--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: America has faced hardships in the past…" description: "\"“America has faced hardships in the past but we have always mounted a comeback! We defeated the Nazis, we defeated the Native Americans, we defeated th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/stephen-colbert-503_comeback_america-has-faced-hardships-in-the-past_2595760.png" --- # America has faced hardships in the past but we have always… ![“America has faced hardships in the past but we have always mounted a comeback! We defeated the Nazis, we defeated the Native Americans, we defeated the environment, we even defeated the Metric System! Kilos? Sorry, that's drug talk. This is America! Where we eat fruit by the foot, not muesli by…” quote by Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/stephen-colbert-503_comeback_america-has-faced-hardships-in-the-past_2595760.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/stephen-colbert-503_comeback_america-has-faced-hardships-in-the-past_2595760.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/stephen-colbert-503_comeback_america-has-faced-hardships-in-the-past_2595760.png) > ““America has faced hardships in the past but we have always mounted a comeback! We defeated the Nazis, we defeated the Native Americans, we defeated the environment, we even defeated the Metric System! Kilos? Sorry, that's drug talk. This is America! Where we eat fruit by the foot, not muesli by the meter.”” [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. America claims resilience, yet jokes about overcoming absurd challenges, highlighting satire. **In simple terms:** Satire mocks national myth of endless triumph. Key Takeaway Recognize humor while questioning narratives. Themes national identity satire resilience Mood witty ironic Type satirical entertaining When to use this quote - media commentary - stand‑up comedy - social media memes - public debates Key Concepts cultural critique political humor Questions to Reflect On - What does “defeated the Metric System” symbolize? - How does humor affect civic engagement? A Different Perspective Satire can oversimplify complex issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comeback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comeback/) [Metric system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metric-system/) [Native americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/native-americans/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [America has faced much more difficult times, including potential national extinction, without flinching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-clooney/america-has-faced-much-more-difficult-times-including-potential/) [Nick Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-clooney/) > [Well, I just don't want to talk to America about my family. Like, this is my baby. This isn't America's baby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/well-i-just-don-t-want-to-talk-to-america-about-my-family-like-this/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [Every generation in America has faced the same question, do we we want America to be special? Or do we just want America to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/every-generation-in-america-has-faced-the-same-question-do-we-we-want/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [“I like to talk about America. It's so mysterious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ashley/i-like-to-talk-about-america-it-s-so-mysterious/) [Robert Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ashley/) > [“If you travel internationally, you will feel shocked by contemptuous talk of America. To hear your fellow citizens characterized as barbarians who know nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/if-you-travel-internationally-you-will-feel-shocked-by-contemptuous/) [Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/) > [I see people who talk about America, and then undermine it by not paying attention to its soul, to its poetry. I see polarization,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/i-see-people-who-talk-about-america-and-then-undermine-it-by-not/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [Since September 11 2001, editors in America have faced some excruciating choices, as the attempt to wage a war against a new kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/since-september-11-2001-editors-in-america-have-faced-some/) [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) > [It seems that whenever America faced a challenge, it faced it and overcame it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hoekstra/it-seems-that-whenever-america-faced-a-challenge-it-faced-it-and/) [Pete Hoekstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hoekstra/) > [We have to try to convince everybody in America, that if you eat you're involved in agriculture. That the shirts don't just spring up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/we-have-to-try-to-convince-everybody-in-america-that-if-you-eat-you/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [In America, we eat until we're full, which means we usually go past the point of satiety because satiety actually follows digestion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harley-pasternak/in-america-we-eat-until-we-re-full-which-means-we-usually-go-past-the/) [Harley Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harley-pasternak/) > [I want every child in America to eat a nutritious, delicious, sustainably sourced school lunch for free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-waters/i-want-every-child-in-america-to-eat-a-nutritious-delicious/) [Alice Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-waters/) > [I act like a native in North America. I eat sliders in Detroit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-marchionne/i-act-like-a-native-in-north-america-i-eat-sliders-in-detroit/) [Sergio Marchionne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-marchionne/) > [In America we eat, collectively, with a glum urge for food to fill us. We are ignorant of flavour. We are as a nation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-k-fisher/in-america-we-eat-collectively-with-a-glum-urge-for-food-to-fill-us/) [M. F. K. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-k-fisher/) > [I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Or, as it's known to Native Americans - Sarcastic You're Welcomesgiving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-hope-you-all-had-a-wonderful-thanksgiving-or-as-it-s-known-to/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I don't understand why a 40 is a quarter of beer when a 40 is 40 ounces. It's time to embrace the metric system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/i-don-t-understand-why-a-40-is-a-quarter-of-beer-when-a-40-is-40/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) ## More by Stephen Colbert > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/cynicism-masquerades-as-wisdom-but-it-is-the-farthest-thing-from-it/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [We all deserve credit for this new surveillance state that we live in because we the people voted for the Patriot Act. Democrats and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/we-all-deserve-credit-for-this-new-surveillance-state-that-we-live-in/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I've long been against illegal aliens, partly because they distract us from an even bigger threat: real aliens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-ve-long-been-against-illegal-aliens-partly-because-they-distract-us/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Believe in me, cause I don't believe in anything, and I wanna be someone