--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Since the end of the Cold War, America…" description: "\"Since the end of the Cold War, America has been grasping left and right for an identity.\" — Matt Taibbi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db2/matt-taibbi-2257_america_since-the-end-of-the-cold-war-america-ha_2000838.jpg" --- # Since the end of the Cold War, America has been grasping… ![“Since the end of the Cold War, America has been grasping left and right for an identity.” quote by Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db2/matt-taibbi-2257_america_since-the-end-of-the-cold-war-america-ha_2000838.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db2/matt-taibbi-2257_america_since-the-end-of-the-cold-war-america-ha_2000838.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db2/matt-taibbi-2257_america_since-the-end-of-the-cold-war-america-ha_2000838.jpg) > “Since the end of the Cold War, America has been grasping left and right for an identity.” [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Post‑Cold War America struggles to define its identity, swinging between extremes. **In simple terms:** America is searching for identity after the Cold War. Key Takeaway Reflect on national direction. Themes politics identity history Mood thoughtful critical contemplative Type political analytical When to use this quote - policy analysis - public discourse - education Key Concepts national narrative polarization Questions to Reflect On - What defines American identity today? - How can unity be fostered? A Different Perspective Identity debates can oversimplify complex issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Cold war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold-war/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“Your identity is the right identity when you let it be defined by what God says about you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-scroggins/your-identity-is-the-right-identity-when-you-let-it-be-defined-by/) [Clay Scroggins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-scroggins/) > [It can be tough to find areas where Left and Right can agree. Consider the well-being of children: Americans often disagree about how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foster-friess/it-can-be-tough-to-find-areas-where-left-and-right-can-agree-consider/) [Foster Friess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foster-friess/) > [Yesh Atid is a Jewish, religious-secular party. Our DNA is center - both Left and Right. The difference between center-left and center-right is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yair-lapid/yesh-atid-is-a-jewish-religious-secular-party-our-dna-is-center-both/) [Yair Lapid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yair-lapid/) > [The left and right are not religious categories. They're often not even value categories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-wallis/the-left-and-right-are-not-religious-categories-they-re-often-not/) [Jim Wallis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-wallis/) > [Read your contracts. Up and down, left and right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-jauregui/read-your-contracts-up-and-down-left-and-right/) [Lauren Jauregui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-jauregui/) > [Both Left and Right take pleasure in mildly persecuting those who fail to meet their civic ideals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-weisberg/both-left-and-right-take-pleasure-in-mildly-persecuting-those-who/) [Jacob Weisberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-weisberg/) > [There is no Left and Right any more. Left and Right is irrelevant... We need big change. We've got to get back control of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/there-is-no-left-and-right-any-more-left-and-right-is-irrelevant-we/) [Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/) > [I was taught, growing up, that there are two ends of the political spectrum: left and right. But there's so much more than that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kane/i-was-taught-growing-up-that-there-are-two-ends-of-the-political/) [Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kane/) > [There is probably no oral society that fails to mark the spatial distinction of left and right, peculiar as this distinction may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/there-is-probably-no-oral-society-that-fails-to-mark-the-spatial/) [David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/) > [Comedy should be fluid. It should be both Left and Right wing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bailey/comedy-should-be-fluid-it-should-be-both-left-and-right-wing/) [Bill Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bailey/) > [“The forces that govern our experience, electromagnetism and gravity, are blind to the distinction between left and right. No process moderated by either force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-m-krauss/the-forces-that-govern-our-experience-electromagnetism-and-gravity/) [Lawrence M. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-m-krauss/) > [We're going to move left and right at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-brown/we-re-going-to-move-left-and-right-at-the-same-time/) [Jerry Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-brown/) > [I've always been very suspicious of the left-right dimension in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-ve-always-been-very-suspicious-of-the-left-right-dimension-in/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I think that I don't panic as much as the folks on the left or the right do. I don't have that sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/i-think-that-i-don-t-panic-as-much-as-the-folks-on-the-left-or-the/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [I was distributing DVDs in Mumbai in 2006, and that is when I got my first TV show offer - 'Left Right Left.