--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I realised that although I was fascinated…" description: "\"I realised that although I was fascinated with America, its history and culture, I was not interested in becoming American.\" — Luc Sante" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/luc-sante-25406_america_i-realised-that-although-i-was-fascinate_2349836.jpg" --- # I realised that although I was fascinated with America… ![“I realised that although I was fascinated with America, its history and culture, I was not interested in becoming American.” quote by Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/luc-sante-25406_america_i-realised-that-although-i-was-fascinate_2349836.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/luc-sante-25406_america_i-realised-that-although-i-was-fascinate_2349836.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/luc-sante-25406_america_i-realised-that-although-i-was-fascinate_2349836.jpg) > “I realised that although I was fascinated with America, its history and culture, I was not interested in becoming American.” [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Admiration for a culture does not necessitate adopting its identity; appreciation can be separate from assimilation. **In simple terms:** Liking a country doesn’t mean you want to become its citizen. Key Takeaway Separate cultural appreciation from personal identity. Themes culture identity belonging admiration nationalism Mood thoughtful analytical Type reflective critical When to use this quote - travel - education - media consumption - personal reflection Key Concepts sociology personal values globalism Questions to Reflect On - Do you differentiate between appreciation and appropriation? - What defines belonging to a culture? A Different Perspective Overidentification can lead to cultural appropriation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History and culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-and-culture/) ## Related quotes > [I kind of resent the idea that the whole world has to be interested in the American elections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/i-kind-of-resent-the-idea-that-the-whole-world-has-to-be-interested/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [A lot of the people that we have made offers to, and where we make offers, when they hear it's a part-time job, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/a-lot-of-the-people-that-we-have-made-offers-to-and-where-we-make/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [That's always been the case in America; there's been a big spectrum in how much people are interested in American politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/that-s-always-been-the-case-in-america-there-s-been-a-big-spectrum-in/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [I was very interested in American poetry for many years. Much less now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maccaig/i-was-very-interested-in-american-poetry-for-many-years-much-less-now/) [Norman MacCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maccaig/) > [I'm fascinated by America...it's so odd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-prine/i-m-fascinated-by-america-it-s-so-odd/) [John Prine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-prine/) > [I talk about my dad and the American dream, and I just want to say to Americans how fascinated we are by America. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gad-elmaleh/i-talk-about-my-dad-and-the-american-dream-and-i-just-want-to-say-to/) [Gad Elmaleh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gad-elmaleh/) > [When I watch like The Office I'm fascinated because most of America works in an environment where they see the same eight people every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/when-i-watch-like-the-office-i-m-fascinated-because-most-of-america/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [I'm a London lad, but I'm fascinated by America. I want to take a motorcycling trip across the country and see those wide open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-cox/i-m-a-london-lad-but-i-m-fascinated-by-america-i-want-to-take-a/) [Charlie Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-cox/) > [If you're fascinated by America, you'll be fascinated by family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-re-fascinated-by-america-you-ll-be-fascinated-by-family/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Through panel moderations and talks around culture, politics and identity I gradually gained opportunities to write in my own voice and not that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salu/through-panel-moderations-and-talks-around-culture-politics-and/) [Michael Salu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salu/) > [People won't stop painting, just as they won't stop making music or dancing. This is a facility we have. Children don't stop doing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/people-won-t-stop-painting-just-as-they-won-t-stop-making-music-or/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [I'm not interested in culture; I'm interested in the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/i-m-not-interested-in-culture-i-m-interested-in-the-law/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [I think that if people show up in jeans and chains, it's great that all parts of culture are interested in music. People forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-hahn/i-think-that-if-people-show-up-in-jeans-and-chains-it-s-great-that/) [Hilary Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-hahn/) > [We've switched from a culture that was interested in manufacturing, economics, politics - trying to play a serious part in the world - to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/we-ve-switched-from-a-culture-that-was-interested-in-manufacturing/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“It's often suggested that as a culture, we're only interested in immediate gratification. Fast food. Self-checkout. Downloadable music, movies, books. Instant coffee, instant