--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Historically, I believe I was correct in…" description: "\"Historically, I believe I was correct in refusing to answer their questions.\" — Pete Seeger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/pete-seeger-1942_answers_historically-i-believe-i-was-correct-in_1057429.png" --- # Historically, I believe I was correct in refusing to… ![“Historically, I believe I was correct in refusing to answer their questions.” quote by Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/pete-seeger-1942_answers_historically-i-believe-i-was-correct-in_1057429.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/pete-seeger-1942_answers_historically-i-believe-i-was-correct-in_1057429.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/pete-seeger-1942_answers_historically-i-believe-i-was-correct-in_1057429.png) > “Historically, I believe I was correct in refusing to answer their questions.” [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing silence can protect personal integrity when answering may compromise truth or safety. **In simple terms:** Silence can protect integrity. Key Takeaway Consider when to stay silent. Themes integrity communication ethics Mood reflective serious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - political interviews - legal testimony - personal relationships Key Concepts personal boundaries truthfulness Questions to Reflect On - When does silence protect versus harm? - What are the costs of speaking out? A Different Perspective Silence may also hinder understanding and trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Correct Refusing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/correct-refusing-2563551/) [Historically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historically/) [Historically Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historically-believe-2563553/) [I believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-believe/) [Refusing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refusing/) [Refusing Answer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refusing-answer-2563552/) ## Related quotes > [Ask yourself, have you ever heard any of your PAP MPs ask the hard questions? As a Singaporean, you have a right to information…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tan-cheng-bock/ask-yourself-have-you-ever-heard-any-of-your-pap-mps-ask-the-hard/) [Tan Cheng Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tan-cheng-bock/) > [“Popular music is not history, but it can be read historically, dialogically, and symptomatically to produce valuable evidence about change over time. Popular music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lipsitz/popular-music-is-not-history-but-it-can-be-read-historically/) [George Lipsitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lipsitz/) > [Historically, professors have defended tenure as a way to protect their individualistic thought. But tenure can also be used as a club to wield…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/historically-professors-have-defended-tenure-as-a-way-to-protect/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [America is a melting pot for all different groups of people, historically. And it's rare that the story of all of these people will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/america-is-a-melting-pot-for-all-different-groups-of-people/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [Sometime in the not too distant future, denying gays the right to marry will be viewed as historically corrupt - as corrupt as denying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/sometime-in-the-not-too-distant-future-denying-gays-the-right-to/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [Historically, defense spending cuts have preceded increased international turmoil as America's global enemies sense a failure of will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/historically-defense-spending-cuts-have-preceded-increased/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [Marriage has historically, as long as there's been human history, meant a man and a woman in a relationship for life. Once we change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/marriage-has-historically-as-long-as-there-s-been-human-history-meant/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) > [Historically, epics are set in Africa or Asia or the Wild West, but if you make an epic today it's hard to disassociate from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baz-luhrmann/historically-epics-are-set-in-africa-or-asia-or-the-wild-west-but-if/) [Baz Luhrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baz-luhrmann/) > [Historically, Jews only accept converts rather than actively seeking them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-novak/historically-jews-only-accept-converts-rather-than-actively-seeking/) [David Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-novak/) > [Los Angeles has been historically known for some great Super Bowls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-snyder/los-angeles-has-been-historically-known-for-some-great-super-bowls/) [Daniel Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-snyder/) > [I suppose philosophy is historically not a woman's game, though that is changing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/i-suppose-philosophy-is-historically-not-a-woman-s-game-though-that/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [Historically, software for business was seen as unsexy because the products were seen as so poor - they provided such a poor user experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-rosenstein/historically-software-for-business-was-seen-as-unsexy-because-the/) [Justin Rosenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-rosenstein/) > [Historically, art has always had a market. When one medieval fiefdom defeated another they would drag back its jewels, gold, tapestries and art objects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-glimcher/historically-art-has-always-had-a-market-when-one-medieval-fiefdom/) [Arne Glimcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-glimcher/) > [I'm not a Little Englander. Historically, British people have always been travellers. I look in the world as one place. You have to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-thomas/i-m-not-a-little-englander-historically-british-people-have-always/) [Jeremy Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-thomas/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) ## More