--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In terms of America, I think any profound…" description: "\"In terms of America, I think any profound consideration is bound to return us to the notion of twins because, though you certainly can contend there ar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/289/steve-erickson-9119_america_in-terms-of-america-i-think-any-profound_2118907.jpg" --- # In terms of America, I think any profound consideration is… ![“In terms of America, I think any profound consideration is bound to return us to the notion of twins because, though you certainly can contend there are many Americas, our history has been binary from the beginning, with its hairline fracture down the country's center between what American has…” quote by Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/289/steve-erickson-9119_america_in-terms-of-america-i-think-any-profound_2118907.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/289/steve-erickson-9119_america_in-terms-of-america-i-think-any-profound_2118907.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/289/steve-erickson-9119_america_in-terms-of-america-i-think-any-profound_2118907.jpg) > “In terms of America, I think any profound consideration is bound to return us to the notion of twins because, though you certainly can contend there are many Americas, our history has been binary from the beginning, with its hairline fracture down the country's center between what American has wanted to be and what America has been. That fracture is slavery, of course. To some extent it's still slavery, in that collectively we refuse to come to grips with the American fact of slavery.” [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. America is split between its ideals and its history of slavery, a binary fracture that persists in collective denial. **In simple terms:** America is divided by its ideals and slavery. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and confront the historical fracture. Themes history identity race conflict memory Mood reflective critical somber Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - education reform - public discourse - museum curation - community dialogue Key Concepts binary division collective denial national myth Questions to Reflect On - How can we reconcile the ideal with the historical reality? - What steps can individuals take to address this collective denial? A Different Perspective The binary view oversimplifies complex regional and cultural differences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-think/) [Americas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americas-822901/) [Americas History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americas-history-4312654/) [Binary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/binary/) [Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) [Consideration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consideration/) [Contend Americas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contend-americas-4312655/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Courses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courses/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Fracture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fracture/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Notion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion/) [Profound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound/) [Refuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuse/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Slavery Collectively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery-collectively-4312653/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Twins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twins/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) ## Related quotes > [My obsessions stay the same - historical memory and historical erasure. 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The more you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-stuart/the-cultures-of-the-americas-were-extremely-complex-and-interesting/) [Michelle Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-stuart/) > [All of us in all the Americas will be living at the point of a gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/all-of-us-in-all-the-americas-will-be-living-at-the-point-of-a-gun/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [The Americas has been a relatively stable continent. The last truly new border we have is Panama in 1903.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-enriquez/the-americas-has-been-a-relatively-stable-continent-the-last-truly/) [Juan Enriquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-enriquez/) > [“Having grown separately for millennia, the Americas were a boundless sea of novel ideas, dreams, stories, philosophies, religions, moralities, discoveries, and all the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/having-grown-separately-for-millennia-the-americas-were-a-boundless/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [“of the most venomous snakes in the Americas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/of-the-most-venomous-snakes-in-the-americas/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [America is a country that is now utterly divided when it comes to its society, its economy, its politics. 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