--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a presumption made among…" description: "\"There is a presumption made among nationalists that constitutional change is the answer to all the questions that are problematic in our communities, a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/johann-lamont-9992_change_there-is-a-presumption-made-among-nation_2460680.png" --- # There is a presumption made among nationalists that… ![“There is a presumption made among nationalists that constitutional change is the answer to all the questions that are problematic in our communities, and my job is to talk about what is happening in the real world.” quote by Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/johann-lamont-9992_change_there-is-a-presumption-made-among-nation_2460680.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/johann-lamont-9992_change_there-is-a-presumption-made-among-nation_2460680.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/johann-lamont-9992_change_there-is-a-presumption-made-among-nation_2460680.png) > “There is a presumption made among nationalists that constitutional change is the answer to all the questions that are problematic in our communities, and my job is to talk about what is happening in the real world.” [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nationalists often assume constitutional reform solves community issues, but real problems require practical, on‑the‑ground discussion. **In simple terms:** Change isn’t only legal; it’s practical. Key Takeaway Focus on real‑world solutions beyond constitutional tweaks. Themes politics community policy reform Mood analytical critical Type political practical When to use this quote - local council meetings - community organizing - policy analysis - public forums Key Concepts political science sociology public policy Questions to Reflect On - What practical steps can improve community issues? - How can dialogue bridge nationalist ideas and everyday realities? A Different Perspective Legal changes may not address root causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/job/) [Nationalists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nationalists/) [Questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions/) [Real world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [When we've been bold on the Bank of England, on PFI, on great constitutional change, on the New Deal, we've been most successful. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-reid/when-we-ve-been-bold-on-the-bank-of-england-on-pfi-on-great/) [John Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-reid/) > [We have a media that presents every politician as being as bad as the next. There is no distinguishing between one good idea or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/we-have-a-media-that-presents-every-politician-as-being-as-bad-as-the/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [There is a danger of Scottish politics being between two sets of dinosaurs... the Nationalists who can't accept they were rejected by the people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/there-is-a-danger-of-scottish-politics-being-between-two-sets-of/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [Those of us who were part of creating the Scottish parliament believe we must always test constitutional arrangements. The real test is where do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/those-of-us-who-were-part-of-creating-the-scottish-parliament-believe/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [No one drives me into exile, not even the nationalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/no-one-drives-me-into-exile-not-even-the-nationalists/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [All the nationalists are wasms - except one, the most powerful of this century, indeed, of the entire democratic age, which is nationalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lukacs/all-the-nationalists-are-wasms-except-one-the-most-powerful-of-this/) [John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lukacs/) > [Those who say that we want nationality, they are standing against Islam…We have no use for the nationalists. Moslems are useful for us. Islam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruhollah-khomeini/those-who-say-that-we-want-nationality-they-are-standing-against/) [Ruhollah Khomeini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruhollah-khomeini/) > [Irish nationalists can never be the assenting parties to the mutilation of the Irish nation. The two nation theory is to us an abomination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-redmond/irish-nationalists-can-never-be-the-assenting-parties-to-the/) John Redmond > [If nationalism makes us poor, weak, and morally insecure, how can it claim to be patriotic? I maintain that nationalists are unpatriotic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-timmermans/if-nationalism-makes-us-poor-weak-and-morally-insecure-how-can-it/) [Frans Timmermans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-timmermans/) > [“I never could stomach these nationalists,’ he exclaimed. ‘The destiny of Man is to unite, not to divide. If you keep on dividing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-white/i-never-could-stomach-these-nationalists-he-exclaimed-the-destiny-of/) [T.H. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-h-white/) > [“IN THOSE DAYS, your village might change hands every few weeks, one day to the Communists, the next to the Nationalists, the next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/in-those-days-your-village-might-change-hands-every-few-weeks-one-day/) [Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) > [There's a lot of places where you can go to understand and to learn what it is that British nationalists believe and feel, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-levine/there-s-a-lot-of-places-where-you-can-go-to-understand-and-to-learn/) [Alice Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-levine/) > [Patriotism at the expense of another nation is as wicked as racism at the expense of another race. . . Let us resolve to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/patriotism-at-the-expense-of-another-nation-is-as-wicked-as-racism-at/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [There's a reason nationalists build walls, denigrate foreigners, and denounce immigrants: Because our people are better than those people. There's