--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Maybe some things that weren't so great…" description: "\"Maybe some things that weren't so great were said about the Irish when they came. But Americans've done well by absorbing immigrants and it's made our ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/tim-kaine-1918_absorbing_maybe-some-things-that-weren-t-so-great_651572.png" --- # Maybe some things that weren't so great were said about… ![“Maybe some things that weren't so great were said about the Irish when they came. But Americans've done well by absorbing immigrants and it's made our nation stronger.” quote by Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/tim-kaine-1918_absorbing_maybe-some-things-that-weren-t-so-great_651572.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/tim-kaine-1918_absorbing_maybe-some-things-that-weren-t-so-great_651572.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/tim-kaine-1918_absorbing_maybe-some-things-that-weren-t-so-great_651572.png) > “Maybe some things that weren't so great were said about the Irish when they came. But Americans've done well by absorbing immigrants and it's made our nation stronger.” [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker acknowledges past negative stereotypes about Irish immigrants but highlights how embracing immigrants has strengthened the nation. **In simple terms:** Immigrants improve the country despite past prejudice. Key Takeaway Value diversity and inclusion. Themes immigration national identity progress Mood hopeful reflective Type political inspirational When to use this quote - policy debate - community building - education - media narratives - political discourse Key Concepts cultural integration social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - What policies best support immigrant success? - How can societies address lingering xenophobia? A Different Perspective Overlooks challenges of integration and backlash. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Immigrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigrants/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) ## Related quotes > [The majority of people who come to America come for a better life, just like the Italians, the Jews, the Irish, and the Polish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marty-walsh/the-majority-of-people-who-come-to-america-come-for-a-better-life/) [Marty Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marty-walsh/) > [“The problem came down to this: Americans, who had invented the modern assembly line, the skyscraper, the airplane, and the integrated circuit, no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/the-problem-came-down-to-this-americans-who-had-invented-the-modern/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [When the Berlin Wall came down the Americans cried, Victory, and walked off the field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-keating/when-the-berlin-wall-came-down-the-americans-cried-victory-and-walked/) [Paul Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-keating/) > [Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, our nation is stronger when we are respected throughout the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-richardson/whether-you-are-a-democrat-or-a-republican-our-nation-is-stronger/) [Bill Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-richardson/) > [A nation can be no stronger abroad than she is at home. Only an America which practices what it preaches about equal rights and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/a-nation-can-be-no-stronger-abroad-than-she-is-at-home-only-an/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [No matter how big a nation is, it is no stronger that its weakest people, and as long as you keep a person down,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-anderson/no-matter-how-big-a-nation-is-it-is-no-stronger-that-its-weakest/) [Marian Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-anderson/) > [If elected, Bill Shorten and his team would hit the ground running, implementing Labor's plans and setting the nation up for a stronger economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hawke/if-elected-bill-shorten-and-his-team-would-hit-the-ground-running/) [Bob Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hawke/) > [President Trump's efforts have made the American people safer and our nation stronger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-c-o-brien/president-trump-s-efforts-have-made-the-american-people-safer-and-our/) [Robert C. O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-c-o-brien/) > [It should be clear by now that a nation can be no stronger abroad than she is at home. Only an America which practices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/it-should-be-clear-by-now-that-a-nation-can-be-no-stronger-abroad/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [For all of our history, it has been an article of faith that we in America bestow unto our children and grandchildren a nation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-reynolds/for-all-of-our-history-it-has-been-an-article-of-faith-that-we-in/) [Kim Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-reynolds/) > [I know as a nation we are stronger because of our immigrant tradition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-schneider/i-know-as-a-nation-we-are-stronger-because-of-our-immigrant-tradition/) [Brad Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-schneider/) > [We all know that lower taxes will grow our economy and make our nation stronger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-rosendale/we-all-know-that-lower-taxes-will-grow-our-economy-and-make-our/) [Matt Rosendale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-rosendale/) > [Of all the fictions we heard last week in Tampa, the one I find most troubling is this: If we all just go our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-castro/of-all-the-fictions-we-heard-last-week-in-tampa-the-one-i-find-most/) [Julian Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-castro/) > [Americans are a nation of immigrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/americans-are-a-nation-of-immigrants/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [America is a nation of immigrants. We have to have a functioning immigration system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/america-is-a-nation-of-immigrants-we-have-to-have-a-functioning/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) ## More by Tim Kaine > [People will pay a price for putting political obstruction over progress in a time that is so critical and urgent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/people-will-pay-a-price-for-putting-political-obstruction-over/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [You build the bonds through the community and police force, build bonds of understanding, and then when people feel comfortable in their communities, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/you-build-the-bonds-through-the-community-and-police-force-build/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [My sense is, as governor I've gotten a lot of stuff done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/my-sense-is-as-governor-i-ve-gotten-a-lot-of-stuff-done/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [I will always be a partner with the president of the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/i-will-always-be-a-partner-with-the-president-of-the-united-states/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [ This is one where you can just kind of go to the tape on it. But Governor \[Mike\] Pence said inarguably Vladimir Putin is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/this-is-one-where-you-can-just-kind-of-go-to-the-tape-on-it-but/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [America