--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The immediate present belongs to the…" description: "\"The immediate present belongs to the extremists, but the future belongs to the moderates.\" — Helen Suzman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/718/helen-suzman-24413_extremism_the-immediate-present-belongs-to-the-ext_1523575.png" --- # The immediate present belongs to the extremists, but the… ![“The immediate present belongs to the extremists, but the future belongs to the moderates.” quote by Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/718/helen-suzman-24413_extremism_the-immediate-present-belongs-to-the-ext_1523575.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/718/helen-suzman-24413_extremism_the-immediate-present-belongs-to-the-ext_1523575.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/718/helen-suzman-24413_extremism_the-immediate-present-belongs-to-the-ext_1523575.png) > “The immediate present belongs to the extremists, but the future belongs to the moderates.” [Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Extremists dominate current events, but moderate voices shape long‑term outcomes. **In simple terms:** Moderates influence the future more than extremists. Key Takeaway Support moderate perspectives. Themes politics social change future planning Mood analytical hopeful Type political strategic When to use this quote - policy debates - grassroots movements - election campaigns Key Concepts moderation extremism long‑term impact Questions to Reflect On - What strategies empower moderates today? - How can extremes be constructively addressed? A Different Perspective Extremist actions can force urgent change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Extremism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremism/) [Extremist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremist/) [Extremists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremists/) [Moderation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moderation/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [If we are extremists, then we are not ashamed of it, for the conditions that our people suffer are extreme, and extreme illness can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/if-we-are-extremists-then-we-are-not-ashamed-of-it-for-the-conditions/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“We live in a time when moderates are treated worse than extremists, being punished as if they were more fanatical than the actual fanatics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-live-in-a-time-when-moderates-are-treated-worse-than-extremists/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Kill extremists and more extremists will appear. Kill Extremist Ideology and extremism will disappear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mouloud-benzadi/kill-extremists-and-more-extremists-will-appear-kill-extremist/) [Mouloud Benzadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mouloud-benzadi/) > [Listen to the extremists - changes come from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-peterson/listen-to-the-extremists-changes-come-from-them/) [Esther Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-peterson/) > [We have to understand how the extremists got the way they are. Without that kind of understanding, we'd never really get to know them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/we-have-to-understand-how-the-extremists-got-the-way-they-are-without/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [Americans have called on moderates in Muslim countries to speak out against extremists, to stand up for the tolerance they say they believe in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/americans-have-called-on-moderates-in-muslim-countries-to-speak-out/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [“The question is not if we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. The nation and the world are in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-question-is-not-if-we-will-be-extremists-but-what-kind-of/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“Extremists and their supports cause you to align yourself with something you're not in order to get as far away as possible from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/extremists-and-their-supports-cause-you-to-align-yourself-with/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [Will we be extremists for hate, or will we be extremists for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice, or will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/will-we-be-extremists-for-hate-or-will-we-be-extremists-for-love-will/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“A true fanatic, his promptings were reasons enough for his actions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-howard/a-true-fanatic-his-promptings-were-reasons-enough-for-his-actions/) [Robert E. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-howard/) > [A 2014 survey found that 74% of law-enforcement agencies reported antigovernment extremism as one of the top terrorist threats. Just 3% of those agencies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibrahim-hooper/a-2014-survey-found-that-74-of-law-enforcement-agencies-reported/) [Ibrahim Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibrahim-hooper/) > [What you have to be concerned about are the extremists. On the whole, we need to understand the more moderate Muslims before they become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/what-you-have-to-be-concerned-about-are-the-extremists-on-the-whole/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-extremists-but-what-kind-of/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“Extremism' certainly sounds bad, and governments often try to make it sound worse by using the word 'terrorism' in the same sentence. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/extremism-certainly-sounds-bad-and-governments-often-try-to-make-it/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [Only if you empower the liberals, if you empower the moderate socialists, if you empower all factions of society, only then will extremists be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/only-if-you-empower-the-liberals-if-you-empower-the-moderate/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) ## More by Helen Suzman > [That's my life in there. It would never be possible today to ask as many questions as I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/that-s-my-life-in-there-it-would-never-be-possible-today-to-ask-as/) [Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) > [Tool of Communist agitators... it's really a joke, isn't it? Because, quite clearly, we are a party of real moderates. It just shows how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/tool-of-communist-agitators-it-s-really-a-joke-isn-t-it-because-quite/) [Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) > [My own electorate, which I represented for 36 years as an anti-apartheid politician, had a considerable number of Jewish voters supporting me throughout my career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/my-own-electorate-which-i-represented-for-36-years-as-an-anti/) [Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) > [All these stories are grist to the mill of the government because they build up a very useful war psychosis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/all-these-stories-are-grist-to-the-mill-of-the-government-because/) [Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) > [Sometimes I manage to get conditions alleviated, often not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/sometimes-i-manage-to-get-conditions-alleviated-often-not/) [Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) > [It is the answers, not the questions, that are embarrassing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/it-is-the-answers-not-the-questions-that-are-embarrassing/) [Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) > [I don't think we will ever go the way of Zimbabwe, but people are concerned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/i-don-t-think-we-will-ever-go-the-way-of-zimbabwe-but-people-are/) [Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) > [When you teach, you learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/when-you-teach-you-learn/) [Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) > [Debate is almost non-existent and no one is apparently accountable to anybody apart from their political party bosses. It is bad news for democracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/debate-is-almost-non-existent-and-no-one-is-apparently-accountable-to/) [Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) > [Perhaps the one comforting thought I got out of this whole disgusting affair was that over the years when the government was tapping my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/perhaps-the-one-comforting-thought-i-got-out-of-this-whole-disgusting/) [Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) > [It is not my questions that embarrass South Africa – it is your answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/it-is-not-my-questions-that-embarrass-south-africa-it-is-your-answers/) [Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) > [It is increasingly hard for young white people to find jobs, and I can understand why white parents are worried about the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/it-is-increasingly-hard-for-young-white-people-to-find-jobs-and-i-can/) [Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) > [This country is armed to the teeth, and none of these African states could begin to attack South Africa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/this-country-is-armed-to-the-teeth-and-none-of-these-african-states/) [Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) > [For all my criticisms of the current system, it doesn't mean that I would like to return to the old one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/for-all-my-criticisms-of-the-current-system-it-doesn-t-mean-that-i/) [Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) > [I am provocative, and I admit this. It isn't as if I'm only on the receiving end, a poor, frail little creature. I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/i-am-provocative-and-i-admit-this-it-isn-t-as-if-i-m-only-on-the/) [Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) [Explore all 24 Helen Suzman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) ## More Extremism quotes > [“Kill extremists and more extremists will appear. Kill Extremist Ideology and extremism will disappear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mouloud-benzadi/kill-extremists-and-more-extremists-will-appear-kill-extremist/) [Mouloud Benzadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mouloud-benzadi/) > [“It is very difficult to convince a person to come out of his conservative shell, unless he feels discomfort there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarif-naaz/it-is-very-difficult-to-convince-a-person-to-come-out-of-his/) [Tarif Naaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarif-naaz/) > [Not only do we still engage in wars far away from our homes, which settle nothing and fuel extremism in the aftermath, we sell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-mckenna/not-only-do-we-still-engage-in-wars-far-away-from-our-homes-which/) [Declan McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-mckenna/) > [“Bombs kill terrorists, Books kill terrorism. Missiles kill extremists, Mindfulness kills extremism. Guns kill supremacists, Goodness kills supremacy. Law restrains cruel people, Love reforms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/bombs-kill-terrorists-books-kill-terrorism-missiles-kill-extremists/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [I think the only way one can really determine whether extremism in the defense of liberty is justified, is not to approach it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-think-the-only-way-one-can-really-determine-whether-extremism-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Freedom is never granted. It is earned by each generation... in the face of tyranny, cruelty, oppression, extremism, sometimes there is only one choice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/freedom-is-never-granted-it-is-earned-by-each-generation-in-the-face/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [People are just afraid of things too much … Sure, evil exists, extremism exists. Somebody could commit a hate crime and hurt me. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-ocean/people-are-just-afraid-of-things-too-much-sure-evil-exists-extremism/) [Frank Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-ocean/) > [“Extremism' certainly sounds bad, and governments often try to make it sound worse by using the word 'terrorism' in the same sentence. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/extremism-certainly-sounds-bad-and-governments-often-try-to-make-it/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-extremists-but-what-kind-of/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [We will see that the greatest problem confronting civilization is not merely religious extremism: rather, it is the larger set of cultural and intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/we-will-see-that-the-greatest-problem-confronting-civilization-is-not/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“If Jack Dylan was Captain Ahab, Bart Breitner was Moby Dick. Jack felt exhilarated, as Ahab must have felt when he finally encountered the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-m-bello/if-jack-dylan-was-captain-ahab-bart-breitner-was-moby-dick-jack-felt/) [Mark M. Bello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-m-bello/) > [There’s no need to get rid of literally hundreds of thousands of books that are fine simply because you have a problem with an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-earley/there-s-no-need-to-get-rid-of-literally-hundreds-of-thousands-of/) Mark Earley > [I have a particular disdain for Islamic extremism, and of course, in both 'The Kite Runner' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' that's obvious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-have-a-particular-disdain-for-islamic-extremism-and-of-course-in/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [If allowed to continue, this process will turn the United States into a declining, unfair society with an impoverished, angry, uneducated population under the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ferguson/if-allowed-to-continue-this-process-will-turn-the-united-states-into/) [Charles Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ferguson/) > [One outcome is almost certain. Extremism stands to benefit enormously from an uncalculated adventure in Iraq,.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammad-javad-zarif/one-outcome-is-almost-certain-extremism-stands-to-benefit-enormously/) [Mohammad Javad Zarif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammad-javad-zarif/) [Browse all 365 Extremism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The immediate present belongs to the extremists, but the future belongs to the moderates.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Helen Suzman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/the-immediate-present-belongs-to-the-extremists-but-the-future/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Extremism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/the-immediate-present-belongs-to-the-extremists-but-the-future/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/718/helen-suzman-24413_extremism_the-immediate-present-belongs-to-the-ext_1523575.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/718/helen-suzman-24413_extremism_the-immediate-present-belongs-to-the-ext_1523575.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/718/helen-suzman-24413_extremism_the-immediate-present-belongs-to-the-ext_1523575.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The immediate present belongs to the extremists, but the future belongs to the moderates.” — Helen Suzman", "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": "Helen Suzman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The immediate present belongs to the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/the-immediate-present-belongs-to-the-extremists-but-the-future/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/the-immediate-present-belongs-to-the-extremists-but-the-future/#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 } } ] } ```