--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For Americans the contradiction between…" description: "\"For Americans the contradiction between national ideal and social fact required explanation and correction. Ultimately this contradiction did not lead ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/kenneth-keniston-25055_abandonment_for-americans-the-contradiction-between_3153777.jpg" --- # For Americans the contradiction between national ideal and… ![“For Americans the contradiction between national ideal and social fact required explanation and correction. Ultimately this contradiction did not lead to the abandonment of the ideal of equal opportunity but rather to its postponement: to the notion of achieving for the next generation what could…” quote by Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/kenneth-keniston-25055_abandonment_for-americans-the-contradiction-between_3153777.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/kenneth-keniston-25055_abandonment_for-americans-the-contradiction-between_3153777.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/kenneth-keniston-25055_abandonment_for-americans-the-contradiction-between_3153777.jpg) > “For Americans the contradiction between national ideal and social fact required explanation and correction. Ultimately this contradiction did not lead to the abandonment of the ideal of equal opportunity but rather to its postponement: to the notion of achieving for the next generation what could not be achieved for the current one. And the chief means to this end was a brilliant American invention: universal, free, compulsory public education. This "solution" was especially important for children and families because it gave children a central role in achieving the national ideal.” [Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. American education was seen as a way to postpone equality, promising future generations what current ones lack. **In simple terms:** Education promises future equality. Key Takeaway Invest in equitable education now. Themes education social justice future generations Mood critical hopeful Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - school reform - parental involvement - community programs - policy advocacy Key Concepts public policy social mobility Questions to Reflect On - What barriers prevent current equality? - How can education be more immediate? A Different Perspective Ideal may be delayed, not realized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abandonment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandonment/) [Achieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achieve/) [American Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-invention-2583620/) [Americans Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans-contradiction-5673692/) [Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliant/) [Chiefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiefs/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Compulsory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsory/) [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Contradiction National](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction-national-5673691/) [Corrections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corrections/) [Currents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/currents/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal/) [Equal opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal-opportunity/) [Explanation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explanation/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [National Ideal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national-ideal-5100807/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Next generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-generation/) [Notion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Postponement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/postponement/) [Public education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-education/) [Roles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roles/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Solutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solutions/) [Universal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universal/) ## Related quotes > [When the Promise of American life is conceived as a national ideal, whose fulfillment is a matter of artful and laborious work, the effect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/when-the-promise-of-american-life-is-conceived-as-a-national-ideal/) [Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) > [Community colleges are the great American invention in terms of education,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-j-padron/community-colleges-are-the-great-american-invention-in-terms-of/) [Eduardo J. Padron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-j-padron/) > [The concept of war crimes is an American invention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/the-concept-of-war-crimes-is-an-american-invention/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [“The INEC postponement is an obnoxious odoriferous political crinkum-crankum aimed at exposing Nigerians to emotional hullabaloo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olawale-daniel/the-inec-postponement-is-an-obnoxious-odoriferous-political-crinkum/) [Olawale Daniel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olawale-daniel/) > [Indecision is debilitating; it feeds upon itself; it is, one might almost say, habit-forming. Not only that, but it is contagious; it transmits itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/indecision-is-debilitating-it-feeds-upon-itself-it-is-one-might/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being an adult is the ability to postpone a want for the sake of a family need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hogan/being-an-adult-is-the-ability-to-postpone-a-want-for-the-sake-of-a/) [Chris Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hogan/) > [“Many a death was precipitated by the food, the job, or the medication whose main function was to postpone it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/many-a-death-was-precipitated-by-the-food-the-job-or-the-medication/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“POSTHUMOUS POSTPONEMENT FACT: Unlike airplanes, many dreams take off after the pilot's departure Kamil Ali”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/posthumous-postponement-fact-unlike-airplanes-many-dreams-take-off/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [ One of the ideals \[Margaret Thatcher\] grew up with was self-denial and postponement of gratification, and yet she went about to create a greedy,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/one-of-the-ideals-margaret-thatcher-grew-up-with-was-self-denial-and/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [Stop putting it off! Procrastination breeds guilt, guilt breeds depression, and depression breeds failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-corcoran/stop-putting-it-off-procrastination-breeds-guilt-guilt-breeds/) [Barbara Corcoran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-corcoran/) > [I had a mother who taught me there is no such thing as failure. It is just a temporary postponement of success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-ebsen/i-had-a-mother-who-taught-me-there-is-no-such-thing-as-failure-it-is/) [Buddy Ebsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-ebsen/) > [“This isn't how sickness was in childhood. A postponement. An excuse to grow up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/this-isn-t-how-sickness-was-in-childhood-a-postponement-an-excuse-to/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [We cannot put off living until we are ready. The most salient characteristic of life is its urgency, 'here and now' without any possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/we-cannot-put-off-living-until-we-are-ready-the-most-salient/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Education itself is a putting off, a postponement; we are told to work hard to get good results. Why? So we can get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/education-itself-is-a-putting-off-a-postponement-we-are-told-to-work/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [To give money to a sufferer is only a come-off. It is only a postponement of the real payment, a bribe paid for silence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/to-give-money-to-a-sufferer-is-only-a-come-off-it-is-only-a/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Kenneth Keniston > [Today's parents have little authority over those others with whom they share the task of raising their children. On the contrary,most parents deal with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/today-s-parents-have-little-authority-over-those-others-with-whom/) [Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) > [The myth of the self-sufficient individual and of the self-sufficient, protected, and protective familytells us that those who need help are ultimately inadequate. