---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We would not have our politics distracted…"
description: "\"We would not have our politics distracted and embittered by the dissensions of other lands.\" — Henry Cabot Lodge"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/henry-cabot-lodge-18359_distracted_we-would-not-have-our-politics-distracte_472474.png"
---

#  We would not have our politics distracted and embittered…

![“We would not have our politics distracted and embittered by the dissensions of other lands.” quote by Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/henry-cabot-lodge-18359_distracted_we-would-not-have-our-politics-distracte_472474.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/henry-cabot-lodge-18359_distracted_we-would-not-have-our-politics-distracte_472474.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/henry-cabot-lodge-18359_distracted_we-would-not-have-our-politics-distracte_472474.png)

> “We would not have our politics distracted and embittered by the dissensions of other lands.”

[Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He warns that foreign conflicts can corrupt domestic politics, urging focus on internal unity over external disputes.

**In simple terms:** Foreign disputes can poison local politics.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize national cohesion over external quarrels.

Themes

politics unity foreign policy distraction national interest

Mood

cautious reflective

Type

political advisory

When to use this quote

- government deliberations
- policy debates
- public speeches

Key Concepts

Realpolitik political stability interventionism

Questions to Reflect On

- Should nations isolate from foreign issues?
- How can we balance external awareness with internal unity?

A Different Perspective

It may underestimate legitimate concerns about global interdependence.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Dissensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissensions-3023094/) [Dissensions Lands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissensions-lands-4081593/) [Distracted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distracted/) [Embittered Dissensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embittered-dissensions-4081594/) [Lands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lands/) [Other](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/other/) [Our](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Politics Distracted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics-distracted-4081592/) [Would](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would/)

## Related quotes

> [From the dissensions among Sects themselves arise necessarily a right of choosing and necessity of deliberating to which we will conform. But if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/from-the-dissensions-among-sects-themselves-arise-necessarily-a-right/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [In every free and deliberating society, there must, from the nature of man, be opposite parties, and violent dissensions and discords; and one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/in-every-free-and-deliberating-society-there-must-from-the-nature-of/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Dissensions, like small streams, are first begun, Scarce seen they rise, but gather as they run: So lines that from their parallel decline, More…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-garth/dissensions-like-small-streams-are-first-begun-scarce-seen-they-rise/)

[Samuel Garth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-garth/)

> [Bend your minds and wills to the education of the peoples and kindreds of the earth, that haply the dissensions that divide it may,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baha-u-llah/bend-your-minds-and-wills-to-the-education-of-the-peoples-and/)

[Bahá'u'lláh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baha-u-llah/)

> [“so absorbed is the white world with its domestic dissensions that it pays scant heed to racial problems whose importance for the future of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-lothrop-stoddard/so-absorbed-is-the-white-world-with-its-domestic-dissensions-that-it/)

[T. Lothrop Stoddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-lothrop-stoddard/)

> [While our budget shortfall is temporary, ruining pristine national lands is permanent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-keller/while-our-budget-shortfall-is-temporary-ruining-pristine-national/)

[Ric Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-keller/)

> [Cows, after leaving the low lands near the coast, are found to be plentiful everywhere, and to produce milk in small quantities, from which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/cows-after-leaving-the-low-lands-near-the-coast-are-found-to-be/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The word of the oldest of the old of our peoples didn't stop. It spoke the truth, saying that our feet couldn't walk alone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/the-word-of-the-oldest-of-the-old-of-our-peoples-didn-t-stop-it-spoke/)

[Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/)

> [While the West tries to turn its civilization into cultural variety hour, Islam tries to turn Muslim lands into a cultural monolith. The same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/while-the-west-tries-to-turn-its-civilization-into-cultural-variety/)

[Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/)

> [“...I have often wondered why we do it. Uproot ourselves, I mean. Why we feel the need to travel and wander into strange soil.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-j-campilan/i-have-often-wondered-why-we-do-it-uproot-ourselves-i-mean-why-we/)

