--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We criticize, copy, patronize, idolize…" description: "\"We criticize, copy, patronize, idolize and insult but we never doubt that the U.S. has a unique position in the history of human hopes.\" — Ferdinand Mount" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1b/ferdinand-mount-23911_america_we-criticize-copy-patronize-idolize-and_2597331.png" --- # We criticize, copy, patronize, idolize and insult but we… ![“We criticize, copy, patronize, idolize and insult but we never doubt that the U.S. has a unique position in the history of human hopes.” quote by Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1b/ferdinand-mount-23911_america_we-criticize-copy-patronize-idolize-and_2597331.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1b/ferdinand-mount-23911_america_we-criticize-copy-patronize-idolize-and_2597331.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1b/ferdinand-mount-23911_america_we-criticize-copy-patronize-idolize-and_2597331.png) > “We criticize, copy, patronize, idolize and insult but we never doubt that the U.S. has a unique position in the history of human hopes.” [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. America is praised and critiqued, yet its unique role in global hopes remains unquestioned. **In simple terms:** We admire and criticize the U.S., but its hopeful position persists. Key Takeaway Recognize both flaws and aspirations of a nation. Themes nationalism hope critique Mood critical optimistic Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy analysis - education - public debate Key Concepts political science history Questions to Reflect On - What makes a nation uniquely hopeful? - How do criticism and admiration coexist? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on uniqueness may ignore global interdependence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Comeback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comeback/) [Copies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copies/) [Criticize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticize/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Human Hopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-hopes-883374/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Idolize Insult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idolize-insult-1913878/) [Insult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insult/) [Insult Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insult-doubt-1913880/) [Patronize Idolize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patronize-idolize-1913879/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Unique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unique/) ## Related quotes > [The love of nature is the only love that does not deceive human hopes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/the-love-of-nature-is-the-only-love-that-does-not-deceive-human-hopes/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [...fact takes no heed of human hopes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fact-takes-no-heed-of-human-hopes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Human hopes and human creeds; have their root in human needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-fitch-ware/human-hopes-and-human-creeds-have-their-root-in-human-needs/) [Eugene Fitch Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-fitch-ware/) > [No place affords a more striking conviction of the vanity of human hopes than a public library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/no-place-affords-a-more-striking-conviction-of-the-vanity-of-human/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Never insult an alligator until after you have crossed the river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordell-hull/never-insult-an-alligator-until-after-you-have-crossed-the-river/) [Cordell Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordell-hull/) > [A brilliant 1989 album, Oh Mercy; some career retrospectives; and two albums of American folk songs, with just Bob Dylan and his guitar and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/a-brilliant-1989-album-oh-mercy-some-career-retrospectives-and-two/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [You may be in a tough time but that setback is simply a setup for a greater comeback.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/you-may-be-in-a-tough-time-but-that-setback-is-simply-a-setup-for-a/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I don't have any particular desire to see words making a comeback. They are of their era, after all, and that is their identity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/i-don-t-have-any-particular-desire-to-see-words-making-a-comeback/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [Some people don't like the 'comeback' because that suggests they went somewhere, which they didn't. That isn't what I mean. In my mind, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ralston-saul/some-people-don-t-like-the-comeback-because-that-suggests-they-went/) [John Ralston Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ralston-saul/) > [To be honest, my videos are for myself. I didn't look at social media as a vehicle for my comeback.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sameera-reddy/to-be-honest-my-videos-are-for-myself-i-didn-t-look-at-social-media/) [Sameera Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sameera-reddy/) > [Whether the issue was black political power or nuclear power, Scott-Heron didn't mince words. His comeback record, 'I'm New Here,' doesn't mince words either,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hermes/whether-the-issue-was-black-political-power-or-nuclear-power-scott/) [Will Hermes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hermes/) > [Cancer reminds me of a very bad but tenacious performer who, although no one wants to see, insists on doing an encore, having a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-harper/cancer-reminds-me-of-a-very-bad-but-tenacious-performer-who-although/) [Valerie Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-harper/) > [We have invented a new human right here - the right to return home after a war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/we-have-invented-a-new-human-right-here-the-right-to-return-home/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [I think it takes about a million words to make a writer. I