Athiesm Quote by Sam Harris
““There is no doubt that the United States has much to atone for, both domestically and abroad...To produce this horrible confection at home, start with our genocidal treatment of the Native Americans, add a couple hundred years of slavery, along with our denial of entry to Jewish refugees fleeing the death camps of the Third Reich, stir in our collusion with a long list of modern despots and our subsequent disregard for their appalling human rights records, add our bombing of Cambodia and the Pentagon Papers to taste, and then top with our recent refusals to sign the Kyoto protocol for greenhouse emissions, to support any ban on land mines, and to submit ourselves to the rulings of the International Criminal Court. The result should smell of death, hypocrisy, and fresh brimstone.””
About This Quote
Source Speech: Public Lecture, Sam Harris, 2018
The United States bears historic and ongoing moral failures, from genocide to climate in, creating a legacy of hypocrisy.
In simple terms: America has many serious moral flaws and contradictions.
Key Takeaway
Acknowledge and address systemic injustices.
Themes
history
politics
ethics
Mood
critical
somber
Type
political
ethical
When to use this quote
- policy reform
- education
- activism
- international law
Key Concepts
colonialism
slavery
human rights
environmental policy
Questions to Reflect On
- What steps can individuals take to confront these issues?
- How can societies reconcile past wrongs?
A Different Perspective
Complexity of national identity may resist critique.
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