--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The terrorists are going to believe the…" description: "\"The terrorists are going to believe the worst about America. They think we spy on everything. They think we kill everyone. They think - they don't beli..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/robert-scheer-12420_america_the-terrorists-are-going-to-believe-the_2718301.png" --- # The terrorists are going to believe the worst about… ![“The terrorists are going to believe the worst about America. They think we spy on everything. They think we kill everyone. They think - they don't believe that we believe in democracy, right? They don't believe we have limits on our government.” quote by Robert Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/robert-scheer-12420_america_the-terrorists-are-going-to-believe-the_2718301.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/robert-scheer-12420_america_the-terrorists-are-going-to-believe-the_2718301.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/robert-scheer-12420_america_the-terrorists-are-going-to-believe-the_2718301.png) > “The terrorists are going to believe the worst about America. They think we spy on everything. They think we kill everyone. They think - they don't believe that we believe in democracy, right? They don't believe we have limits on our government.” [Robert Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scheer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Terrorists view America as oppressive, believing we spy, kill, and lack democratic limits. **In simple terms:** Terrorists think America is oppressive and undemocratic. Key Takeaway Promote transparent policies to counter extremist narratives. Themes terrorism perception democracy surveillance foreign policy Mood critical optimistic Type political analytical When to use this quote - public diplomacy - media literacy programs - policy transparency - international dialogues Key Concepts propaganda analysis counter‑terrorism strategy Questions to Reflect On - How can the US demonstrate genuine democratic values abroad? - What reforms reduce perceptions of oppression? A Different Perspective Skeptics may argue that some policies do reflect those fears. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Spy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spy/) [Terrorists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrorists/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [There's no question that the next generation of terrorists, rather than going for small, little dramas, will go for the big one. They now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/there-s-no-question-that-the-next-generation-of-terrorists-rather/) [Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/) > [Are terrorists going to be deterred - are terrorists going to be scared if we react violently? No. They love it. That's what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/are-terrorists-going-to-be-deterred-are-terrorists-going-to-be-scared/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [A terrorist can attack at any time at any place using a range of techniques. It is physically impossible to defend at every time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/a-terrorist-can-attack-at-any-time-at-any-place-using-a-range-of/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [The Patriot Act is ludicrous. Terrorists have proved that they are interested in total genocide, not subtle little hacks of the U.S. infrastructure, yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/the-patriot-act-is-ludicrous-terrorists-have-proved-that-they-are/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [“Many in the white working class believe the worst about their society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/many-in-the-white-working-class-believe-the-worst-about-their-society/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [Believe it or not, the worst thing to hear from your parents is 'I'm Disappointed in you.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/believe-it-or-not-the-worst-thing-to-hear-from-your-parents-is-i-m/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When it comes to life and love, why do we believe our worst reviews?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jessica-parker/when-it-comes-to-life-and-love-why-do-we-believe-our-worst-reviews/) [Sarah Jessica Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jessica-parker/) > [People who prefer to believe the worst of others will breed war and religious persecutions while the world lasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/people-who-prefer-to-believe-the-worst-of-others-will-breed-war-and/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I was brought up to believe that the worst thing you could do was 'call attention to yourself,' or 'think you were smart.' My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/i-was-brought-up-to-believe-that-the-worst-thing-you-could-do-was/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [It's so easy for people to believe the worst about you but it's so hard for people to believe the good about you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-so-easy-for-people-to-believe-the-worst-about-you-but-it-s-so/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I believe that even the worst people on the planet believe that they are somehow justified in their neurosis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-schneider/i-believe-that-even-the-worst-people-on-the-planet-believe-that-they/) [John Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-schneider/) > [Even the worst job has its benefits and so does being a professional literary agent, and - I know I said this at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/even-the-worst-job-has-its-benefits-and-so-does-being-a-professional/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [Races and nations are thus ever ready to believe the worst of one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-le-gallienne/races-and-nations-are-thus-ever-ready-to-believe-the-worst-of-one/) [Richard Le Gallienne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-le-gallienne/) > [That's one of the things I like about Mary Lou. She's willing to believe the worst about anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/that-s-one-of-the-things-i-like-about-mary-lou-she-s-willing-to/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [The oppressed will always believe the worst about themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/the-oppressed-will-always-believe-the-worst-about-themselves/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) ## More by Robert Scheer > [I was able to do something that people can't do these days, which is to have quality time with the guys who were trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scheer/i-was-able-to-do-something-that-people-can-t-do-these-days-which-is/) [Robert Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scheer/) > [The publisher Jeff Johnson, who has offered not a word of explanation to me, has privately told people that he hated every word that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scheer/the-publisher-jeff-johnson-who-has-offered-not-a-word-of-explanation/) [Robert Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scheer/) > [When Howard Dean started saying some honest things, they hung him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scheer/when-howard-dean-started-saying-some-honest-things-they-hung-him/) [Robert Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scheer/) > [Well, what happened is that I had been the subject of vicious attacks by Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scheer/well-what-happened-is-that-i-had-been-the-subject-of-vicious-attacks/) [Robert Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scheer/) > [I have broken a lot of stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scheer/i-have-broken-a-lot-of-stories/) [Robert Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scheer/) > [There's a problem of terrorism in the world. 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Democrats can play the false patriotism card.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scheer/democrats-can-give-us-wars-you-know-democrats-can-play-the-false/) [Robert Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scheer/) > [What passes for investigative journalism is finding somebody with their pants down - literally or otherwise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scheer/what-passes-for-investigative-journalism-is-finding-somebody-with/) [Robert Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scheer/) > [ He \[Reagan\] likes to tell jokes and that's why he told the ethnic joke that got him into some trouble. Perhaps if reporters didn't… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scheer/he-reagan-likes-to-tell-jokes-and-that-s-why-he-told-the-ethnic-joke/) [Robert Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scheer/) > [The paper nominated me 12 or 13 times for the Pulitzer Prize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scheer/the-paper-nominated-me-12-or-13-times-for-the-pulitzer-prize/) [Robert Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scheer/) > [For example, I spent a lot of time with Reagan, both before he ran for governor and when he was running for president. 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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? 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