--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Still, it is not perverse to wonder…" description: "\"Still, it is not perverse to wonder whether the spectacle of America, currently learning a lesson - one that conservatives should not have to learn on ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/george-will-1177_america_still-it-is-not-perverse-to-wonder-wheth_3136903.jpg" --- # Still, it is not perverse to wonder whether the spectacle… ![“Still, it is not perverse to wonder whether the spectacle of America, currently learning a lesson - one that conservatives should not have to learn on the job - about the limits of power to subdue an unruly world, has emboldened many enemies.” quote by George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/george-will-1177_america_still-it-is-not-perverse-to-wonder-wheth_3136903.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/george-will-1177_america_still-it-is-not-perverse-to-wonder-wheth_3136903.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/george-will-1177_america_still-it-is-not-perverse-to-wonder-wheth_3136903.jpg) > “Still, it is not perverse to wonder whether the spectacle of America, currently learning a lesson - one that conservatives should not have to learn on the job - about the limits of power to subdue an unruly world, has emboldened many enemies.” [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author suggests that America’s struggle with power limits may be teaching conservatives a hard lesson, potentially encouraging adversaries. **In simple terms:** America’s power limits teach conservatives, possibly emboldening foes. Key Takeaway Recognize lessons from power limits and act wisely. Themes politics power learning adversaries Mood cautious reflective Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - policy debates - international relations - leadership training Key Concepts democracy leadership geopolitics Questions to Reflect On - How do power limits shape national strategy? - What can be done to prevent enemies from exploiting perceived weakness? A Different Perspective Some may argue power limits are inevitable and not a lesson. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Conservatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatives/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Learning lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning-lessons/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Change is God's way of congratulating us for learning a lesson, and he is helping us move on to achieve another. Never fear change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/change-is-god-s-way-of-congratulating-us-for-learning-a-lesson-and-he/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [It definitely has learning a lesson about the way you're living your life. I wouldn't compare our movie to that, but it has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-sandler/it-definitely-has-learning-a-lesson-about-the-way-you-re-living-your/) [Adam Sandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-sandler/) > [“My dad should have listened to me when I told him that college was not my thing. Instead, he insisted on learning a $200,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babe-walker/my-dad-should-have-listened-to-me-when-i-told-him-that-college-was/) [Babe Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babe-walker/) > [ These \[conservative\] people, if they're Americans, look back on the last 35 years of our ecclesial experience and take heart from that. The dramatic… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-weigel/these-conservative-people-if-they-re-americans-look-back-on-the-last/) [George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-weigel/) > [ \[To the mother of two unruly children in a restaurant after the woman said she really didn't know what to do with her children:\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-crawford/to-the-mother-of-two-unruly-children-in-a-restaurant-after-the-woman/) [Joan Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-crawford/) > [The infinite in mathematics is always unruly unless it is properly treated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kasner/the-infinite-in-mathematics-is-always-unruly-unless-it-is-properly/) [Edward Kasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kasner/) > [Sheep are not the docile, pleasant creatures of the pastoral idyll. Any countryman will tell you that. They are sly, occasionally vicious, pathologically stupid.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/sheep-are-not-the-docile-pleasant-creatures-of-the-pastoral-idyll-any/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [What makes authentic disciples is not visions, ecstasies, biblical mastery of chapter and verse, or spectacular success in the ministry, but a capacity for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/what-makes-authentic-disciples-is-not-visions-ecstasies-biblical/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [“Smartass Disciple: Master, why do some people so stubborn and unruly ? Master of Stupidity: Only when you want them do according to your wish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/smartass-disciple-master-why-do-some-people-so-stubborn-and-unruly/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [People always ask my mom what I did as a kid. My mom says, "He wasn't a bad kid. He was never an unruly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-the-cable-guy/people-always-ask-my-mom-what-i-did-as-a-kid-my-mom-says-he-wasn-t-a/) [Larry the Cable Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-the-cable-guy/) > [Busy old fool, unruly Sophie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-wynne-jones/busy-old-fool-unruly-sophie/) [Diana Wynne Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-wynne-jones/) > [The mother of three notoriously unruly youngsters was asked whether or not she'd have children if she had it to do over again. 'Yes',…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finkelstein/the-mother-of-three-notoriously-unruly-youngsters-was-asked-whether/) David Finkelstein > [But while capitalism may be a convenient scapegoat, it did not cause any of these problems. Indeed, whatever one wishes to call the unruly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaron-brook/but-while-capitalism-may-be-a-convenient-scapegoat-it-did-not-cause/) [Yaron Brook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaron-brook/) > [We shop out of boredom, for release, for excitement, for a sense of achievement, for a sense of control over our unruly existences. