--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It would be about as easy for an American…" description: "\"It would be about as easy for an American to become a Chinaman or a Hindoo as for him to acquire an Englishness or a Frenchness or a European-ness that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/094/ezra-pound-1208_acquire_it-would-be-about-as-easy-for-an-america_44336.png" --- # It would be about as easy for an American to become a… ![“It would be about as easy for an American to become a Chinaman or a Hindoo as for him to acquire an Englishness or a Frenchness or a European-ness that is more than half skin deep.” quote by Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/094/ezra-pound-1208_acquire_it-would-be-about-as-easy-for-an-america_44336.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/094/ezra-pound-1208_acquire_it-would-be-about-as-easy-for-an-america_44336.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/094/ezra-pound-1208_acquire_it-would-be-about-as-easy-for-an-america_44336.png) > “It would be about as easy for an American to become a Chinaman or a Hindoo as for him to acquire an Englishness or a Frenchness or a European-ness that is more than half skin deep.” [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) ## 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 argues that cultural identity cannot be superficially adopted; true belonging requires deep immersion beyond outward traits. **In simple terms:** Cultural identity resists shallow adoption. Key Takeaway Authentic identity demands depth. Themes cultural identity ess assimilation nationalism authenticity social perception Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type observation critique cultural commentary When to use this quote - immigrant experience - cross‑cultural work - travel abroad - colonial contexts Key Concepts identity formation cultural depth social belonging Practical Applications - cultural education programs - diversity training Questions to Reflect On - What defines genuine cultural belonging? - How does superficial adoption affect community cohesion? A Different Perspective Some argue that cultural exchange can be meaningful without full immersion, emphasizing shared values over skin‑deep traits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Skin deep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skin-deep/) ## Related quotes > [“If it was that easy, the American military would have figured it out years ago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-rankin/if-it-was-that-easy-the-american-military-would-have-figured-it-out/) [Christopher Rankin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-rankin/) > [I love stories that give me a perspective on how easy American life has become in the 21st century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-davis/i-love-stories-that-give-me-a-perspective-on-how-easy-american-life/) [Hope Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-davis/) > [MINSTREL, adj. Formerly a poet, singer or musician; now a nigger with a color less than skin deep and a humor more than flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/minstrel-adj-formerly-a-poet-singer-or-musician-now-a-nigger-with-a/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [One could dismiss the zombie trend as merely feeding a mass public that craves the strange and bizarre. Such an explanation would be only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-drezner/one-could-dismiss-the-zombie-trend-as-merely-feeding-a-mass-public/) Daniel Drezner > [“The human skin evolved in a natural electromagnetic radiation environment and is now in a very unnatural man-made one that is making many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-human-skin-evolved-in-a-natural-electromagnetic-radiation/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Beauty is skin deep, ugly is to the bone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/beauty-is-skin-deep-ugly-is-to-the-bone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She tried to remind herself that beauty was only skin deep, but that didn't offer any helpful excuses when she was berating herself for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/she-tried-to-remind-herself-that-beauty-was-only-skin-deep-but-that/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [I always say beauty is only skin deep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lopez/i-always-say-beauty-is-only-skin-deep/) [Jennifer Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lopez/) > [Beauty is only skin deep...Look on the inner side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/beauty-is-only-skin-deep-look-on-the-inner-side/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Beauty may only be skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/redd-foxx/beauty-may-only-be-skin-deep-but-ugly-goes-clear-to-the-bone/) [Redd Foxx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/redd-foxx/) > [Beauty is more than skin deep--in fact is found far below the surface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/beauty-is-more-than-skin-deep-in-fact-is-found-far-below-the-surface/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Beauty is only skin deep, and the world is full of thin skinned people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-armour/beauty-is-only-skin-deep-and-the-world-is-full-of-thin-skinned-people/) [Richard Armour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-armour/) > [Beauty comes from within because looks are only skin deep and they always change but a beautiful heart will stay the same until the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-s/beauty-comes-from-within-because-looks-are-only-skin-deep-and-they/) Scott S > [Beauty is only skin deep. What's really important is finding a balance of mind, body and spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lopez/beauty-is-only-skin-deep-what-s-really-important-is-finding-a-balance/) [Jennifer Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lopez/) > [“Beauty's only skin deep. Everybody has ugly days. We're all made of the same stuff underneath. Acting right is better than looking right. Realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-delany/beauty-s-only-skin-deep-everybody-has-ugly-days-we-re-all-made-of-the/) [Shannon Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-delany/) ## More by Ezra Pound > [“I once saw a small child go to an electric light switch as say, "Mamma, can I open the light?" She was using the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/i-once-saw-a-small-child-go-to-an-electric-light-switch-as-say-mamma/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Till now they send him dreams and no more deed; So doth he flame again with might for action, Forgetful of the council of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/till-now-they-send-him-dreams-and-no-more-deed-so-doth-he-flame-again/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [A great age of literature is perhaps always a great age of translations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/a-great-age-of-literature-is-perhaps-always-a-great-age-of/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Poets who are not interested in music are, or become, bad poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/poets-who-are-not-interested-in-music-are-or-become-bad-poets/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Anyone who is too lazy to master the comparatively small glossary necessary to understand Chaucer deserves to be shut out from the reading of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/anyone-who-is-too-lazy-to-master-the-comparatively-small-glossary/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Mass ought to be in Latin, unless you could do it in Greek or Chinese. In