by Pete Seeger > [Honest songs aren't written for money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/honest-songs-aren-t-written-for-money/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [My father, Charles Seeger, got me into the Communist movement. He backed out around '38. I drifted out in the 50's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/my-father-charles-seeger-got-me-into-the-communist-movement-he-backed/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [In the sixties, during the Vietnam war, when anarchists and pacifists and socialists, Democrats and Republicans, decent-hearted Americans, all recoiled with horror at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/in-the-sixties-during-the-vietnam-war-when-anarchists-and-pacifists/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [Now somebody will ask me, Pete, how can you prove these songs really make a difference? And I have to confess I can't prove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/now-somebody-will-ask-me-pete-how-can-you-prove-these-songs-really/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [The truth is a rabbit in a bramble patch. All you can do is circle around and say it's somewhere in there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/the-truth-is-a-rabbit-in-a-bramble-patch-all-you-can-do-is-circle/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [I was about 16 years old years when my father took me to a square dance festival in North Carolina. For the first time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/i-was-about-16-years-old-years-when-my-father-took-me-to-a-square/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [It was Rachel Carson's famous book 'Silent Spring' that got me involved with the environment. I read it in The New Yorker, in installments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/it-was-rachel-carson-s-famous-book-silent-spring-that-got-me-involved/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [When you play the 12-string guitar, you spend half your life tuning the instrument and the other half playing it out of tune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/when-you-play-the-12-string-guitar-you-spend-half-your-life-tuning/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [Folks out in the country couldn't afford to pay for anybody else to make music. They had to make their own. So the peasantry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/folks-out-in-the-country-couldn-t-afford-to-pay-for-anybody-else-to/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [If there's something wrong, speak up!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/if-there-s-something-wrong-speak-up/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [This world is so full of hypocrisy, the only way you can be honest is to be a hermit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/this-world-is-so-full-of-hypocrisy-the-only-way-you-can-be-honest-is/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [There is a big, beautiful world that could be destroyed by selfishness and foolishness. We musicians have it within our power to help save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/there-is-a-big-beautiful-world-that-could-be-destroyed-by-selfishness/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [And the people in the houses All went to the University And they got put in boxes Little boxes all the same, Little boxes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/and-the-people-in-the-houses-all-went-to-the-university-and-they-got/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [A good song reminds us what we're fighting for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/a-good-song-reminds-us-what-we-re-fighting-for/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [Most conservatives just want to turn back the clock to a time before the income tax - 100 years or so. I would like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/most-conservatives-just-want-to-turn-back-the-clock-to-a-time-before/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) [Explore all 196 Pete Seeger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) ## More Answers quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [“As long as you keep searching,the answers will come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-kynock/as-long-as-you-keep-searching-the-answers-will-come/) [Mitch Kynock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-kynock/) > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. The lyrics are the answer to all your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-asking-a-girl-how-she-feels-try-looking-through-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [Enjoying life isn't about finding the answers, but living the questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-margolis/enjoying-life-isn-t-about-finding-the-answers-but-living-the-questions/) [Sue Margolis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-margolis/) [Browse all 7,843 Answers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Historically, I believe I was correct in refusing to answer their questions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete Seeger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/historically-i-believe-i-was-correct-in-refusing-to-answer-their/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Answers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/historically-i-believe-i-was-correct-in-refusing-to-answer-their/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/pete-seeger-1942_answers_historically-i-believe-i-was-correct-in_1057429.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/pete-seeger-1942_answers_historically-i-believe-i-was-correct-in_1057429.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/pete-seeger-1942_answers_historically-i-believe-i-was-correct-in_1057429.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Historically, I believe I was correct in refusing to answer their questions.” — Pete Seeger", "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": "Pete Seeger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Historically, I believe I was correct...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/historically-i-believe-i-was-correct-in-refusing-to-answer-their/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/historically-i-believe-i-was-correct-in-refusing-to-answer-their/#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 } } ] } ```