--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Certainly here in the U.S., we've had…" description: "\"Certainly here in the U.S., we've had fundamentalist movements that have taken very critical and hostile attitudes toward immigration and the assimilat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87c/samuel-p-huntington-4547_assimilation_certainly-here-in-the-u-s-we-ve-had-fund_1112195.png" --- # Certainly here in the U.S., we've had fundamentalist… ![“Certainly here in the U.S., we've had fundamentalist movements that have taken very critical and hostile attitudes toward immigration and the assimilation of immigrants into our society and culture. So these tendencies are fairly universal. The problem is what if they get out of hand and become…” quote by Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87c/samuel-p-huntington-4547_assimilation_certainly-here-in-the-u-s-we-ve-had-fund_1112195.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87c/samuel-p-huntington-4547_assimilation_certainly-here-in-the-u-s-we-ve-had-fund_1112195.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87c/samuel-p-huntington-4547_assimilation_certainly-here-in-the-u-s-we-ve-had-fund_1112195.png) > “Certainly here in the U.S., we've had fundamentalist movements that have taken very critical and hostile attitudes toward immigration and the assimilation of immigrants into our society and culture. So these tendencies are fairly universal. The problem is what if they get out of hand and become the dominant factor in a society, which can only lead to the oppression of minorities or even to war with neighboring societies with differing cultures. That's why it seems to me it's important to try to keep these tendencies toward extremism under control.” [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Extremist anti‑immigrant sentiment can dominate societies, leading to oppression and conflict with diverse cultures. **In simple terms:** Extremism harms minorities and can cause war. Key Takeaway Guard against extremist policies. Themes immigration extremism minority rights culture clash political stability Mood concerned serious cautious Type political analytical When to use this quote - policy debates - community integration - media coverage - educational curricula - public protests Key Concepts Nationalism identity politics social cohesion conflict theory Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance security with inclusion? - What safeguards prevent extremist policies from taking hold? A Different Perspective Extremism may be rooted in legitimate security concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assimilation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assimilation/) [Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) [Critical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critical/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Dominant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dominant/) [Extremism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremism/) [Extremism Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremism-control-2967763/) [Factors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/factors/) [Fundamentalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fundamentalist/) [Fundamentalist Movements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fundamentalist-movements-2967764/) [Had fun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had-fun/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Hostile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hostile/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Immigrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigrants/) [Immigration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigration/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Minorities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minorities/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Oppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression/) [Our society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-society/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Society and culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-and-culture/) [Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken/) [Tendencies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tendencies/) [Tendencies Extremism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tendencies-extremism-2967762/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Universal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universal/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [What if](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/what-if/) ## Related quotes > [Recently with IS and Islamist fanaticism, it has become easy for the Israeli government to simply push the Palestinian struggle for self-determination into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/recently-with-is-and-islamist-fanaticism-it-has-become-easy-for-the/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [The west has decided to channel money and effort into studying other customs and practices, but no one has really given other people the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-west-has-decided-to-channel-money-and-effort-into-studying-other/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [I feel we need to stop worrying about pro-gay movements and start worrying about fundamentalist movements. It's not just about how gay people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-sellards/i-feel-we-need-to-stop-worrying-about-pro-gay-movements-and-start/) [Jason Sellards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-sellards/) > [It was this society and culture that among other things - including economic opportunities here and repression in Europe - attracted subsequent generations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/it-was-this-society-and-culture-that-among-other-things-including/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [But then I came to the conclusion that no, while there may be an immigration problem, it isn't really a serious problem. The really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/but-then-i-came-to-the-conclusion-that-no-while-there-may-be-an/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Much of what we now consider to be problems concerning immigration and assimilation really concern Mexican immigration