to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/believe-in-me-cause-i-don-t-believe-in-anything-and-i-wanna-be/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It's August, which means Congress is on recess and Mitch McConnell has shimmied back into the ocean to seek a mate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/it-s-august-which-means-congress-is-on-recess-and-mitch-mcconnell-has/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Try to love others and serve others and hopefully find those who love and serve you in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/try-to-love-others-and-serve-others-and-hopefully-find-those-who-love/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Thirty seconds is the exact amount of time Americans can tolerate something they don't understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/thirty-seconds-is-the-exact-amount-of-time-americans-can-tolerate/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I used to make up stuff in my bio all the time, that I used to be a professional ice-skater and stuff like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-used-to-make-up-stuff-in-my-bio-all-the-time-that-i-used-to-be-a/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I live by syllogisms: God is love. Love is blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God. I don't know what I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-live-by-syllogisms-god-is-love-love-is-blind-stevie-wonder-is-blind/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“Unlike Paul Newman, who seems to think that salad dressing is the cure-all for America's ills, I'm a man of action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/unlike-paul-newman-who-seems-to-think-that-salad-dressing-is-the-cure/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Now, for my younger viewers out there, a book is something we used to have before the internet. It’s sort of a blog for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/now-for-my-younger-viewers-out-there-a-book-is-something-we-used-to/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/jesus-forgives-sinners-not-criminals/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Used books are the sluts of the literary world. Passed around from person to person, spreading their pages for anyone, getting cheaper and cheaper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/used-books-are-the-sluts-of-the-literary-world-passed-around-from/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“Divorce is a marital welfare. It's just couples asking society to bail them out because they didn't do enough research before they got married.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/divorce-is-a-marital-welfare-it-s-just-couples-asking-society-to-bail/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) [Explore all 514 Stephen Colbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) ## More Comeback quotes > [I'm really thankful to God, man. Like now, I'm really making a real comeback with my group. With or without a record, with or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ike-turner/i-m-really-thankful-to-god-man-like-now-i-m-really-making-a-real/) [Ike Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ike-turner/) > [I think it takes about a million words to make a writer. I mean that you're going to throw away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-pournelle/i-think-it-takes-about-a-million-words-to-make-a-writer-i-mean-that/) [Jerry Pournelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-pournelle/) > [We have invented a new human right here - the right to return home after a war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/we-have-invented-a-new-human-right-here-the-right-to-return-home/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [Cancer reminds me of a very bad but tenacious performer who, although no one wants to see, insists on doing an encore, having a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-harper/cancer-reminds-me-of-a-very-bad-but-tenacious-performer-who-although/) [Valerie Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-harper/) > [Whether the issue was black political power or nuclear power, Scott-Heron didn't mince words. His comeback record, 'I'm New Here,' doesn't mince words either,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hermes/whether-the-issue-was-black-political-power-or-nuclear-power-scott/) [Will Hermes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hermes/) > [To be honest, my videos are for myself. I didn't look at social media as a vehicle for my comeback.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sameera-reddy/to-be-honest-my-videos-are-for-myself-i-didn-t-look-at-social-media/) [Sameera Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sameera-reddy/) > [Some people don't like the 'comeback' because that suggests they went somewhere, which they didn't. That isn't what I mean. In my mind, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ralston-saul/some-people-don-t-like-the-comeback-because-that-suggests-they-went/) [John Ralston Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ralston-saul/) > [I don't have any particular desire to see words making a comeback. They are of their era, after all, and that is their identity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/i-don-t-have-any-particular-desire-to-see-words-making-a-comeback/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [You may be in a tough time but that setback is simply a setup for a greater comeback.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/you-may-be-in-a-tough-time-but-that-setback-is-simply-a-setup-for-a/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [A brilliant 1989 album, Oh Mercy; some career retrospectives; and two albums of American folk songs, with just Bob Dylan and his guitar and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/a-brilliant-1989-album-oh-mercy-some-career-retrospectives-and-two/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Never insult an alligator until after you have crossed the river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordell-hull/never-insult-an-alligator-until-after-you-have-crossed-the-river/) [Cordell Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordell-hull/) > [Sex and the City: The Movie' - a bit like the All Saints comeback, and the return of the Jammy Dodger, it feels a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-winkleman/sex-and-the-city-the-movie-a-bit-like-the-all-saints-comeback-and-the/) [Claudia Winkleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-winkleman/) > [The best comeback when ur mom says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-comeback-when-ur-mom-says/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was never desperate to make a comeback. But winning 'Bigg Boss' assured faith in me that I have a good reputation in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-roy/i-was-never-desperate-to-make-a-comeback-but-winning-bigg-boss/) [Rahul Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-roy/) > [If they had said my writing wasn't good enough, fair enough, that's an opinion. But to say it's too complex is to insult the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/if-they-had-said-my-writing-wasn-t-good-enough-fair-enough-that-s-an/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) [Browse all 365 Comeback quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comeback/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“America has faced hardships in the past but we have always mounted a comeback! We defeated the Nazis, we defeated the Native Americans, we defeated the environment, we even defeated the Metric System! Kilos? Sorry, that's drug talk. This is America! 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