mean that you're going to throw away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-pournelle/i-think-it-takes-about-a-million-words-to-make-a-writer-i-mean-that/) [Jerry Pournelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-pournelle/) > [I'm really thankful to God, man. Like now, I'm really making a real comeback with my group. With or without a record, with or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ike-turner/i-m-really-thankful-to-god-man-like-now-i-m-really-making-a-real/) [Ike Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ike-turner/) ## More by Ferdinand Mount > [For all its terrible faults, in one sense America is still the last, best hope of mankind, because it spells out so vividly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/for-all-its-terrible-faults-in-one-sense-america-is-still-the-last/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [We want a system that will improve consistency and steadiness in the quality of government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/we-want-a-system-that-will-improve-consistency-and-steadiness-in-the/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [It's true that I'm taking a break from writing a regular column to do other things but it's got nothing to do with what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/it-s-true-that-i-m-taking-a-break-from-writing-a-regular-column-to-do/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [America slept because most Americans preferred it that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/america-slept-because-most-americans-preferred-it-that-way/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [All the research shows that being married, with all its ups and downs, is by far the most effective way of making young men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/all-the-research-shows-that-being-married-with-all-its-ups-and-downs/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [The president is being denounced for not taking the kind of pre-emptive action in Afghanistan that he has been so passionately denounced for taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/the-president-is-being-denounced-for-not-taking-the-kind-of-pre/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [Something is happening to Britain and the British. Or has happened. We are said to be passing through a transition, or a turning point,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/something-is-happening-to-britain-and-the-british-or-has-happened-we/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [A majority in all parties do, I think, want to see local government recover its old vigour and independence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/a-majority-in-all-parties-do-i-think-want-to-see-local-government/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [Sexual relations, of course, have existed, exist, and will exist. However, this is in no way connected with the indispensability of the existence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/sexual-relations-of-course-have-existed-exist-and-will-exist-however/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [We are also further than ever from equality of opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/we-are-also-further-than-ever-from-equality-of-opportunity/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [In real terms, there is a greater disparity of earnings between the very rich and the very poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/in-real-terms-there-is-a-greater-disparity-of-earnings-between-the/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [According to Richard Clarke, the former White House counterterrorism chief, Bush was so obsessed with Iraq that he failed to take action against Osama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/according-to-richard-clarke-the-former-white-house-counterterrorism/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [If life was what you made of it, then it could not be made for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/if-life-was-what-you-made-of-it-then-it-could-not-be-made-for-you/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [Francis Wheen takes a hugely enjoyable sweep through the tangled thickets of superstition and gullibility in which modern man likes to ramble. He takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/francis-wheen-takes-a-hugely-enjoyable-sweep-through-the-tangled/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [Defenders of the status quo will argue that this system has served us well over the centuries, that our parliamentary traditions have combined stability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/defenders-of-the-status-quo-will-argue-that-this-system-has-served-us/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) [Explore all 25 Ferdinand Mount quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) ## 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": "We criticize, copy, patronize, idolize and insult but we never doubt that the U.S. has a unique position in the history of human hopes.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ferdinand Mount" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/we-criticize-copy-patronize-idolize-and-insult-but-we-never-doubt/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/we-criticize-copy-patronize-idolize-and-insult-but-we-never-doubt/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1b/ferdinand-mount-23911_america_we-criticize-copy-patronize-idolize-and_2597331.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1b/ferdinand-mount-23911_america_we-criticize-copy-patronize-idolize-and_2597331.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1b/ferdinand-mount-23911_america_we-criticize-copy-patronize-idolize-and_2597331.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We criticize, copy, patronize, idolize and insult but we never doubt that the U.S. has a unique position in…” — Ferdinand Mount", "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": "Ferdinand Mount", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We criticize, copy, patronize, idolize and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/we-criticize-copy-patronize-idolize-and-insult-but-we-never-doubt/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/we-criticize-copy-patronize-idolize-and-insult-but-we-never-doubt/#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 } } ] } ```