and assimilation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/much-of-what-we-now-consider-to-be-problems-concerning-immigration/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [“Don’t tread on me I’m not quite clear about how to formulate this question. It has to do with the nature of US society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/don-t-tread-on-me-i-m-not-quite-clear-about-how-to-formulate-this/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Abolitionism did not find positive response in Africa as it did in Western societies and cultures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-warraq/abolitionism-did-not-find-positive-response-in-africa-as-it-did-in/) [Ibn Warraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-warraq/) > [“For the artist, the goal of the painting or musical composition is not to convey literal truth, but an aspect of a universal truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-the-artist-the-goal-of-the-painting-or-musical-composition-is-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nowledge which... transcends the bounds, the prejudices and prejudgements of any one society and culture is not an illusion but, on the contrary, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gellner/nowledge-which-transcends-the-bounds-the-prejudices-and-prejudgements/) [Ernest Gellner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gellner/) > [This world of ours is a new world, in which the unit of knowledge, the nature of human communities, the order of society, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/this-world-of-ours-is-a-new-world-in-which-the-unit-of-knowledge-the/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [“By placing Rogers in context, then, we can finally see that his compassion was not a vague feeling of warmth and fuzziness, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-long/by-placing-rogers-in-context-then-we-can-finally-see-that-his/) [Michael G. Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-long/) > [African society and culture varies much more than European society but it's just considered 'Africa' as if they are all the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/african-society-and-culture-varies-much-more-than-european-society/) [John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/) > [“An important part of deciding where we want to go, as a society and culture, is knowing where we have come from, and indeed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/an-important-part-of-deciding-where-we-want-to-go-as-a-society-and/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“We have this extraordinary conceit in the West that while we've been hard at work in the creation of technological wizardry and innovation, somehow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wade-davis/we-have-this-extraordinary-conceit-in-the-west-that-while-we-ve-been/) [Edmund Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wade-davis/) ## More by Samuel P. Huntington > [Countries will cooperate with each other, and are more likely to cooperate with each other when they share a common culture, as is most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/countries-will-cooperate-with-each-other-and-are-more-likely-to/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [“The prevalence of anti-patriotic attitudes among liberal intellectuals led some of them to warn their fellow liberals of the consequences of such attitudes for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/the-prevalence-of-anti-patriotic-attitudes-among-liberal/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Also, of course, for most of this time most Americans thought of America as a white country with, at best, only a very segregated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/also-of-course-for-most-of-this-time-most-americans-thought-of/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [These transnationalists have little need for national loyalty, view national boundaries as obstacles that thankfully are vanishing, and see national governments as residues from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/these-transnationalists-have-little-need-for-national-loyalty-view/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Civilizations evolve over time, and most scholars of civilization, including people like Carol Quigley, argue that they go through periods of warring states, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/civilizations-evolve-over-time-and-most-scholars-of-civilization/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [First of all, we haven't always welcomed immigrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/first-of-all-we-haven-t-always-welcomed-immigrants/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Hispanics speak Spanish or Portuguese, which are languages we Americans are familiar with, so it doesn't seem to pose the same types of problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/hispanics-speak-spanish-or-portuguese-which-are-languages-we/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Israel has military capabilities including nuclear weapons, far surpassing any other power in the Middle East, but it's a small country. The rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/israel-has-military-capabilities-including-nuclear-weapons-far/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [America doesn't border on Muslim countries. European countries do and that seems to be a fundamental difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/america-doesn-t-border-on-muslim-countries-european-countries-do-and/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Except under rare circumstances, I don't write responses to criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/except-under-rare-circumstances-i-don-t-write-responses-to-criticism/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Religiosity distinguishes America from most other Western societies. Americans are also overwhelmingly Christian, which distinguishes them from many non-Western peoples. Their religiosity leads Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/religiosity-distinguishes-america-from-most-other-western-societies/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Both sides are divided and Western countries collaborate with Muslim countries and vice