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harshvardhan-rane/i-was-distributing-dvds-in-mumbai-in-2006-and-that-is-when-i-got-my/) [Harshvardhan Rane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harshvardhan-rane/) ## More by Matt Taibbi > [ The Congressional Record will forever show that \[Obamacare\] was passed in a romper room of overgrown children seemingly barely old enough to keep from… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/the-congressional-record-will-forever-show-that-obamacare-was-passed/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [Sniper is a movie whose politics are so ludicrous and idiotic that under normal circumstances it would be beneath criticism. The only thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/sniper-is-a-movie-whose-politics-are-so-ludicrous-and-idiotic-that/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [I get the cynicism thing all the time, although I don't really know where that comes from, because I think I'm actually the opposite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/i-get-the-cynicism-thing-all-the-time-although-i-don-t-really-know/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [It's really interesting that we've had this great Tea Party movement that is all about restoring free market capitalist values, but what they completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/it-s-really-interesting-that-we-ve-had-this-great-tea-party-movement/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [To be robbed and betrayed by a fiendish underground conspiracy, or by the earthly agents of Satan, is at least a romantic sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/to-be-robbed-and-betrayed-by-a-fiendish-underground-conspiracy-or-by/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > ['Nobody goes to jail.' This is the mantra of the financial-crisis era, one that saw virtually every major bank and financial company on Wall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/nobody-goes-to-jail-this-is-the-mantra-of-the-financial-crisis-era/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [The basic scam in the Internet age is pretty easy even for the financially illiterate to grasp. It was as if banks like Goldman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/the-basic-scam-in-the-internet-age-is-pretty-easy-even-for-the/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [For the broadcast business to be successful, viewers need to be not merely interested in our political melodramas, they have to be in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/for-the-broadcast-business-to-be-successful-viewers-need-to-be-not/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [It's not a stretch to say the whole financial industry revolves around the compass point of the absolutely safe AAA rating. But the financial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/it-s-not-a-stretch-to-say-the-whole-financial-industry-revolves/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [You know what an effective deterrent to crime is? Jail! And do you know what kind of criminal penalty actually makes people think twice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/you-know-what-an-effective-deterrent-to-crime-is-jail-and-do-you-know/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [Conspiracy theorists of the world, believers in the hidden hands of the Rothschilds and the Masons and the Illuminati, we skeptics owe you an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/conspiracy-theorists-of-the-world-believers-in-the-hidden-hands-of/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [Like wars, forest fires and bad marriages, really stupid laws are much easier to begin than they are to end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/like-wars-forest-fires-and-bad-marriages-really-stupid-laws-are-much/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [You can have somebody living next door to you and you can live in a completely different world from that person, which is definitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/you-can-have-somebody-living-next-door-to-you-and-you-can-live-in-a/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [George Bush and John Ashcroft were religious in a scary way, but the rational among us could always take heart that, deep down, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/george-bush-and-john-ashcroft-were-religious-in-a-scary-way-but-the/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [“People aren't pissed just to be pissed. They're mad because a tiny group of crooks on Wall Street built themselves beach houses in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/people-aren-t-pissed-just-to-be-pissed-they-re-mad-because-a-tiny/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) [Explore all 175 Matt Taibbi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) ## 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": "Since the end of the Cold War, America has been grasping left and right for an identity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matt Taibbi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/since-the-end-of-the-cold-war-america-has-been-grasping-left-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/since-the-end-of-the-cold-war-america-has-been-grasping-left-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db2/matt-taibbi-2257_america_since-the-end-of-the-cold-war-america-ha_2000838.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db2/matt-taibbi-2257_america_since-the-end-of-the-cold-war-america-ha_2000838.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db2/matt-taibbi-2257_america_since-the-end-of-the-cold-war-america-ha_2000838.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Since the end of the Cold War, America has been grasping left and right for an identity.” — Matt Taibbi", "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": "Matt Taibbi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Since the end of the Cold...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/since-the-end-of-the-cold-war-america-has-been-grasping-left-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/since-the-end-of-the-cold-war-america-has-been-grasping-left-and/#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 } } ] } ```