--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is a great country, but fortunately…" description: "\"This is a great country, but fortunately for you, it is not perfect. There is much to be done to bring about complete equality. Remove hunger. Bring re..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/thurgood-marshall-10063_equality_this-is-a-great-country-but-fortunately_89918.jpg" --- # This is a great country, but fortunately for you, it is… ![“This is a great country, but fortunately for you, it is not perfect. There is much to be done to bring about complete equality. Remove hunger. Bring reality closer to theory and democratic principles.” quote by Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/thurgood-marshall-10063_equality_this-is-a-great-country-but-fortunately_89918.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/thurgood-marshall-10063_equality_this-is-a-great-country-but-fortunately_89918.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/thurgood-marshall-10063_equality_this-is-a-great-country-but-fortunately_89918.jpg) > “This is a great country, but fortunately for you, it is not perfect. There is much to be done to bring about complete equality. Remove hunger. Bring reality closer to theory and democratic principles.” [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acknowledges national strengths while urging systemic reforms for true equality, ending hunger, and aligning practice with democratic ideals. **In simple terms:** Calls for deeper justice beyond surface pride. Key Takeaway Equality requires active effort. Themes social justice political reform economic inequality democratic theory Mood hopeful critical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - government budgeting - NGO advocacy - community organizing - policy drafting Key Concepts policy human rights wealth distribution Practical Applications - legislative reform - public awareness campaigns Questions to Reflect On - What concrete steps can reduce hunger? - How can democratic theory be operationalized? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Equality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equality/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [“Nothing like a good dose of hunger to bring out the philosopher in anyone”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rotimi-ogunjobi/nothing-like-a-good-dose-of-hunger-to-bring-out-the-philosopher-in/) [Rotimi Ogunjobi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rotimi-ogunjobi/) > [“Love is harder to remove than hunger for bread”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anastasia-dangerfield/love-is-harder-to-remove-than-hunger-for-bread/) Anastasia Dangerfield > [“The theory of democratic government is not that the will of the people is always right, but rather that normal human beings of average…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/the-theory-of-democratic-government-is-not-that-the-will-of-the/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove then the hunger for bread SRK](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/srk/the-hunger-for-love-is-much-more-difficult-to-remove-then-the-hunger/) SRK > [Certainly, hunger can bring out the worst in us. But it can also bring out the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamza-yusuf/certainly-hunger-can-bring-out-the-worst-in-us-but-it-can-also-bring/) [Hamza Yusuf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamza-yusuf/) > [The motivating force of the theory of a Democratic way of life is still a belief that as individuals we live cooperatively, and, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/the-motivating-force-of-the-theory-of-a-democratic-way-of-life-is-2/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [Hunger can bring out the worst in us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamza-yusuf/hunger-can-bring-out-the-worst-in-us/) [Hamza Yusuf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamza-yusuf/) > [The motivating force of the theory of a Democratic way of life is still a belief that as individuals we live cooperatively, and, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/the-motivating-force-of-the-theory-of-a-democratic-way-of-life-is/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [à The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/the-hunger-for-love-is-much-more-difficult-to-remove-than-the-hunger/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [I think that our politics everywhere are gonna be going through this bumpy phase. But as long as we stay true to our Democratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-think-that-our-politics-everywhere-are-gonna-be-going-through-this/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We love your adherence to democratic principles and to democratic processes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-marcos/we-love-your-adherence-to-democratic-principles-and-to-democratic/) [Ferdinand Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-marcos/) > [Religion mustn't interfere with the state - so one of the basic Democratic principles as we know it in America is the separation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/religion-mustn-t-interfere-with-the-state-so-one-of-the-basic/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Democratic principles are the result of equality of condition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercy-otis-warren/democratic-principles-are-the-result-of-equality-of-condition/) [Mercy Otis Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercy-otis-warren/) > [Many think it not only inevitable but entirely proper that liberty give way to security in times of national crisis--that, at the extremes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/many-think-it-not-only-inevitable-but-entirely-proper-that-liberty/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [We love your adherence to democratic principles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/we-love-your-adherence-to-democratic-principles/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) ## More by Thurgood Marshall > [None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/none-of-us-got-where-we-are-solely-by-pulling-ourselves-up-by-our/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Classifications and distinctions based on race or color have no moral or legal validity in our society. They are contrary to our constitution and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/classifications-and-distinctions-based-on-race-or-color-have-no-moral/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Our whole constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control men's minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/our-whole-constitutional-heritage-rebels-at-the-thought-of-giving/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [We are all the same](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/we-are-all-the-same/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [We could get more action in the South because the Negroes had a feeling that they were being oppressed. But you take New York,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/we-could-get-more-action-in-the-south-because-the-negroes-had-a/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [We must dissent from the fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/we-must-dissent-from-the-fear/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [I have a lifetime appointment and I intend to serve it. I expect to die at 110, shot by a jealous husband.