believe it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-linney/you-know-when-someone-s-over-flattering-you-in-a-way-you-smile-but/) [Laura Linney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-linney/) > [Everything I’ve ever gotten in life is largely due to the fact that I was born in this country, America, at this time with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/everything-i-ve-ever-gotten-in-life-is-largely-due-to-the-fact-that-i/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [In America, kids would go to college and get out and buy a second-hand car and go across the country and discover America. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/in-america-kids-would-go-to-college-and-get-out-and-buy-a-second-hand/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [“Since neither black animosity nor the Left’s falsehood of “racial tensions” is based on the actual behavior of the vast majority of white Americans,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/since-neither-black-animosity-nor-the-left-s-falsehood-of-racial/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [My songs never really reach the ears of white America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jadakiss/my-songs-never-really-reach-the-ears-of-white-america/) [Jadakiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jadakiss/) > [We must have a government which is not only a guarantor of public order and safety and which preserves the right of White citizens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lincoln-rockwell/we-must-have-a-government-which-is-not-only-a-guarantor-of-public/) [George Lincoln Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lincoln-rockwell/) > [Death of a Salesman' is a brilliant taxonomy of the spiritual atrophy of mid-twentieth-century white America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/death-of-a-salesman-is-a-brilliant-taxonomy-of-the-spiritual-atrophy/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) > [“The argument is that Black History Month dwells too much on the downside of white America's relationship to its brothers of African heritage, slavery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/the-argument-is-that-black-history-month-dwells-too-much-on-the/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [Country music originates with the colloquial, rural aspects of white America. It's really, truly, rural white America's blues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-yoakam/country-music-originates-with-the-colloquial-rural-aspects-of-white/) [Dwight Yoakam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-yoakam/) > [Black America now has the power to achieve economic inclusion, which we rightfully deserve because we built this country. This is a conversation that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-allen/black-america-now-has-the-power-to-achieve-economic-inclusion-which/) [Byron Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-allen/) > [To be white in America is to assume, with total self-confidence and little afterthought, the personal ownership of public spaces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/to-be-white-in-america-is-to-assume-with-total-self-confidence-and/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [Ironically, white America will catapult books about race to the top of the best-seller list, even as racism remains a national open wound. Obsession…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marita-golden/ironically-white-america-will-catapult-books-about-race-to-the-top-of/) [Marita Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marita-golden/) > [Black Power can be clearly defined for those who do not attach the fears of white America to their questions about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/black-power-can-be-clearly-defined-for-those-who-do-not-attach-the/) [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) > [White America is tortured by black America's failure to thrive, and all that guilt and anxiety has only gotten worse as a substantial quota…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/white-america-is-tortured-by-black-america-s-failure-to-thrive-and/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [What White America and Black America wanted and expected from Obama were fundamentally different and opposite things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/what-white-america-and-black-america-wanted-and-expected-from-obama/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) ## More by Emily Raboteau > [I don't keep from despairing. I let myself despair. I just don't linger there for too long. There's too much to laugh about, two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-raboteau/i-don-t-keep-from-despairing-i-let-myself-despair-i-just-don-t-linger/) [Emily Raboteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-raboteau/) > [I felt saddened and confused to discover my favorite mural gone, but also hopeful that another one may be in the works. Street art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-raboteau/i-felt-saddened-and-confused-to-discover-my-favorite-mural-gone-but/) [Emily Raboteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-raboteau/) > [Your average white liberal might agree with social justice in principle, and yet live quite comfortably as a "winner" in a nation whose social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-raboteau/your-average-white-liberal-might-agree-with-social-justice-in/) [Emily Raboteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-raboteau/) > [Acknowledging the realities of structural and institutional racism is hard for conscionable white people. It might ask them to consider how they're personally implicated,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-raboteau/acknowledging-the-realities-of-structural-and-institutional-racism-is/) [Emily Raboteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-raboteau/) > [I think it's really crucial to leave our American context, not only for a sense of individual freedom, but also to make links to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-raboteau/i-think-it-s-really-crucial-to-leave-our-american-context-not-only/) [Emily Raboteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-raboteau/) > [I learned from James Baldwin that one can be a novelist, essayist, and activist, combined. That being critical of one's country is a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-raboteau/i-learned-from-james-baldwin-that-one-can-be-a-novelist-essayist-and/) [Emily Raboteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-raboteau/) > [I look at my kids, who were born under a Black president, who hop around the living room naked and joyful, mimicking Simone Biles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-raboteau/i-look-at-my-kids-who-were-born-under-a-black-president-who-hop/) [Emily Raboteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-raboteau/) > [“That mess about judging people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin—that's some bullshit. Nobody has the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-raboteau/that-mess-about-judging-people-by-the-content-of-their-character-and/) [Emily Raboteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-raboteau/) > [Nowadays we can sidestep traditional media with social media and technology that allows us to become citizen journalists, to fight against injustice by showing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-raboteau/nowadays-we-can-sidestep-traditional-media-with-social-media-and/) [Emily Raboteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-raboteau/) > [It matters when public officials admit that their hearts have changed, but only in the service of changing actual policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-raboteau/it-matters-when-public-officials-admit-that-their-hearts-have-changed/) [Emily Raboteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-raboteau/) > [I don't think of rejection as rejection, just a bad fit. Then I seek out other avenues of acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-raboteau/i-don-t-think-of-rejection-as-rejection-just-a-bad-fit-then-i-seek/) [Emily Raboteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-raboteau/) [Explore all 12 Emily Raboteau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-raboteau/) ## More Angel quotes > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [If I wer an angel,i would make all your wishes come true..but I'm only a girl a girl who loves you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nix/if-i-wer-an-angel-i-would-make-all-your-wishes-come-true-but-i-m-only/) [Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nix/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Behind my eyelids, I saw him dancing in spirals of coloured light, emerald, blue, and brilliant purple, enfolding him like the wings of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-hall/behind-my-eyelids-i-saw-him-dancing-in-spirals-of-coloured-light/) [Alexis Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-hall/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I don't think people will ever forget I was an 'Angel,' anymore than they'll forget Sally Field was 'The Flying Nun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-don-t-think-people-will-ever-forget-i-was-an-angel-anymore-than/) [Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/) > [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [I believe in UFOs, I believe in extraterrestrials, and I believe in angels. And maybe they'll protect all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/i-believe-in-ufos-i-believe-in-extraterrestrials-and-i-believe-in/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-selby-jr/sometimes-we-have-the-absolute-certainty-there-s-something-inside-us/) [Hubert Selby, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-selby-jr/) > [Flowers are the alphabet of angels, whereby they write on the hills and fields mysterious truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/flowers-are-the-alphabet-of-angels-whereby-they-write-on-the-hills/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [You should never feel lonely, neglected, fearful, or defeated when you remember that there are the shining ones. They are watching with keen interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flower-a-newhouse/you-should-never-feel-lonely-neglected-fearful-or-defeated-when-you/) [Flower A. Newhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flower-a-newhouse/) > [Hark the herald angels sing, 'Glory to the new-born king.' Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wesley/hark-the-herald-angels-sing-glory-to-the-new-born-king-peace-on-earth/) [Charles Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wesley/) > [Man was created a little lower than the angels and has been getting a little lower ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/man-was-created-a-little-lower-than-the-angels-and-has-been-getting-a/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Mooner was walking around laying his hands on the cars, divining karma. "this is it", he said, standing by a small khaki-colored jeep."this car…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/mooner-was-walking-around-laying-his-hands-on-the-cars-divining-karma/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) [Browse all 4,625 Angel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Here is a pragmatic and idealistic suggestion, White America! When you see my kids on the playground, on the street, can you remember to smile at them as you would smile at your own? 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