a reason nationalism has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/there-s-a-reason-nationalists-build-walls-denigrate-foreigners-and/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [“I have often noticed that nationalism is at its strongest at the periphery. Hitler was Austrian, Bonaparte Corsican. In postwar Greece and Turkey the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-have-often-noticed-that-nationalism-is-at-its-strongest-at-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More by Johann Lamont > [There is a danger of Scottish politics being between two sets of dinosaurs... the Nationalists who can't accept they were rejected by the people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/there-is-a-danger-of-scottish-politics-being-between-two-sets-of/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [I'm pretty proud of having completed a marathon myself, so I can only imagine the pride that real athletes feel when they are picked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/i-m-pretty-proud-of-having-completed-a-marathon-myself-so-i-can-only/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [I spent ridiculous amounts of time as an activist and volunteer and was a teacher for 20 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/i-spent-ridiculous-amounts-of-time-as-an-activist-and-volunteer-and/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [I remember going to see Billy Graham in a cinema in Glasgow, and he was down in London. I used to go and hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/i-remember-going-to-see-billy-graham-in-a-cinema-in-glasgow-and-he/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [Fair tax does not mean we don't want to encourage wealth creation. Wealth creation is how we raise the money to pay for world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/fair-tax-does-not-mean-we-don-t-want-to-encourage-wealth-creation/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [The test is can you do something, rather than have a theoretical argument - can you make a difference?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/the-test-is-can-you-do-something-rather-than-have-a-theoretical/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [If you don't accept there is a problem, then it is hard to debate things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/if-you-don-t-accept-there-is-a-problem-then-it-is-hard-to-debate/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [The Scottish Labour Party, while I have breath in my body, will listen to the views of trade unionists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/the-scottish-labour-party-while-i-have-breath-in-my-body-will-listen/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [I'd always step up to the mark to serve the people of the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/i-d-always-step-up-to-the-mark-to-serve-the-people-of-the-country/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [Scotland is my country, the nation that shaped me, that taught me my values. A nation whose achievements inspired and inspire me, a community…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/scotland-is-my-country-the-nation-that-shaped-me-that-taught-me-my/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [I guess it feels to me that the political argument that has been lost in my lifetime is taxation. How do you engage in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/i-guess-it-feels-to-me-that-the-political-argument-that-has-been-lost/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [We must listen and learn, show humility and seek again to talk for and to people's ambitions and concerns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/we-must-listen-and-learn-show-humility-and-seek-again-to-talk-for-and/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [I will not promise what I cannot deliver. And I will never hide the cost of what I propose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/i-will-not-promise-what-i-cannot-deliver-and-i-will-never-hide-the/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [If I have learned one thing in life, it is never to take any man's own estimate of himself. He could very well be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/if-i-have-learned-one-thing-in-life-it-is-never-to-take-any-man-s-own/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) > [I've taught fifth-year Christmas leavers last thing on a Friday afternoon. Basically, if you can face that you can face anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/i-ve-taught-fifth-year-christmas-leavers-last-thing-on-a-friday/) [Johann Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) [Explore all 68 Johann Lamont quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is a presumption made among nationalists that constitutional change is the answer to all the questions that are problematic in our communities, and my job is to talk about what is happening in the real world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Johann Lamont" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/there-is-a-presumption-made-among-nationalists-that-constitutional/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Change" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/there-is-a-presumption-made-among-nationalists-that-constitutional/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/johann-lamont-9992_change_there-is-a-presumption-made-among-nation_2460680.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/johann-lamont-9992_change_there-is-a-presumption-made-among-nation_2460680.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/johann-lamont-9992_change_there-is-a-presumption-made-among-nation_2460680.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is a presumption made among nationalists that constitutional change is the answer to all the questions…” — Johann Lamont", "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": "Johann Lamont", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-lamont/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is a presumption made among...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/there-is-a-presumption-made-among-nationalists-that-constitutional/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-lamont/there-is-a-presumption-made-among-nationalists-that-constitutional/#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 } } ] } ```