--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That which is to be most desired in…" description: "\"That which is to be most desired in America is oneness and not sameness. Sameness is the worst thing that could happen to the people of this country. T..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b0/stephen-samuel-wise-48845_america_that-which-is-to-be-most-desired-in-amer_1808958.png" --- # That which is to be most desired in America is oneness and… ![“That which is to be most desired in America is oneness and not sameness. Sameness is the worst thing that could happen to the people of this country. To make all people the same would lower their quality, but oneness would raise it.” quote by Stephen Samuel Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b0/stephen-samuel-wise-48845_america_that-which-is-to-be-most-desired-in-amer_1808958.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b0/stephen-samuel-wise-48845_america_that-which-is-to-be-most-desired-in-amer_1808958.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b0/stephen-samuel-wise-48845_america_that-which-is-to-be-most-desired-in-amer_1808958.png) > “That which is to be most desired in America is oneness and not sameness. Sameness is the worst thing that could happen to the people of this country. To make all people the same would lower their quality, but oneness would raise it.” [Stephen Samuel Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-samuel-wise/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True unity celebrates diversity, whereas forced uniformity erodes quality and individuality. **In simple terms:** Oneness respects differences; sameness erodes them. Key Takeaway Promote inclusive unity, not forced sameness. Themes diversity unity identity quality Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical social When to use this quote - workplace culture - national policy - community building - education curricula Key Concepts cultural pluralism social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - How does diversity improve society? - What risks arise from enforcing sameness? A Different Perspective Uniformity can be imposed under the guise of harmony, stifling innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Oneness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-oneness-2097868/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Desired America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desired-america-2097869/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Oneness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneness/) [Oneness Sameness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneness-sameness-1350770/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Raises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raises/) [Sameness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sameness/) [Sameness Sameness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sameness-sameness-2097870/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) [Worst thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst-thing/) [Worst things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst-things/) ## Related quotes > [“Oneness is not sameness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-farfel-stark/oneness-is-not-sameness/) [Lois Farfel Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-farfel-stark/) > [“Equality today means “sameness,” rather than “oneness.” It is the sameness of abstractions, of the men who work in the same jobs, who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/equality-today-means-sameness-rather-than-oneness-it-is-the-sameness/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [There's a big difference between oneness and sameness. Oneness implies that we're all connected and that we all come from the same source. Sameness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/there-s-a-big-difference-between-oneness-and-sameness-oneness-implies/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Sameness leaves us in peace but it is contradiction that makes us productive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/sameness-leaves-us-in-peace-but-it-is-contradiction-that-makes-us/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [You can't state difference and also state equality. We have to state sameness to understand equality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-can-t-state-difference-and-also-state-equality-we-have-to-state/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [Every time a militant Islamist terrorist shoots somebody up, what does Barack Obama do and the Democrats? They come out and they demand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/every-time-a-militant-islamist-terrorist-shoots-somebody-up-what-does/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [But whatever you do, take neither yourselves nor your fellow-creatures too seriously. There is tragedy enough in our daily routine, but there is room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-osler/but-whatever-you-do-take-neither-yourselves-nor-your-fellow-creatures/) [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) > [Equality today means ‘sameness’, rather than ‘oneness’.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/equality-today-means-sameness-rather-than-oneness/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [When all of your decisions are based on economics, you end up with a sameness of vision. You're not taking the risks, you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-bochco/when-all-of-your-decisions-are-based-on-economics-you-end-up-with-a/) [Steven Bochco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-bochco/) > [“The car was on the FDR drive now and, turning her head, she glanced out at the bleak brown buildings of the projects that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/the-car-was-on-the-fdr-drive-now-and-turning-her-head-she-glanced-out/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) > [Saints and ordinary folks are the same from the start. Inquiring about a difference is like asking to borrow string when you've got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hsu-yun/saints-and-ordinary-folks-are-the-same-from-the-start-inquiring-about/) [Hsu Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hsu-yun/) > [Follow your bliss. That which you love you must spend your life doing, as passionately and as perfectly as your heart, mind and instincts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lois/follow-your-bliss-that-which-you-love-you-must-spend-your-life-doing/) [George Lois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lois/) > [My mother taught me this trick: if you repeat something over and over again it loses its meaning, for example homework homework homework homework…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-mother-taught-me-this-trick-if-you-repeat-something-over-and-over/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Physical beings want things to be the same. They want people to think the same. You work rather hard at sameness, but you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/physical-beings-want-things-to-be-the-same-they-want-people-to-think/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [Life is like the dice that, falling, still show a different face. So life, though it remains the same, is always presenting different aspects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-sanchez/life-is-like-the-dice-that-falling-still-show-a-different-face-so/) [Alexis Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-sanchez/) ## More by Stephen Samuel Wise > [An unshared life is not living. He who shares does not lessen, but greatens, his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-samuel-wise/an-unshared-life-is-not-living-he-who-shares-does-not-lessen-but/) [Stephen Samuel Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-samuel-wise/) > [Vision looks outward and becomes aspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-samuel-wise/vision-looks-outward-and-becomes-aspiration/) [Stephen Samuel Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-samuel-wise/) > [Vision looks inward and becomes duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-samuel-wise/vision-looks-inward-and-becomes-duty/) [Stephen Samuel Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-samuel-wise/) > [I am not an American of JEWISH faith. I am a JEW. I have been a JEW for a thousand years. Hitler was right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-samuel-wise/i-am-not-an-american-of-jewish-faith-i-am-a-jew-i-have-been-a-jew-for/) [Stephen Samuel Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-samuel-wise/) > [Vision looks upward and becomes faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-samuel-wise/vision-looks-upward-and-becomes-faith/) [Stephen Samuel Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-samuel-wise/) > [It is the Jew who lies when he swears allegiance to another faith; who becomes a danger to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-samuel-wise/it-is-the-jew-who-lies-when-he-swears-allegiance-to-another-faith-who/) [Stephen Samuel Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-samuel-wise/) > [Vision looks inwards and becomes duty. Vision looks outwards and becomes aspiration. Vision looks upwards and becomes faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-samuel-wise/vision-looks-inwards-and-becomes-duty-vision-looks-outwards-and/) [Stephen Samuel Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-samuel-wise/) [Explore all 8 Stephen Samuel Wise quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-samuel-wise/) ## 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": "That which is to be most desired in America is oneness and not sameness. Sameness is the worst thing that could happen to the people of this country. To make all people the same would lower their quality, but oneness would raise it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Samuel Wise" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-samuel-wise/that-which-is-to-be-most-desired-in-america-is-oneness-and-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-samuel-wise/that-which-is-to-be-most-desired-in-america-is-oneness-and-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b0/stephen-samuel-wise-48845_america_that-which-is-to-be-most-desired-in-amer_1808958.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b0/stephen-samuel-wise-48845_america_that-which-is-to-be-most-desired-in-amer_1808958.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b0/stephen-samuel-wise-48845_america_that-which-is-to-be-most-desired-in-amer_1808958.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That which is to be most desired in America is oneness and not sameness. Sameness is the worst thing that…” — Stephen Samuel Wise", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Stephen Samuel Wise", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-samuel-wise/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That which is to be most...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-samuel-wise/that-which-is-to-be-most-desired-in-america-is-oneness-and-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-samuel-wise/that-which-is-to-be-most-desired-in-america-is-oneness-and-not/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```