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/i-have-a-lifetime-appointment-and-i-intend-to-serve-it-i-expect-to/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [The Ku Klux Klan never dies. They just stop wearing sheets because sheets cost too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/the-ku-klux-klan-never-dies-they-just-stop-wearing-sheets-because/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Some may more quietly commemorate the suffering, struggle, and sacrifice that has triumphed over much of what was wrong with the original document, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/some-may-more-quietly-commemorate-the-suffering-struggle-and/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [It is now well established that the Constitution protects the right to receive information and ideas. ... This right to receive information and ideas,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/it-is-now-well-established-that-the-constitution-protects-the-right/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [To the contrary, the government they devised was defective from the start, requiring several amendments, a civil war and momentous social transformation to attain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/to-the-contrary-the-government-they-devised-was-defective-from-the/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Today's Constitution is a realistic document of freedom only because of several corrective amendments. Those amendments speak to a sense of decency and fairness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/today-s-constitution-is-a-realistic-document-of-freedom-only-because/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Truth is more than a mental exercise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/truth-is-more-than-a-mental-exercise/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [I wish I could say that racism and prejudice were only distant memories. We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/i-wish-i-could-say-that-racism-and-prejudice-were-only-distant/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [We deal here with the right of all of our children, whatever their race, to an equal start in life and to an equal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/we-deal-here-with-the-right-of-all-of-our-children-whatever-their/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) [Explore all 68 Thurgood Marshall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) ## More Equality quotes > [Race is the idea that a human being is more superior than another human being, race in society grants illusional rights to mistreat each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/race-is-the-idea-that-a-human-being-is-more-superior-than-another/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [Nothing says the party is over more than when you run out of ice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rande-gerber/nothing-says-the-party-is-over-more-than-when-you-run-out-of-ice/) [Rande Gerber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rande-gerber/) > [I hope that we always have diversity, that we have equality and representation every step of the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsai-martin/i-hope-that-we-always-have-diversity-that-we-have-equality-and/) [Marsai Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsai-martin/) > [“Unless man is commited to the belief that all mankind are his brothers, then he labours in vain and hypocritically in the vineyards of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-clayton-powell/unless-man-is-commited-to-the-belief-that-all-mankind-are-his/) Adam Clayton Powell > [I speak not for myself, but so those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights. Their right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/i-speak-not-for-myself-but-so-those-without-a-voice-can-be-heard/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [I've identified as bisexual since I was a teenager, and if we want to achieve equality for all in our policies, we need more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-hill/i-ve-identified-as-bisexual-since-i-was-a-teenager-and-if-we-want-to/) [Katie Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-hill/) > [ \[Fighting for equality for women\] that's what my mission has been for the last years. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-broadwell/fighting-for-equality-for-women-that-s-what-my-mission-has-been-for/) [Paula Broadwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-broadwell/) > [We have to restore power to the family, to the neighborhood, and the community with a non-market principle, a principle of equality, of charity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-brown/we-have-to-restore-power-to-the-family-to-the-neighborhood-and-the/) [Jerry Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-brown/) > [When we speak about equality, you want to be playing on the best pitches with the best facilities. You want to be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-duggan/when-we-speak-about-equality-you-want-to-be-playing-on-the-best/) [Toni Duggan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-duggan/) > [Free milk will be provided in Hoxton and Shoredith, in Eton and Harrow. What more social equality can you have than that?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-wilkinson/free-milk-will-be-provided-in-hoxton-and-shoredith-in-eton-and-harrow/) [Ellen Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-wilkinson/) > [The great paradox of the civil rights revolution is that instead of enforcing and expanding equality before the law, the revolution created differential rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-great-paradox-of-the-civil-rights-revolution-is-that-instead-of/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [I will always support legislation which respects and values life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gresham-barrett/i-will-always-support-legislation-which-respects-and-values-life/) [Gresham Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gresham-barrett/) > [Sporting events like the Olympics have developed and maintained a clear message of promoting gender equality as an essential criterion in the success of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-attias/sporting-events-like-the-olympics-have-developed-and-maintained-a/) [Richard Attias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-attias/) > [Although it may be difficult in theory to know what is just and equal, the practical difficulty of inducing those to forbear who can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/although-it-may-be-difficult-in-theory-to-know-what-is-just-and-equal/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Browse all 3,799 Equality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This is a great country, but fortunately for you, it is not perfect. 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