--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I studied about the internment of…" description: "\"I studied about the internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War and about how the Constitution was written by men, many of whom were s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7de/mohsin-hamid-798_constitution_i-studied-about-the-internment-of-japane_2864962.jpg" --- # I studied about the internment of Japanese Americans… ![“I studied about the internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War and about how the Constitution was written by men, many of whom were slave owners. So I suppose the travel ban strikes me as coming from an era I thought we'd left behind, but I guess we haven't entirely left it behind.” quote by Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7de/mohsin-hamid-798_constitution_i-studied-about-the-internment-of-japane_2864962.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7de/mohsin-hamid-798_constitution_i-studied-about-the-internment-of-japane_2864962.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7de/mohsin-hamid-798_constitution_i-studied-about-the-internment-of-japane_2864962.jpg) > “I studied about the internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War and about how the Constitution was written by men, many of whom were slave owners. So I suppose the travel ban strikes me as coming from an era I thought we'd left behind, but I guess we haven't entirely left it behind.” [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote links past injustices—Japanese American internment and slave‑owner founders—to modern travel bans, suggesting lingering systemic bias. **In simple terms:** Past injustices echo in current policies. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge hidden biases. Themes history policy justice race privilege Mood reflective concerned Type analytical critical When to use this quote - activism - policy analysis - education - public discourse - legal reform Key Concepts systemic racism historical continuity civil rights Questions to Reflect On - How do historical injustices shape today’s policies? - What steps can reduce systemic bias? A Different Perspective The analogy may oversimplify complex security concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Constitution Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution-written-245294/) [Internment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internment/) [Internment Japanese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internment-japanese-1271725/) [Left behind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-behind/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Second world war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-world-war/) [Studied Internment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/studied-internment-3888095/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Travel Ban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel-ban-507977/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war/) ## Related quotes > [I have two passions in my life. One is to raise the awareness of the internment of Japanese-American citizens. My other passion is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/i-have-two-passions-in-my-life-one-is-to-raise-the-awareness-of-the/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) > [Our Navy was very largely sunk. And we were at war in no time at all. I share, in retrospect, the distress we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-rusher/our-navy-was-very-largely-sunk-and-we-were-at-war-in-no-time-at-all-i/) [William A. Rusher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-rusher/) > [No one should ever be locked away simply because they share the same race, ethnicity, or religion as a spy or terrorist. If that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-korematsu/no-one-should-ever-be-locked-away-simply-because-they-share-the-same/) [Fred Korematsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-korematsu/) > [February 19, 1942, is the year in which Executive Order 9066 was signed, and this was the order that called for the exclusion and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xavier-becerra/february-19-1942-is-the-year-in-which-executive-order-9066-was-signed/) [Xavier Becerra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xavier-becerra/) > [What I would say about the Trump travel ban is there goes my Hollywood career!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayvan-novak/what-i-would-say-about-the-trump-travel-ban-is-there-goes-my/) [Kayvan Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kayvan-novak/) > [ Even though most people were disconnected from \[travel ban\], the moment amplified a fairly massive and somewhat irrational fear that exists in the populace… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-van-agtmael/even-though-most-people-were-disconnected-from-travel-ban-the-moment/) [Peter van Agtmael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-van-agtmael/) > [Mr. Trump's travel ban has never really been about security. Rather, it's the tip of the spear in a much broader battle: to drastically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/mr-trump-s-travel-ban-has-never-really-been-about-security-rather-it/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [On the larger issue of the travel ban, our friend Charles Krauthammer of The Washington Post I think put it pretty well. I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/on-the-larger-issue-of-the-travel-ban-our-friend-charles-krauthammer/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [ The travel ban that was imposed by the \[Donald Trump\] administration is a very direct reverberation of 9/11. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-van-agtmael/the-travel-ban-that-was-imposed-by-the-donald-trump-administration-is/) [Peter van Agtmael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-van-agtmael/) > [If we're trying to protect the American public, we should not put in place a travel ban.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/if-we-re-trying-to-protect-the-american-public-we-should-not-put-in/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Let me tell you about the travel ban. We had a very smooth rollout of the travel ban. But we had a bad court.