[V.J. Campilan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-j-campilan/)

> [“S:uch is Heaven on Earth, in all land A:s the sun brightens to the moon N:ails the Creation in a palm of a hand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-claudia-antunes/s-uch-is-heaven-on-earth-in-all-land-a-s-the-sun-brightens-to-the/)

[Ana Claudia Antunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-claudia-antunes/)

> [“Ocean separates lands, not souls..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munia-khan/ocean-separates-lands-not-souls/)

[Munia Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munia-khan/)

> [Professional camera crews are rarely there when a bomb goes off or a rocket lands. They usually show up afterwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/professional-camera-crews-are-rarely-there-when-a-bomb-goes-off-or-a/)

[Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/)

> [He that hath lands hath quarrells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/he-that-hath-lands-hath-quarrells/)

[George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/)

> [O lands! O all so dear to me - what you are, I become part of that, whatever it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/o-lands-o-all-so-dear-to-me-what-you-are-i-become-part-of-that/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

## More by Henry Cabot Lodge

> [If a man is going to be an American at all let him be so without any qualifying adjectives, and if he is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/if-a-man-is-going-to-be-an-american-at-all-let-him-be-so-without-any/)

[Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/)

> [It sets its face rightfully against the doctrines of the Anarchist and the Communist, who seek to solve the social problems not by patient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/it-sets-its-face-rightfully-against-the-doctrines-of-the-anarchist/)

[Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/)

> [Look at the United States today. We have made mistakes in the past. We have had shortcomings. We shall make mistakes in the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/look-at-the-united-states-today-we-have-made-mistakes-in-the-past-we/)

[Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/)

> [She has great problems of her own to solve, very grim and perilous problems, and a right solution, if we can attain to it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/she-has-great-problems-of-her-own-to-solve-very-grim-and-perilous/)

[Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/)

> [The time given to athletic contests and the injuries incurred on the playing field are part of the price which the English-speaking race has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/the-time-given-to-athletic-contests-and-the-injuries-incurred-on-the/)

[Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/)

> [We should never suffer Cuba to pass from the hands of Spain to any other European power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/we-should-never-suffer-cuba-to-pass-from-the-hands-of-spain-to-any/)

[Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/)

> [The American idea is a free church in a free state, and a free and unsectarian public school in every ward and every village…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/the-american-idea-is-a-free-church-in-a-free-state-and-a-free-and/)

[Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/)

> [But it is well to remember that we are dealing with nations every one of which has a direct individual interest to serve, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/but-it-is-well-to-remember-that-we-are-dealing-with-nations-every-one/)

[Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/)

> [True Americanism is opposed utterly to any political divisions resting on race and religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/true-americanism-is-opposed-utterly-to-any-political-divisions/)

[Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/)

> [The Federal Reserve Act as it stands seems to me to open the way to a vast inflation of the currency. I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/the-federal-reserve-act-as-it-stands-seems-to-me-to-open-the-way-to-a/)

[Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/)

> [The United States is the world's best hope, but if you fetter her in the interests and quarrels of other nations, if you tangle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/the-united-states-is-the-world-s-best-hope-but-if-you-fetter-her-in/)

[Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/)

> [You may call me selfish if you will, conservative or reactionary, or use any other harsh adjective you see fit to apply, but an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/you-may-call-me-selfish-if-you-will-conservative-or-reactionary-or/)

[Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/)

> [Our ideal is to make her ever stronger and better and finer, because in that way alone, as we believe, can she be of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/our-ideal-is-to-make-her-ever-stronger-and-better-and-finer-because/)

[Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/)

> [Internationalism, illustrated by the Bolshevik and by the men to whom all countries are alike provided they can make money out of them, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/internationalism-illustrated-by-the-bolshevik-and-by-the-men-to-whom/)

[Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/)

> [Are ideals confined to this deformed experiment upon a noble purpose, tainted, as it is, with bargains and tied to a peace treaty which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/are-ideals-confined-to-this-deformed-experiment-upon-a-noble-purpose/)

[Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/)

[Explore all 35 Henry Cabot Lodge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/)

## More Distracted quotes

> [Life is Too Short to be Distracted by the Opinions of Others.. Live it the way you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/life-is-too-short-to-be-distracted-by-the-opinions-of-others-live-it/)

[Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/)

> [One reason why my memory decays is that I have three cats, all so loving and insistent that they play cat's-cradle with every train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/one-reason-why-my-memory-decays-is-that-i-have-three-cats-all-so/)

[Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/)

> [“You’ve so distracted me, your absence fans my love. Don’t ask how. Then you come near. “Do not…” I say, and “Do not…,” you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/you-ve-so-distracted-me-your-absence-fans-my-love-don-t-ask-how-then/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [We are going to die, as is everyone we adore - I hate this! But the question is, how do we live as women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/we-are-going-to-die-as-is-everyone-we-adore-i-hate-this-but-the/)

[Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/)

> [“A distracted mind cannot build a disciplined life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glody-kikonga/a-distracted-mind-cannot-build-a-disciplined-life/)

[Glody Kikonga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glody-kikonga/)

> [He was distracted by a giggle, and turned to see a rare sight: a girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/he-was-distracted-by-a-giggle-and-turned-to-see-a-rare-sight-a-girl/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [One should not be too distracted by definitions. Ideas transcend definitions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/one-should-not-be-too-distracted-by-definitions-ideas-transcend/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [I would make a genuinely terrible guide. I can't remember things. I would get half way through telling a story or explaining something and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-would-make-a-genuinely-terrible-guide-i-can-t-remember-things-i/)

[Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/)

> [We are distracted from our greatness because are greatness is what scares us. Right where you are…God is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/we-are-distracted-from-our-greatness-because-are-greatness-is-what/)

[Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/)

> [The more you focus on yourself, the more distracted you will be from the proper path. The more you know Him and commune with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/the-more-you-focus-on-yourself-the-more-distracted-you-will-be-from/)

[John Macarthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/)

> [One of the things we've seen here is how easy it is for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to get distracted from dealing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/one-of-the-things-we-ve-seen-here-is-how-easy-it-is-for-barack-obama/)

[Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/)

> [You cannot control your own population by force, but it can be distracted by consumption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/you-cannot-control-your-own-population-by-force-but-it-can-be/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [“She thinks I am easily distracted when I drive. There were a few fender benders, but she doesn’t actually realize I was playing bumper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-ann-lunsford/she-thinks-i-am-easily-distracted-when-i-drive-there-were-a-few/)

[Leigh Ann Lunsford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-ann-lunsford/)

> [I dipped into his brain. He wasn't happy that I wasn't wearing a bra, because my boobs distracted him. He was thinking I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/i-dipped-into-his-brain-he-wasn-t-happy-that-i-wasn-t-wearing-a-bra/)

[Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/)

> [It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-crosby/it-seemed-intended-by-the-blessed-providence-of-god-that-i-should-be/)

[Fanny Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-crosby/)

[Browse all 593 Distracted quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distracted/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We would not have our politics distracted and embittered by the dissensions of other lands.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Henry Cabot Lodge"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/we-would-not-have-our-politics-distracted-and-embittered-by-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Distracted"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/we-would-not-have-our-politics-distracted-and-embittered-by-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/henry-cabot-lodge-18359_distracted_we-would-not-have-our-politics-distracte_472474.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/henry-cabot-lodge-18359_distracted_we-would-not-have-our-politics-distracte_472474.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/henry-cabot-lodge-18359_distracted_we-would-not-have-our-politics-distracte_472474.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We would not have our politics distracted and embittered by the dissensions of other lands.” — Henry Cabot Lodge",
                "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": "Henry Cabot Lodge",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We would not have our politics...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/we-would-not-have-our-politics-distracted-and-embittered-by-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/we-would-not-have-our-politics-distracted-and-embittered-by-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```