versa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/both-sides-are-divided-and-western-countries-collaborate-with-muslim/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [ Some Westerners \[…\] have argued that the West does not have problems with Islam but only with violent Islamist extremists. Fourteen hundred years of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/some-westerners-have-argued-that-the-west-does-not-have-problems-with/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [What are the prospects for an Arab state serving a leading role comparable to the role that other states place in other regions? There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/what-are-the-prospects-for-an-arab-state-serving-a-leading-role/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Obviously there are divisions within the West and divisions within Islam - there are different sects, different communities, different countries. So neither one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/obviously-there-are-divisions-within-the-west-and-divisions-within/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) [Explore all 109 Samuel P. Huntington quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) ## More Assimilation quotes > [“The Portland school board's policy equated integration and racial assimilation. This policy, Rist explains, is a "means of socializing nonwhite students to act, speak,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-bell/the-portland-school-board-s-policy-equated-integration-and-racial/) [Derrick Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-bell/) > [“Being an immigrant is not a status but a state of mind. It doesn’t stop when you “assimilate” or “integrate” or when you go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/being-an-immigrant-is-not-a-status-but-a-state-of-mind-it-doesn-t/) [Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/) > [Great genius takes shape by contact with another great genius, but, less by assimilation than by friction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-heine/great-genius-takes-shape-by-contact-with-another-great-genius-but/) [Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-heine/) > [ “\[I\]nclusion, not assimilation, should be the key concept in seeking, ever seeking, a more perfect national union. Our own history has shown that we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/i-nclusion-not-assimilation-should-be-the-key-concept-in-seeking-ever/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) > [“It's a fact— everyone is ignorant in some way or another. Ignorance is our deepest secret. And it is one of the scariest things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/it-s-a-fact-everyone-is-ignorant-in-some-way-or-another-ignorance-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [“Fuck I hate fucks Who think they’re so fucking great They know everything about fucking, When they’re just fucking fucks fucking! And no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/initially-no/fuck-i-hate-fucks-who-think-they-re-so-fucking-great-they-know/) [Initially NO](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/initially-no/) > [Jewish history turns out not to be an either/or story - as in, either pure Judaism detached from its surroundings or else assimilation -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/jewish-history-turns-out-not-to-be-an-either-or-story-as-in-either/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [“It’s a great honor, m’ijo. We know that. I’m sure everyone in Ysleta is proud of you. But this is who you are," she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-troncoso/it-s-a-great-honor-m-ijo-we-know-that-i-m-sure-everyone-in-ysleta-is/) [Sergio Troncoso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-troncoso/) > [Intellectual life requires for its expansion and manifestation the influences and assimilation of the interests and affections of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-addams/intellectual-life-requires-for-its-expansion-and-manifestation-the/) [Jane Addams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-addams/) > [“Does assimilation mean that they never came up against naked prejudice? Does it mean that you understood where the limits of your social world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/does-assimilation-mean-that-they-never-came-up-against-naked/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [Knowledge is a free good. The biggest cost in its transmission is not in the production or distribution of knowledge, but in its assimilation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-arrow/knowledge-is-a-free-good-the-biggest-cost-in-its-transmission-is-not/) [Kenneth Arrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-arrow/) > [“If you aren't destroying your enemies, it's because you have been conquered and assimilated, you do not even have an idea of who your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/if-you-aren-t-destroying-your-enemies-it-s-because-you-have-been/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Finally it should be the earnest wish and paramount aim of the military administration to win the confidence, respect, and affection of the inhabitants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mckinley/finally-it-should-be-the-earnest-wish-and-paramount-aim-of-the/) [William McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mckinley/) > [If you would be a writer, first be a reader. Only through the assimilation of ideas, thoughts and philosophies can one begin to focus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-w-eckert/if-you-would-be-a-writer-first-be-a-reader-only-through-the/) [Allan W. Eckert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-w-eckert/) > [We must have life building, man-making, character-making assimilation of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/we-must-have-life-building-man-making-character-making-assimilation/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) [Browse all 141 Assimilation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assimilation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Certainly here in the U.S., we've had fundamentalist movements that have taken very critical and hostile attitudes toward immigration and the assimilation of immigrants into our society and culture. So these tendencies are fairly universal. 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