rebates,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-perkins/it-s-often-suggested-that-as-a-culture-we-re-only-interested-in/) [Stephanie Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-perkins/) ## More by Luc Sante > [All I know about 1970s New York City is that it's where I grew up, and you always have an umbilical connection to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/all-i-know-about-1970s-new-york-city-is-that-it-s-where-i-grew-up-and/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [Like a four-sided porch I'm open to all winds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/like-a-four-sided-porch-i-m-open-to-all-winds/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [Many writers and artists portrayed the poor sympathetically, and even fought on their behalf, but they themselves were not of that class. Gay life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/many-writers-and-artists-portrayed-the-poor-sympathetically-and-even/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [My method is the magpie's: I look for shiny things. That is, I look for concrete material details of daily life, and I look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/my-method-is-the-magpie-s-i-look-for-shiny-things-that-is-i-look-for/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [Neoliberalism seems to ramp up every day, making it ever more difficult for anyone but corporations to own and run things and define the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/neoliberalism-seems-to-ramp-up-every-day-making-it-ever-more/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [When I was a child I did engage in an arduous struggle to pass: learning English, getting rid of my accent, becoming conversant with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/when-i-was-a-child-i-did-engage-in-an-arduous-struggle-to-pass/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [The con is a kind of jiu-jitsu that turns the sucker's own greed into its principal weapon. The greedier you are the more likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/the-con-is-a-kind-of-jiu-jitsu-that-turns-the-sucker-s-own-greed-into/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [The US remains an object of fascination for me, and the subject of much study, but while many of my friends etc. are American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/the-us-remains-an-object-of-fascination-for-me-and-the-subject-of/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [I try to take pictures on their own terms, considering the historical and social context from which they emerge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/i-try-to-take-pictures-on-their-own-terms-considering-the-historical/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [I've always assumed it to be an absolute requirement for being a writer: to find all emotions and the sources of all behaviors somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/i-ve-always-assumed-it-to-be-an-absolute-requirement-for-being-a/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [Self-reinvention is an essential trope of the American project, closely linked to another such trope: going on the lam. Both are regularly featured in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/self-reinvention-is-an-essential-trope-of-the-american-project/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [I confess I prefer to engage with pictures which I've chosen myself out of the welter of unidentified pictures, without the intrusion of too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/i-confess-i-prefer-to-engage-with-pictures-which-i-ve-chosen-myself/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [Call yourself "Colonel" and declare that your fortune was left to you by Dutch burghers from the seventeenth century. Now you're a solid citizen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/call-yourself-colonel-and-declare-that-your-fortune-was-left-to-you/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [I thought of New York as a free city, like one of those prewar nests of intrigue and licentiousness where exiles and lamsters and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/i-thought-of-new-york-as-a-free-city-like-one-of-those-prewar-nests/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [Paris had more sex than most church-laden places, and more church than most sex-laden places. Parisians crowed about Travail-Famille-Patrie while frequenting brothels. They enjoyed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/paris-had-more-sex-than-most-church-laden-places-and-more-church-than/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) [Explore all 23 Luc Sante quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) ## 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": "I realised that although I was fascinated with America, its history and culture, I was not interested in becoming American.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Luc Sante" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/i-realised-that-although-i-was-fascinated-with-america-its-history/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/i-realised-that-although-i-was-fascinated-with-america-its-history/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/luc-sante-25406_america_i-realised-that-although-i-was-fascinate_2349836.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/luc-sante-25406_america_i-realised-that-although-i-was-fascinate_2349836.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/luc-sante-25406_america_i-realised-that-although-i-was-fascinate_2349836.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I realised that although I was fascinated with America, its history and culture, I was not interested in…” — Luc Sante", "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": "Luc Sante", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I realised that although I was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/i-realised-that-although-i-was-fascinated-with-america-its-history/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/i-realised-that-although-i-was-fascinated-with-america-its-history/#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 } } ] } ```