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/let-me-tell-you-about-the-travel-ban-we-had-a-very-smooth-rollout-of/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [No travel ban or quarantine will seal a country completely. Even if travel could be reduced by eighty per cent-itself a feat-models predict that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/no-travel-ban-or-quarantine-will-seal-a-country-completely-even-if/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [I don't have a philosophical objection, necessarily, to a travel ban if that is the thing that is going to keep the American people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-don-t-have-a-philosophical-objection-necessarily-to-a-travel-ban-if/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“Interpreters, when challenged on their manipulations, tell us the Constitution was written for a different and simpler time. Actually, the genius of the Constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-david-ledbetter/interpreters-when-challenged-on-their-manipulations-tell-us-the/) [Mark David Ledbetter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-david-ledbetter/) > [Our Constitution was not written in the sands to be washed away by each wave of new judges blown in by each successive political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-black/our-constitution-was-not-written-in-the-sands-to-be-washed-away-by/) [Hugo Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-black/) ## More by Mohsin Hamid > [Pakistan now is like a horror film franchise. You know, it's 'Friday the 13th, Episode 63: The Terrorist from Pakistan.' And each time we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/pakistan-now-is-like-a-horror-film-franchise-you-know-it-s-friday-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“I met her eyes, and for the first time I perceived that there was something broken behind them, like a tiny crack in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-met-her-eyes-and-for-the-first-time-i-perceived-that-there-was/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“muscularity, made more pronounced by her gauntness, and the near-inanimate”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/muscularity-made-more-pronounced-by-her-gauntness-and-the-near/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“In this group, everyone was foreign, and so, in a sense, no one was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/in-this-group-everyone-was-foreign-and-so-in-a-sense-no-one-was/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“It seemed to me then - and to be honest, sir, seems to me still - that America was engaged only in posturing. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/it-seemed-to-me-then-and-to-be-honest-sir-seems-to-me-still-that/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [When the uncertain future becomes the past, the past in turn becomes uncertain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/when-the-uncertain-future-becomes-the-past-the-past-in-turn-becomes/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [When the machine of a human being is turned on, it seems to produce a protagonist, just as a television produces an image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/when-the-machine-of-a-human-being-is-turned-on-it-seems-to-produce-a/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I think fiction allows you to inhabit new domains and it's you, the reader living in that domain for a few days that results…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-think-fiction-allows-you-to-inhabit-new-domains-and-it-s-you-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“Often, during my stay in your country, such comparisons troubled me. In fact, they did more than trouble me: they made me resentful. Four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/often-during-my-stay-in-your-country-such-comparisons-troubled-me-in/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [Americans need to educate themselves, from elementary school onward, about what their country has done abroad. And they need to play a more active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/americans-need-to-educate-themselves-from-elementary-school-onward/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I'm not a representative of Pakistan; I'm just an example that Pakistanis are different from each other. I believe it in my fiction and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-m-not-a-representative-of-pakistan-i-m-just-an-example-that/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“end of a couple is like a death, and the notion of death, of temporariness, can remind us of the value of things,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/end-of-a-couple-is-like-a-death-and-the-notion-of-death-of/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [NYC doesn't have a big sign saying "You must love diversity and the rights of all people." And that's not what makes you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/nyc-doesn-t-have-a-big-sign-saying-you-must-love-diversity-and-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) [Explore all 361 Mohsin Hamid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) ## More Constitution quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“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/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. 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We are guardian of rights, and we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-bird/the-judiciary-must-not-take-on-the-coloration-of-whatever-may-be/) [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) > [There is not a revolution that succe Women are suffering because they are being excluded. The high military council excluded women from the committee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawal-el-saadawi/there-is-not-a-revolution-that-succe-women-are-suffering-because-they/) [Nawal El Saadawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawal-el-saadawi/) > [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' 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