--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: America always put forth this phony…" description: "\"America always put forth this phony melting pot theory, but it's a reality now. They couldn't accomplish the melting pot economically; they couldn't ac..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/620/russell-means-12584_accomplish_america-always-put-forth-this-phony-melt_23455.jpg" --- # America always put forth this phony melting pot theory… ![“America always put forth this phony melting pot theory, but it's a reality now. They couldn't accomplish the melting pot economically; they couldn't accomplish it politically, or through education and science. But America has become a consumer society, and I see young people in the cities - of all…” quote by Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/620/russell-means-12584_accomplish_america-always-put-forth-this-phony-melt_23455.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/620/russell-means-12584_accomplish_america-always-put-forth-this-phony-melt_23455.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/620/russell-means-12584_accomplish_america-always-put-forth-this-phony-melt_23455.jpg) > “America always put forth this phony melting pot theory, but it's a reality now. They couldn't accomplish the melting pot economically; they couldn't accomplish it politically, or through education and science. But America has become a consumer society, and I see young people in the cities - of all colors and races - hanging out together over consumerism.” [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) ## 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 argues that America's myth of a harmonious melting pot has failed politically and economically, yet consumer culture now brings diverse youth together socially. **In simple terms:** Consumerism unites diverse youth in cities. Key Takeaway Cultural integration occurs via shared consumption, not policy. Themes identity consumer culture social integration race relations urban life Mood observational critical hopeful Type sociopolitical cultural critique urban observation When to use this quote - urban youth gatherings - cross‑racial friendships - shopping malls - street festivals - online consumer forums Key Concepts melting pot myth economic barriers political failure consumerism Practical Applications - marketing strategies targeting multicultural audiences - community building through shared consumer experiences Questions to Reflect On - How does consumerism shape social bonds across racial lines? - Can shared consumption replace political efforts for integration? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accomplish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplish/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Consumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-consumer-404448/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Consumer Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumer-society-404449/) [Consumerism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumerism/) [Consumers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumers/) [Hanging out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hanging-out/) [Melting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melting/) [Melting pot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melting-pot/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Phony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phony/) [Phony Melting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phony-melting-404450/) [Pot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pot/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Young people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-people/) ## Related quotes > [America is a consumer culture, and when we change what we buy - and how we buy it - we'll change who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-popcorn/america-is-a-consumer-culture-and-when-we-change-what-we-buy-and-how/) [Faith Popcorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-popcorn/) > [I really feel that I had a genuinely diverse, multicultural upbringing, and I just don't find New York to be quite as diverse. Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-ejogo/i-really-feel-that-i-had-a-genuinely-diverse-multicultural-upbringing/) [Carmen Ejogo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-ejogo/) > [Paris was a melting pot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-rykiel/paris-was-a-melting-pot/) [Sonia Rykiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-rykiel/) > [Of course this is Vegas and it is the melting pot for all over the world, but people from all over the world know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donny-osmond/of-course-this-is-vegas-and-it-is-the-melting-pot-for-all-over-the/) [Donny Osmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donny-osmond/) > [“We're this big melting pot, but someone turned up the heat too high, and the stew started to burn. Gangs, crime, fights, and fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/we-re-this-big-melting-pot-but-someone-turned-up-the-heat-too-high/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [New Orleans has a unique history as a great melting pot of all kinds of cultures, and that manifests itself now through the food,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bakula/new-orleans-has-a-unique-history-as-a-great-melting-pot-of-all-kinds/) [Scott Bakula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bakula/) > [While Mumbai is a melting pot of cultures, Delhi is made of community, and we can see these lines quite clearly. An aunty from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vir-das/while-mumbai-is-a-melting-pot-of-cultures-delhi-is-made-of-community/) [Vir Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vir-das/) > [“America’s not really a melting pot. It’s more like one of those divided metal plates with separate sections for starch, meat, and veggies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/america-s-not-really-a-melting-pot-it-s-more-like-one-of-those/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [There's a lot to love about America - freedom, the melting pot of diversity, individualism - all attractive concepts, especially to an introvert. