--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not healthy when a nation lives…" description: "\"It is not healthy when a nation lives within a nation, as colored Americans are living inside America. A nation cannot live confident of its tomorrow i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/pearl-s-buck-1024_america_it-is-not-healthy-when-a-nation-lives-wi_278663.jpg" --- # It is not healthy when a nation lives within a nation, as… ![“It is not healthy when a nation lives within a nation, as colored Americans are living inside America. A nation cannot live confident of its tomorrow if its refugees are among its own citizens.” quote by Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/pearl-s-buck-1024_america_it-is-not-healthy-when-a-nation-lives-wi_278663.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/pearl-s-buck-1024_america_it-is-not-healthy-when-a-nation-lives-wi_278663.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/pearl-s-buck-1024_america_it-is-not-healthy-when-a-nation-lives-wi_278663.jpg) > “It is not healthy when a nation lives within a nation, as colored Americans are living inside America. A nation cannot live confident of its tomorrow if its refugees are among its own citizens.” [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A nation divided internally cannot be confident about its future; refugees within its borders undermine unity. **In simple terms:** Internal division harms national confidence. Key Takeaway Address integration and unity. Themes social cohesion immigration national identity Mood concerned hopeful Type social political When to use this quote - government planning - community building - human rights advocacy Key Concepts Sociology policy analysis Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance diversity and unity? - What policies foster inclusion? A Different Perspective Overgeneralizes complex refugee experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Diversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diversity/) [Immigration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigration/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Refugee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refugee/) [Social justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-justice/) [Tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow/) ## Related quotes > [“James Thompson, a twenty-six-year-old cafeteria worker, eloquently articulated the Negro dilemma in a letter he wrote to the Pittsburgh Courier: "Being an American of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-lee-shetterly/james-thompson-a-twenty-six-year-old-cafeteria-worker-eloquently/) [Margot Lee Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-lee-shetterly/) > [Let us stop saying 'white Americans' and 'colored Americans,' let us try once and for all saying... Americans. Let human beings be equal on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-baker/let-us-stop-saying-white-americans-and-colored-americans-let-us-try/) [Josephine Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-baker/) > [Every nation lives by its own intelligence, culture, skill and patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-fulger/every-nation-lives-by-its-own-intelligence-culture-skill-and-patience/) [Mariana Fulger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-fulger/) > [A nation lives forever through its concepts, honour, and culture. It is for these reasons that the rulers of nations must judge and act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corneliu-zelea-codreanu/a-nation-lives-forever-through-its-concepts-honour-and-culture-it-is/) [Corneliu Zelea Codreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corneliu-zelea-codreanu/) > [“Are Americans living longer now compared to about a generation ago? Yes, technically. But are those extra years necessarily healthy ones? No. And it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-greger/are-americans-living-longer-now-compared-to-about-a-generation-ago/) [Michael Greger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-greger/) > [Retired Americans living on Social Security, exempt from taxes because their income is modest, are not the problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/retired-americans-living-on-social-security-exempt-from-taxes-because/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [I've spent the last year listening to Americans, and the state of the union that George W. Bush lives in is very different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lieberman/i-ve-spent-the-last-year-listening-to-americans-and-the-state-of-the/) [Joe Lieberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lieberman/) > [Not all Americans are living the American dream by a long shot. Many can't even imagine it. There are impoverished Americans, the poor and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/not-all-americans-are-living-the-american-dream-by-a-long-shot-many/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [I'll tell you what, our inner cities are so, so bad right now. The danger, the crime, the lack of education, no jobs. African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-ll-tell-you-what-our-inner-cities-are-so-so-bad-right-now-the/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In spite of nuclear weapons, large numbers of American citizens feel totally insecure. And in spite of so much wealth, industry and technology, many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satish-kumar/in-spite-of-nuclear-weapons-large-numbers-of-american-citizens-feel/) [Satish Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satish-kumar/) > [Americans seem to be living in a state of fear about the world, one that just keeps intensifying. I mean, look at our cars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-almond/americans-seem-to-be-living-in-a-state-of-fear-about-the-world-one/) [Steve Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-almond/) > [More than 10 million Americans are living with cancer, and they demonstrate the ever-increasing possibility of living beyond cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/more-than-10-million-americans-are-living-with-cancer-and-they/) [Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/) > [I would like to have you quote me, Erich von Stroheim, as having said on this day of this month of this year this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-von-stroheim/i-would-like-to-have-you-quote-me-erich-von-stroheim-as-having-said/) [Erich von Stroheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-von-stroheim/) > [When we have 13,000 Americans living on the moon, they can petition to become a state,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/when-we-have-13-000-americans-living-on-the-moon-they-can-petition-to/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [If you paid Americans a living wage, they would be able to pay for products made by Americans in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/if-you-paid-americans-a-living-wage-they-would-be-able-to-pay-for/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) ## More by Pearl S. Buck > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Hunger makes a thief of any man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/hunger-makes-a-thief-of-any-man/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [War is the most devastating endemic and epidemic disease the human race has to endure, and yet too little has been done to discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/war-is-the-most-devastating-endemic-and-epidemic-disease-the-human/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [In our changing world nothing changes more than geography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/in-our-changing-world-nothing-changes-more-than-geography/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [No one really understood music unless he was a scientist, her father had declared, and not just a scientist, either, oh, no, only the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/no-one-really-understood-music-unless-he-was-a-scientist-her-father/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Upon the profound discontent of the young in every country do I set my faith. I beg you, the young, to be discontented. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/upon-the-profound-discontent-of-the-young-in-every-country-do-i-set/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Wang Lung sat smoking, thinking of the silver as it had lain upon the table. It had come out of the earth, this silver,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/wang-lung-sat-smoking-thinking-of-the-silver-as-it-had-lain-upon-the/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/the-secret-of-joy-in-work-is-contained-in-one-word-excellence-to-know/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [If our American way of life fails the child, it fails us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/if-our-american-way-of-life-fails-the-child-it-fails-us-all/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Mind and body were well or ill together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/mind-and-body-were-well-or-ill-together/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“U meni postoji mjesto gdje živim posve sama; tu obnavljam svoja proljeća koja nikad ne presahnu”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/u-meni-postoji-mjesto-gdje-ivim-posve-sama-tu-obnavljam-svoja-prolje/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Brave young American men climbed the rugged slopes of Korean mountains and fought in homesickness and desperate weariness for the sake of a people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/brave-young-american-men-climbed-the-rugged-slopes-of-korean/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Truth is always exciting. Speak it, then; life is dull without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/truth-is-always-exciting-speak-it-then-life-is-dull-without-it/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“All scientific effort must now be concentrated in the area of defence (sic). We have learned our lesson. We, the most civilized of people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/all-scientific-effort-must-now-be-concentrated-in-the-area-of-defence/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [to know how to read is to light a lamp in the mind, to release the soul from prison, to open a gate to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/to-know-how-to-read-is-to-light-a-lamp-in-the-mind-to-release-the/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) [Explore all 304 Pearl S. Buck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) ## 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": "It is not healthy when a nation lives within a nation, as colored Americans are living inside America. A nation cannot live confident of its tomorrow if its refugees are among its own citizens.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pearl S. Buck" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/it-is-not-healthy-when-a-nation-lives-within-a-nation-as-colored/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/it-is-not-healthy-when-a-nation-lives-within-a-nation-as-colored/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/pearl-s-buck-1024_america_it-is-not-healthy-when-a-nation-lives-wi_278663.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/pearl-s-buck-1024_america_it-is-not-healthy-when-a-nation-lives-wi_278663.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/pearl-s-buck-1024_america_it-is-not-healthy-when-a-nation-lives-wi_278663.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is not healthy when a nation lives within a nation, as colored Americans are living inside America. A…” — Pearl S. Buck", "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": "Pearl S. Buck", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is not healthy when a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/it-is-not-healthy-when-a-nation-lives-within-a-nation-as-colored/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/it-is-not-healthy-when-a-nation-lives-within-a-nation-as-colored/#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 } } ] } ```