should really wonder about a President Trump, who had a campaign manager with ties to Putin, pro-putin elements in the Ukraine who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/america-should-really-wonder-about-a-president-trump-who-had-a/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [Bill of Rights was Madison, I'm going with Madison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/bill-of-rights-was-madison-i-m-going-with-madison/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [No bill works if it doesn't work in a zip code where somebody lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/no-bill-works-if-it-doesn-t-work-in-a-zip-code-where-somebody-lives/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [The Trump campaign management team had to be fired a month or so ago because of those shadowy connections with pro-Putin forces. Governor Pence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/the-trump-campaign-management-team-had-to-be-fired-a-month-or-so-ago/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [The permanent institutional expertise class is now no longer the legislators, it's the lobbyists who don't have term limits and are there forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/the-permanent-institutional-expertise-class-is-now-no-longer-the/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [You know, boy, America is a closely divided country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/you-know-boy-america-is-a-closely-divided-country/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [If you don't know the difference between dictatorship and leadership then you got to go back to a fifth grade civics class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/if-you-don-t-know-the-difference-between-dictatorship-and-leadership/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [I just want to serve people. I know it sounds like a simple cliche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/i-just-want-to-serve-people-i-know-it-sounds-like-a-simple-cliche/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [I am deeply worried about Donald Trump on matters of national security. He doesn't know anything himself about it, and he has appointed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/i-am-deeply-worried-about-donald-trump-on-matters-of-national/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [I say we are climbing out of a ditch and we are climbing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/i-say-we-are-climbing-out-of-a-ditch-and-we-are-climbing-up/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) [Explore all 198 Tim Kaine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) ## More Absorbing quotes > [The artist has to be something like a whale swimming with his mouth wide open, absorbing everything until he has what he really needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romare-bearden/the-artist-has-to-be-something-like-a-whale-swimming-with-his-mouth/) [Romare Bearden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romare-bearden/) > [I probably need another couple of years of absorbing that and really looking at it to be able to do it because you actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-hanks/i-probably-need-another-couple-of-years-of-absorbing-that-and-really/) [Colin Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-hanks/) > [I bless the gods for not letting my education in rhetoric, poetry, and other literary studies come easily to me, and thereby sparing me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/i-bless-the-gods-for-not-letting-my-education-in-rhetoric-poetry-and/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Edge also implies what Ben Graham…called a margin of safety. You have a margin of safety when you buy an asset at a price…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mauboussin/edge-also-implies-what-ben-graham-called-a-margin-of-safety-you-have/) [Michael Mauboussin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mauboussin/) > [I would spend hours absorbing every intonation, every inflection - how the singer would convey a sentiment and how it would sound coming out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-edmonson/i-would-spend-hours-absorbing-every-intonation-every-inflection-how/) [Kat Edmonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-edmonson/) > [The nut of this tree is hung high aloft, wrapped in a silk wrapper, which is enclosed in a case of sole leather, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-de-camoes/the-nut-of-this-tree-is-hung-high-aloft-wrapped-in-a-silk-wrapper/) [Luis de Camoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-de-camoes/) > [The habit of quietly absorbing the shocks will be quite a great help to stabilize pure awareness. The technique is: Just feel not disturbed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/the-habit-of-quietly-absorbing-the-shocks-will-be-quite-a-great-help/) [Maharishi Mahesh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/) > [It's hard to pick. I mean, I think the one that is most emblematic of the collaboration that occurred is "We Know The Way."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-manuel-miranda/it-s-hard-to-pick-i-mean-i-think-the-one-that-is-most-emblematic-of/) [Lin-Manuel Miranda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-manuel-miranda/) > [Babies breathe a lot more rapidly than adults do, and what's more, they're also growing quickly and so they're absorbing lots more into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/babies-breathe-a-lot-more-rapidly-than-adults-do-and-what-s-more-they/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) > [Where does the ego get its energy? The ego feeds off your desire to be something else. You are poor and you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/where-does-the-ego-get-its-energy-the-ego-feeds-off-your-desire-to-be/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I know "accessibility" is a term that's kind of thrown around wantonly today, especially with talking about visual media. But I think that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-powell/i-know-accessibility-is-a-term-that-s-kind-of-thrown-around-wantonly/) [Nate Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-powell/) > [I've always looked at directing as the next step for me in my creative career, and after spending the better part of the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-anthony-dale/i-ve-always-looked-at-directing-as-the-next-step-for-me-in-my/) [Ian Anthony Dale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-anthony-dale/) > [In anything fit to be called by the name of reading, the process itself should be absorbing and voluptuous; we should gloat over a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/in-anything-fit-to-be-called-by-the-name-of-reading-the-process/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Inside you're like some kind of mirror, reflecting everything without absorbing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-j-deikman/inside-you-re-like-some-kind-of-mirror-reflecting-everything-without/) [Arthur J. Deikman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-j-deikman/) > [There are two kinds of actors -- one sits in a dressing room waiting for his call and the other gets out into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/there-are-two-kinds-of-actors-one-sits-in-a-dressing-room-waiting-for/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) Browse all 189 Absorbing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Maybe some things that weren't so great were said about the Irish when they came. 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