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/there-s-a-lot-to-love-about-america-freedom-the-melting-pot-of/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [I think that the global consciousness concerning all those elements that produce tension, fractions of societies, is changing in the sense that we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilberto-gil/i-think-that-the-global-consciousness-concerning-all-those-elements/) [Gilberto Gil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilberto-gil/) > [Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-holder/though-this-nation-has-proudly-thought-of-itself-as-an-ethnic-melting/) [Eric Holder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-holder/) > [America gave the world the notion of the melting pot - an alchemical cooking device wherein diverse ethnic and religious groups voluntarily mix together,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-krastev/america-gave-the-world-the-notion-of-the-melting-pot-an-alchemical/) [Ivan Krastev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-krastev/) > [I'm Irish and always will be, but America has taught me so much. 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That metal is the metal of nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/there-is-here-a-great-melting-pot-in-which-we-must-compound-a/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) ## More by Russell Means > [Freedom is for everyone, whatever lifestyle they choose, as long as it's peaceful and honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/freedom-is-for-everyone-whatever-lifestyle-they-choose-as-long-as-it/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [I've always considered myself a man of integrity as a leader of the American Indian Movement and of Indian people. I will stand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/i-ve-always-considered-myself-a-man-of-integrity-as-a-leader-of-the/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [When a woman grabs my braids and says "How cute!" I crab her breast and say "How cute!" She never touches me again!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/when-a-woman-grabs-my-braids-and-says-how-cute-i-crab-her-breast-and/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [Golden eagles don't mate with bald eagles, deer don't mate with antelope, gray wolves don't mate with red wolves. Just look at domesticated animals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/golden-eagles-don-t-mate-with-bald-eagles-deer-don-t-mate-with/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [Being an Indian means living with the land. And the only way we'll be able to do that is to gain our freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/being-an-indian-means-living-with-the-land-and-the-only-way-we-ll-be/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [I don't want to be remembered as an activist; I want to be remembered as an American Indian patriot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/i-don-t-want-to-be-remembered-as-an-activist-i-want-to-be-remembered/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [Before AIM, Indians were dispirited, defeated, and culturally dissolving. People were ashamed to be Indian. You didn't see the young people wearing braids or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/before-aim-indians-were-dispirited-defeated-and-culturally-dissolving/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [Children in poverty aren't trying to get out of poverty; they're just trying to rip off a pair of Nikes. So we Indian people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/children-in-poverty-aren-t-trying-to-get-out-of-poverty-they-re-just/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [The United States is a fake country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/the-united-states-is-a-fake-country/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [We Indians do not teach that there is only one god. We know that everything has power, including the most inanimate, inconsequential things. Stones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/we-indians-do-not-teach-that-there-is-only-one-god-we-know-that/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [What the American Indian Movement says is that the American Indians are the Palestinians of the United States, and the Palestinians are the American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/what-the-american-indian-movement-says-is-that-the-american-indians/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [I'd like to talk about free markets. Information in the computer age is the last genuine free market left on earth except those free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/i-d-like-to-talk-about-free-markets-information-in-the-computer-age/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [True to your own ancestors, therefore true to yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/true-to-your-own-ancestors-therefore-true-to-yourself/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [Imagine going to the holy land in Israel, whether you're a Christian or a Jew or a Muslim, and start carving up the mountain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/imagine-going-to-the-holy-land-in-israel-whether-you-re-a-christian/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [So I'd much rather get across the concept of freedom. It's what's important to Indian children. The only way you can be free is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/so-i-d-much-rather-get-across-the-concept-of-freedom-it-s-what-s/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) [Explore all 54 Russell Means quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) ## More Accomplish quotes > [Learn to see the big picture. Often times we get tunnel vision and lose sight of the big picture and what we're really trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cheeke/learn-to-see-the-big-picture-often-times-we-get-tunnel-vision-and/) [Robert Cheeke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cheeke/) > [You know, by the time you reach my age, you've made plenty of mistakes if you've lived your life properly. So you learn. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/you-know-by-the-time-you-reach-my-age-you-ve-made-plenty-of-mistakes/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [I work every day. 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But I derive my hope above all, and most especially, from our utter incapacity, for it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-guerin/the-community-s-crosses-and-trials-give-me-confidence-but-i-derive-my/) [Theodore Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-guerin/) > [There's things that you want to accomplish, but to do that you have to work. 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