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/we-shop-out-of-boredom-for-release-for-excitement-for-a-sense-of/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [“She felt wild and unruly, determined and free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stabile/she-felt-wild-and-unruly-determined-and-free/) [Scott Stabile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stabile/) ## More by George Will > [The average American expends more time becoming informed about choosing a car than choosing a candidate. But, then, the consequences of the former choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-average-american-expends-more-time-becoming-informed-about/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Pettiness is the tendency of people without large purposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/pettiness-is-the-tendency-of-people-without-large-purposes/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [A politician's words reveal less about what he thinks about his subject than what he thinks about his audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/a-politician-s-words-reveal-less-about-what-he-thinks-about-his/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [As has been said, standards are always out of date - that is why we call them standards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/as-has-been-said-standards-are-always-out-of-date-that-is-why-we-call/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Hart is still like that little tub of vaguely milklike gunk that comes with airline coffee. It is labeled a "nondairy" product. Fine: we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/hart-is-still-like-that-little-tub-of-vaguely-milklike-gunk-that/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [The realistic way to reduce the amount of money in politics is to reduce the amount of politics in money -- the importance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-realistic-way-to-reduce-the-amount-of-money-in-politics-is-to/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [It is important that Miers not be confirmed unless, in her 61st year, she suddenly and unexpectedly is found to have hitherto undisclosed interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/it-is-important-that-miers-not-be-confirmed-unless-in-her-61st-year/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Greek philosophers considered sport a religious and civic-in a word, moral-undertaking. Sport, they said, is morally serious because mankind's noblest aim is the loving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/greek-philosophers-considered-sport-a-religious-and-civic-in-a-word/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [The cultivation - even celebration - of victimhood by intellectuals, tort lawyers, politicians and the media is both cause and effect of today's culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-cultivation-even-celebration-of-victimhood-by-intellectuals-tort/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [When I'm in my car, I'm listening to books, audio books, always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/when-i-m-in-my-car-i-m-listening-to-books-audio-books-always/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Just as the common law derives from ancient precedents - judges' decisions - rather than statutes, baseball's codes are the game's distilled mores. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/just-as-the-common-law-derives-from-ancient-precedents-judges/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [“Football combines two of the worst things in American life. It is violence punctuated by committee meetings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/football-combines-two-of-the-worst-things-in-american-life-it-is/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [I've lived in Washington now for 44 years, and that's a lot of folly to witness up close. Whatever confidence and optimism I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/i-ve-lived-in-washington-now-for-44-years-and-that-s-a-lot-of-folly/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [The business of America is not business. Neither is it war. The business of america is justice and securing the blessings of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-business-of-america-is-not-business-neither-is-it-war-the/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Freedom is not only the absence of external restraints. It is also the absence of irresistible internal compulsions, unmanageable passion, and uncensorable highlights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/freedom-is-not-only-the-absence-of-external-restraints-it-is-also-the/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) [Explore all 279 George Will quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) ## 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": "Still, it is not perverse to wonder whether the spectacle of America, currently learning a lesson - one that conservatives should not have to learn on the job - about the limits of power to subdue an unruly world, has emboldened many enemies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Will" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/still-it-is-not-perverse-to-wonder-whether-the-spectacle-of-america/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/still-it-is-not-perverse-to-wonder-whether-the-spectacle-of-america/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/george-will-1177_america_still-it-is-not-perverse-to-wonder-wheth_3136903.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/george-will-1177_america_still-it-is-not-perverse-to-wonder-wheth_3136903.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/george-will-1177_america_still-it-is-not-perverse-to-wonder-wheth_3136903.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Still, it is not perverse to wonder whether the spectacle of America, currently learning a lesson - one that…” — George Will", "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": "George Will", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Still, it is not perverse to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/still-it-is-not-perverse-to-wonder-whether-the-spectacle-of-america/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/still-it-is-not-perverse-to-wonder-whether-the-spectacle-of-america/#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 } } ] } ```