fact, any abracadabra that no bloody member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/mass-ought-to-be-in-latin-unless-you-could-do-it-in-greek-or-chinese/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [where the dead walked and the living were made of cardboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/where-the-dead-walked-and-the-living-were-made-of-cardboard/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Liberty is not a right but a duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/liberty-is-not-a-right-but-a-duty/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [The artist is always beginning. Any work of art which is not a beginning, an invention, a discovery is of little worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-artist-is-always-beginning-any-work-of-art-which-is-not-a/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Any general statement is like a cheque drawn on a bank. Its value depends on what is there to meet it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/any-general-statement-is-like-a-cheque-drawn-on-a-bank-its-value/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [The author's conviction on this day of New Year is that music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-author-s-conviction-on-this-day-of-new-year-is-that-music-begins/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [In case I conk out, this is provisionally what I have to do: I must clarify obscurities; I must make clearer definite ideas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/in-case-i-conk-out-this-is-provisionally-what-i-have-to-do-i-must/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Adolf Hitler was a Jeanne d'Arc, a saint. He was a martyr.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/adolf-hitler-was-a-jeanne-d-arc-a-saint-he-was-a-martyr/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [I could I trust starve like a gentleman. It's listed as part of the poetic training, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/i-could-i-trust-starve-like-a-gentleman-it-s-listed-as-part-of-the/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [I have never known anyone worth a damn who wasn't irascible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/i-have-never-known-anyone-worth-a-damn-who-wasn-t-irascible/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) [Explore all 273 Ezra Pound quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) ## More Acquire quotes > [Most people seek after what they do not possess and are enslaved by the very things they want to acquire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anwar-sadat/most-people-seek-after-what-they-do-not-possess-and-are-enslaved-by/) [Anwar Sadat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anwar-sadat/) > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Humility is an elusive virtue. The more we pursue it - and the more we seem to acquire it - the more we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-aquilina/humility-is-an-elusive-virtue-the-more-we-pursue-it-and-the-more-we/) [Mike Aquilina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-aquilina/) > [Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behavior accordingly. If your new behavior gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group then to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/acquire-worldly-wisdom-and-adjust-your-behavior-accordingly-if-your/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [This was Shakespeare's form ; Who walk'd in every path of human life, Felt every passion ; and to all mankind Doth now, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-akenside/this-was-shakespeare-s-form-who-walk-d-in-every-path-of-human-life/) [Mark Akenside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-akenside/) > [Wasn't Saddam destroyed? Wasn't Gaddafi liquidated? Didn't Milosevic go to the Hague? All true. But Stalin survived. Kim Jong-un isn't doing too badly, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/wasn-t-saddam-destroyed-wasn-t-gaddafi-liquidated-didn-t-milosevic-go/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [The best way for women to acquire knowledge is from conversation with a father, a brother, or a friend, in the way of family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/the-best-way-for-women-to-acquire-knowledge-is-from-conversation-with/) [Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/) > [Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would do anything, believe anything in order to acquire it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-heath/have-you-ever-wanted-something-so-badly-that-you-would-do-anything/) [Lorraine Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-heath/) > [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/) Peter Martins > [You can't know it all. No matter how smart you are, no matter how comprehensive your education, no matter how wide ranging your experience,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/you-can-t-know-it-all-no-matter-how-smart-you-are-no-matter-how/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [A better distribution of incomes would increase that efficiency by diverting a great fund of wealth from the useless to the useful members of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/a-better-distribution-of-incomes-would-increase-that-efficiency-by/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed. Thus they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/the-enemy-s-spies-who-have-come-to-spy-on-us-must-be-sought-out/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [In the late 1950s a major topic under discussion was whether Canada should acquire nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/in-the-late-1950s-a-major-topic-under-discussion-was-whether-canada/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [Shamanism is a path of knowledge, not of faith, and that knowledge cannot come from me or anyone else in this reality. To acquire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harner/shamanism-is-a-path-of-knowledge-not-of-faith-and-that-knowledge/) [Michael Harner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harner/) Browse all 1,020 Acquire quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It would be about as easy for an American to become a Chinaman or a Hindoo as for him to acquire an Englishness or a Frenchness or a European-ness that is more than half skin deep.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ezra Pound" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/it-would-be-about-as-easy-for-an-american-to-become-a-chinaman-or-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Acquire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/it-would-be-about-as-easy-for-an-american-to-become-a-chinaman-or-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/094/ezra-pound-1208_acquire_it-would-be-about-as-easy-for-an-america_44336.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/094/ezra-pound-1208_acquire_it-would-be-about-as-easy-for-an-america_44336.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/094/ezra-pound-1208_acquire_it-would-be-about-as-easy-for-an-america_44336.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It would be about as easy for an American to become a Chinaman or a Hindoo as for him to acquire an…” — Ezra Pound", "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": "Ezra Pound", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It would be about as easy...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/it-would-be-about-as-easy-for-an-american-to-become-a-chinaman-or-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/it-would-be-about-as-easy-for-an-american-to-become-a-chinaman-or-a/#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 } } ] } ```