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/the-myth-of-the-self-sufficient-individual-and-of-the-self-sufficient/) [Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) > [Confronted with the unhappy facts of exclusion, we sometimes reassure ourselves by telling stories: the poor boys who made it, theblacks who became a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/confronted-with-the-unhappy-facts-of-exclusion-we-sometimes-reassure/) [Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) > [Within forty years of their arrival in the Plymouth colony, the first white settlers were afraid their children had lost the dedication and religious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/within-forty-years-of-their-arrival-in-the-plymouth-colony-the-first/) [Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) > [In the early nineteenth century, the doctrine of self-sufficiency came to apply to families as well as individuals… The familybecame a special protected place,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/in-the-early-nineteenth-century-the-doctrine-of-self-sufficiency-came/) [Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) > [Recognizing that family self-sufficiency is a false myth, we also need to acknowledge that all today's families need help in raising children. The problem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/recognizing-that-family-self-sufficiency-is-a-false-myth-we-also-need/) [Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) > [The psychological pain--and the ethical shame--of American poverty are made greater by the fact that this country possesses the wealth and the energy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/the-psychological-pain-and-the-ethical-shame-of-american-poverty-are/) [Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) > [Mothers work outside the home for many reasons; one of them is almost always because their families need their income to live up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/mothers-work-outside-the-home-for-many-reasons-one-of-them-is-almost/) [Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) > [In the end, the fate of children depends on our ability to use technology constructively and carefully. The connection of childrenand technology is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/in-the-end-the-fate-of-children-depends-on-our-ability-to-use/) [Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) > [One current reaction to change in families, for example, is the proposal for more "education for parenthood," on the theory that this training will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/one-current-reaction-to-change-in-families-for-example-is-the/) [Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) > [The most important difference between these early American families and our own is that early families constituted economic unitsin which all members, from young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/the-most-important-difference-between-these-early-american-families/) [Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) > [Poor children live in a particularly dangerous world--an urban world of broken stair railings, of busy streets serving as playgrounds, of lead paint, rats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/poor-children-live-in-a-particularly-dangerous-world-an-urban-world/) [Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) > [Parents still have primary responsibility for raising children, but they must have the power to do so in ways consistent with their children's needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/parents-still-have-primary-responsibility-for-raising-children-but/) [Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) > [In the past the intrinsic pleasures of parenthood for most American families were increased by the extrinsic economic return thatchildren brought. Today, parents have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/in-the-past-the-intrinsic-pleasures-of-parenthood-for-most-american/) [Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) > [Despite the long-term reduction in familial roles and functions, we believe that parents are still the world's greatest experts about the needs of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-keniston/despite-the-long-term-reduction-in-familial-roles-and-functions-we/) [Kenneth Keniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) [Explore all 23 Kenneth Keniston quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-keniston/) ## More Abandonment quotes > [If our faith in God is not the veriest sham, it demands, and will produce, the abandonment sometimes, the subordination always, of external helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/if-our-faith-in-god-is-not-the-veriest-sham-it-demands-and-will/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [I don't believe in fate or destiny. I believe in various degrees of hatred, paranoia, and abandonment. However much of that gets heaped upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-don-t-believe-in-fate-or-destiny-i-believe-in-various-degrees-of/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“Sometimes people walk away from love because it is so beautiful that it terrifies them. Sometimes they leave because the connection shines a bright…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-brown/sometimes-people-walk-away-from-love-because-it-is-so-beautiful-that/) [Jeff Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-brown/) > [Modern societies accepted the treasures and the power offered them by science. But they have not accepted - they have scarcely even heard -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/modern-societies-accepted-the-treasures-and-the-power-offered-them-by/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [Judaism is absolutely incompatible with the abandonment of the Torah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-schechter/judaism-is-absolutely-incompatible-with-the-abandonment-of-the-torah/) [Solomon Schechter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-schechter/) > [“Abandonment is ugly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-moore/abandonment-is-ugly/) [Michelle Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-moore/) > [In our culture of constant access and nonstop media, nothing feels more like a curse from God than time in the wilderness. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-martin/in-our-culture-of-constant-access-and-nonstop-media-nothing-feels/) [Jonathan Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-martin/) > [“When you give everything, you have nothing to lose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mcgahan/when-you-give-everything-you-have-nothing-to-lose/) [Kate McGahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mcgahan/) > [The only thing worse than being abandoned, is not being worthy of an explanation. It hurts to let go... but the feeling you're falling..…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joryneville/the-only-thing-worse-than-being-abandoned-is-not-being-worthy-of-an/) [JoryNeville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joryneville/) > [“I am not so different in my history of abandonment from anyone else after all. We have all been split away from each other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/i-am-not-so-different-in-my-history-of-abandonment-from-anyone-else/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [“The introduction to horrors so young impressed on me just how helpless and vulnerable I was. Parents are supposed to empower their children to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-enevoldsen/the-introduction-to-horrors-so-young-impressed-on-me-just-how/) [Christina Enevoldsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-enevoldsen/) > [Heartbreak has an archetypal core, all heartbroken individuals suffer from the same kind of torture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginette-paris/heartbreak-has-an-archetypal-core-all-heartbroken-individuals-suffer/) [Ginette Paris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginette-paris/) > [“Lonely Balcony The deterioration brought by weariness was visible. Its burden of abandonment can be perceived at a glance. The balcony ache with longings.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iqra-iqbal/lonely-balcony-the-deterioration-brought-by-weariness-was-visible-its/) [iqra iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iqra-iqbal/) > [God causes us to promise in time of peace what He exacts from us in time of war; He enables us to make our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/god-causes-us-to-promise-in-time-of-peace-what-he-exacts-from-us-in/) [Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/) [Browse all 348 Abandonment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandonment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For Americans the contradiction between national ideal and social fact required explanation and correction. 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