--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think America, unfortunately…" description: "\"I think America, unfortunately, collectively thinks of itself as the 'chosen people.' To my knowledge, there are no chosen people, we are all human bei..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/914/norman-lear-7597_america_i-think-america-unfortunately-collective_3112087.png" --- # I think America, unfortunately, collectively thinks of… ![“I think America, unfortunately, collectively thinks of itself as the 'chosen people.' To my knowledge, there are no chosen people, we are all human beings.” quote by Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/914/norman-lear-7597_america_i-think-america-unfortunately-collective_3112087.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/914/norman-lear-7597_america_i-think-america-unfortunately-collective_3112087.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/914/norman-lear-7597_america_i-think-america-unfortunately-collective_3112087.png) > “I think America, unfortunately, collectively thinks of itself as the 'chosen people.' To my knowledge, there are no chosen people, we are all human beings.” [Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The notion of a "chosen people" is a myth; all humans share equal worth and should be seen as one humanity. **In simple terms:** No one is chosen; all are equal. Key Takeaway Embrace universal human equality. Themes equality humanity identity social justice Mood reflective empathetic inspirational Type social ethical philosophical When to use this quote - education curricula - community building - policy advocacy - media representation Key Concepts Philosophy sociology ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can societies move beyond exclusive identity myths? - What role does education play in fostering shared humanity? A Different Perspective Some cultures deeply hold chosen‑people narratives, making change challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Unfortunately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-unfortunately-1009978/) [Chosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chosen/) [Chosen People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chosen-people-1313108/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Think America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-america/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Unfortunately Collectively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfortunately-collectively-5437352/) ## Related quotes > [I think that people in America, unfortunately or fortunately, are just discovering different aspects of the humanity of African-American people. And so I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salim-akil/i-think-that-people-in-america-unfortunately-or-fortunately-are-just/) [Salim Akil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salim-akil/) > [In the United States of America, unfortunately we still live in a bubble of unreality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/in-the-united-states-of-america-unfortunately-we-still-live-in-a-2/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There is no one true church, no one chosen people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/there-is-no-one-true-church-no-one-chosen-people/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [The Romans thought of themselves as the chosen people, yet they built the greatest army on Earth by recruiting warriors from any background.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-chua/the-romans-thought-of-themselves-as-the-chosen-people-yet-they-built/) [Amy Chua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-chua/) > [I believe that the people of Israel are the chosen people of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-falwell/i-believe-that-the-people-of-israel-are-the-chosen-people-of-god/) [Jerry Falwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-falwell/) > [Music, among those who were styled the chosen people, was a religious art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/music-among-those-who-were-styled-the-chosen-people-was-a-religious/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [God took his chosen people and we are what's left. He looked at what's left and thought: I could kill you all, but let's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/god-took-his-chosen-people-and-we-are-what-s-left-he-looked-at-what-s/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [So we pick and choose who we want to remain close to, and once we've chosen those people, we tend to stick close by](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-we-pick-and-choose-who-we-want-to-remain-close-to-and-once-we-ve/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We do not believe in the notion of God's chosen people. We laugh at this people's fancies and weep over its misdeeds. To act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/we-do-not-believe-in-the-notion-of-god-s-chosen-people-we-laugh-at/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [I was raised in an orthodox Jewish family. It felt good to be one of the 'chosen' people. But it all kind of fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-rosenthal/i-was-raised-in-an-orthodox-jewish-family-it-felt-good-to-be-one-of/) [Joshua Rosenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-rosenthal/) > [“The world doesn't need chosen people, it needs decent people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-world-doesn-t-need-chosen-people-it-needs-decent-people/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Philistine must have originally meant, in the mind of those who invented the nickname, a strong, dogged, unenlightened opponent of the chosen people, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/philistine-must-have-originally-meant-in-the-mind-of-those-who/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [“Oh, my, you are one of the Chosen People," mocked Black-eyes. "Of course I am," retorted Emily.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/oh-my-you-are-one-of-the-chosen-people-mocked-black-eyes-of-course-i/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [Those who labour in the earth are the chosen people of God, if ever he had a chosen, people, whose breasts he has made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/those-who-labour-in-the-earth-are-the-chosen-people-of-god-if-ever-he/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/those-who-labor-in-the-earth-are-the-chosen-people-of-god/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## More by Norman Lear > [When we went on the air, I didn't want to be interrupted for an act-one curtain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lear/when-we-went-on-the-air-i-didn-t-want-to-be-interrupted-for-an-act/) [Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) > [In this nation, leadership is dollars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lear/in-this-nation-leadership-is-dollars/) [Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) > [The American people may not be the best-educated, but they're very wise at heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lear/the-american-people-may-not-be-the-best-educated-but-they-re-very/) [Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) > [Maybe they continued to agree with Archie Bunker - as I said earlier, you can't change people's minds, but you can get them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lear/maybe-they-continued-to-agree-with-archie-bunker-as-i-said-earlier/) [Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) > [I think if you're feeling great about where you are, everything that led up to it had to be terrific.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lear/i-think-if-you-re-feeling-great-about-where-you-are-everything-that/) [Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) > [Life goes on pretty much the same way. I've been working on a couple of films on the side. You may see some more.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lear/life-goes-on-pretty-much-the-same-way-i-ve-been-working-on-a-couple/) [Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) > [If there is a reason to believe in God, it would be the Havana Leaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lear/if-there-is-a-reason-to-believe-in-god-it-would-be-the-havana-leaf/) [Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) > [In my 90-plus years, I have lived a multitude of lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lear/in-my-90-plus-years-i-have-lived-a-multitude-of-lives/) [Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) > [America is a country of excess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lear/america-is-a-country-of-excess/) [Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) > [We just may be the most well-informed, yet least self-aware, people in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lear/we-just-may-be-the-most-well-informed-yet-least-self-aware-people-in/) [Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) > [The people responsible for the dollars that will buy the sex and violence so many deplore, don't even know what's going - well, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lear/the-people-responsible-for-the-dollars-that-will-buy-the-sex-and/) [Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) > [... For all our alarm, it is clear that the religious right is responding to a real hunger in our society... a deep-seated yearning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lear/for-all-our-alarm-it-is-clear-that-the-religious-right-is-responding/) [Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) > [The movies had a slogan at the time, to distinguish themselves from TV, that said 'movies are better than ever.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lear/the-movies-had-a-slogan-at-the-time-to-distinguish-themselves-from-tv/) [Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) > [I think Americans have become a - much more a nation of consumers than citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lear/i-think-americans-have-become-a-much-more-a-nation-of-consumers-than/) [Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) > [My dad called me meat head dead from the neck up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lear/my-dad-called-me-meat-head-dead-from-the-neck-up/) [Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) [Explore all 89 Norman Lear quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) ## 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 think America, unfortunately, collectively thinks of itself as the 'chosen people.' 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