--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Since the 1960s, when America finally…" description: "\"Since the 1960s, when America finally became fully accountable for its past, deference toward all groups with any claim to past or present victimizatio..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/shelby-steele-3370_america_since-the-1960s-when-america-finally-bec_3220148.jpg" --- # Since the 1960s, when America finally became fully… ![“Since the 1960s, when America finally became fully accountable for its past, deference toward all groups with any claim to past or present victimization became mandatory. The Great Society and the War on Poverty were some of the first truly deferential policies.” quote by Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/shelby-steele-3370_america_since-the-1960s-when-america-finally-bec_3220148.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/shelby-steele-3370_america_since-the-1960s-when-america-finally-bec_3220148.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/839/shelby-steele-3370_america_since-the-1960s-when-america-finally-bec_3220148.jpg) > “Since the 1960s, when America finally became fully accountable for its past, deference toward all groups with any claim to past or present victimization became mandatory. The Great Society and the War on Poverty were some of the first truly deferential policies.” [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acknowledges that modern America adopts policies that prioritize groups claiming victimhood, reflecting a shift toward collective accountability. **In simple terms:** America now emphasizes policies for groups claiming victimhood. Key Takeaway Recognize the impact of collective guilt on policy. Themes social policy victimhood accountability history politics Mood critical reflective Type analytical political When to use this quote - government legislation - education curricula - media narratives Key Concepts collective responsibility identity politics historical reckoning Questions to Reflect On - How does this emphasis affect social cohesion? - What are alternatives to victim-based policy? A Different Perspective May overlook individual merit and foster dependency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Deference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deference/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War on poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-on-poverty/) ## Related quotes > [Deference has been codified in American life as political correctness. And political correctness functions like a despotic regime. It is an oppressiveness that spreads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/deference-has-been-codified-in-american-life-as-political-correctness/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Wars are bred by poverty and oppression. Continued peace is possible only in a relatively free and prosperous world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-marshall/wars-are-bred-by-poverty-and-oppression-continued-peace-is-possible/) [George C. Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-marshall/) > [This is not about charity, it's about justice... The war against terror is bound up in the war against poverty - I didn't say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-de-bono/this-is-not-about-charity-it-s-about-justice-the-war-against-terror/) [Edward de Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-de-bono/) > [Peace is no mere matter of men fighting or not fighting. Peace, to have meaning for many who have known only suffering in both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-bunche/peace-is-no-mere-matter-of-men-fighting-or-not-fighting-peace-to-have/) [Ralph Bunche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-bunche/) > [“The press is dying to paint me as now trying to undo the New Deal. I remind them I voted for F.D.R. 4 times.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-press-is-dying-to-paint-me-as-now-trying-to-undo-the-new-deal-i/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [part of the problem with a war on poverty today is that many Americans have decided that being poor is a character defect, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/part-of-the-problem-with-a-war-on-poverty-today-is-that-many/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Middle-class-led reform movements, from the Progressive Era to the War on Poverty, have been marred by an elitist distance from the would-be beneficiaries of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/middle-class-led-reform-movements-from-the-progressive-era-to-the-war/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [“Since I had the inclinatation and the training, helping people came naturally. I wasn't thinking in terms of organizing members, but just a duty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/since-i-had-the-inclinatation-and-the-training-helping-people-came/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [Peace is something more than the absence of war, although some nations would be thankful for that alone today. A durable and equitable peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willy-brandt/peace-is-something-more-than-the-absence-of-war-although-some-nations/) [Willy Brandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willy-brandt/) > [ The origins of these \[schooling\] federal policies were tied to President Johnson's war on poverty. Supplemental funds were sent to school districts serving poor… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-noguera/the-origins-of-these-schooling-federal-policies-were-tied-to/) [Pedro Noguera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-noguera/) > [I believe the war on poverty is a more American idea than the war on the war on poverty. I believe that most people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-believe-the-war-on-poverty-is-a-more-american-idea-than-the-war-on/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [One of the most durable successes of the war on poverty was to dramatically reduce the number of elderly poor in America. That's still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-abramsky/one-of-the-most-durable-successes-of-the-war-on-poverty-was-to/) [Sasha Abramsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-abramsky/) > [“The line in the sand that Carter drew along Iran’s Zagros Mountains now stretches from Central Asia through the Middle East and across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-j-bacevich/the-line-in-the-sand-that-carter-drew-along-iran-s-zagros-mountains/) [Andrew J. Bacevich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-j-bacevich/) > [Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/any-city-however-small-is-in-fact-divided-into-two-one-the-city-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [There was never a war on poverty. Maybe there was a skirmish on poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-cuomo/there-was-never-a-war-on-poverty-maybe-there-was-a-skirmish-on-poverty/) [Andrew Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-cuomo/) ## More by Shelby Steele > [When blacks become humanly visible, when their true beliefs are known, their mask shatters and their symbiotic bond with whites is broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/when-blacks-become-humanly-visible-when-their-true-beliefs-are-known/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [I alienated myself from the academic world almost entirely because it's a left-wing world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/i-alienated-myself-from-the-academic-world-almost-entirely-because-it/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Freedom is just freedom. It is a condition, not an agent of change. It does not develop or uplift those who win it. Freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/freedom-is-just-freedom-it-is-a-condition-not-an-agent-of-change-it/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [In Vietnam, America fought one whose communism was driven by an underlying nationalism, the desire to live free of the West. Whatever one may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/in-vietnam-america-fought-one-whose-communism-was-driven-by-an/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Our great presidents have been stewards, men who broadly identified with the whole of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/our-great-presidents-have-been-stewards-men-who-broadly-identified/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [No doubt Israel and America have made mistakes in the Middle East. Certainly, Israel was born at the price of considerable dislocation and suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/no-doubt-israel-and-america-have-made-mistakes-in-the-middle-east/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [And if you want to make many of our black leaders angry, just tell them that racism is not the number problem that black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/and-if-you-want-to-make-many-of-our-black-leaders-angry-just-tell/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Thomas Sowell, among many others, has articulated the power of individual responsibility as an antidote to black poverty for over 40 years. Black thinkers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/thomas-sowell-among-many-others-has-articulated-the-power-of/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton cannot write a timeless letter to us from a Birmingham jail or walk, as John Lewis did in 1965,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/jesse-jackson-and-al-sharpton-cannot-write-a-timeless-letter-to-us/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [My father bought three ramshackle houses, rebuilt them, rented them out, kept clawing his way up the ladder. A man with a third grade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/my-father-bought-three-ramshackle-houses-rebuilt-them-rented-them-out/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Whatever I'm doing, I try to write well. I try to give the reader a nice, clean well-written surface, where the writing is transparent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/whatever-i-m-doing-i-try-to-write-well-i-try-to-give-the-reader-a/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [We have laws on the books. If somebody's discriminating against you, I strongly advocate suing them. That's the most effective thing you can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/we-have-laws-on-the-books-if-somebody-s-discriminating-against-you-i/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [The first thing I ever heard about Barack Obama was that he had a white mother and a black father. Interestingly, the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/the-first-thing-i-ever-heard-about-barack-obama-was-that-he-had-a/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Racism is endemic to the human condition, just as stupidity is. We will always have to be on guard against it. But now it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/racism-is-endemic-to-the-human-condition-just-as-stupidity-is-we-will/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Without an ugly America to loathe, there is no automatic esteem to receive. Thus liberalism's unrelenting current of anti-Americanism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/without-an-ugly-america-to-loathe-there-is-no-automatic-esteem-to/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) [Explore all 132 Shelby Steele quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. 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? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Since the 1960s, when America finally became fully accountable for its past, deference toward all groups with any claim to past or present victimization became mandatory. 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