--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the same way the Brits had to get used…" description: "\"In the same way the Brits had to get used to the idea that the sun had set on the British Empire, I think that there's the subrosa feeling that we are ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/anna-quindlen-467_british_in-the-same-way-the-brits-had-to-get-use_876603.jpg" --- # In the same way the Brits had to get used to the idea that… ![“In the same way the Brits had to get used to the idea that the sun had set on the British Empire, I think that there's the subrosa feeling that we are at the end of the American century, and I think that's very, very hard for Americans to take.” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/anna-quindlen-467_british_in-the-same-way-the-brits-had-to-get-use_876603.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/anna-quindlen-467_british_in-the-same-way-the-brits-had-to-get-use_876603.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/anna-quindlen-467_british_in-the-same-way-the-brits-had-to-get-use_876603.jpg) > “In the same way the Brits had to get used to the idea that the sun had set on the British Empire, I think that there's the subrosa feeling that we are at the end of the American century, and I think that's very, very hard for Americans to take.” [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. America faces a perceived decline, challenging national identity and optimism. **In simple terms:** America feels its era ending. Key Takeaway Adapt to changing global realities. Themes national identity decline optimism Mood thoughtful concerned Type opinion analytical When to use this quote - political discourse - education curricula - media analysis - personal reflection Key Concepts history geopolitics Questions to Reflect On - How can societies reframe perceived decline? - What narratives sustain national confidence? A Different Perspective Denial of change can hinder progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [British](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british/) [British empire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british-empire/) [Brits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brits/) [Empires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empires/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I think Americans suspect, without even being able to articulate it, that we're at the end of the American century; that we're at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-americans-suspect-without-even-being-able-to-articulate-it/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [For those of us who have lived abroad and seen our nation in a highly competitive 21st century, and kind of see where this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-huntsman-jr/for-those-of-us-who-have-lived-abroad-and-seen-our-nation-in-a-highly/) [Jon Huntsman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-huntsman-jr/) > [World War II, the atomic bomb, the Cold War, made it hard for Americans to continue their optimism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/world-war-ii-the-atomic-bomb-the-cold-war-made-it-hard-for-americans/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [It's hard to get Americans to vote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-the-butcher/it-s-hard-to-get-americans-to-vote/) [Benny the Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-the-butcher/) > [...there are two (inter alia) two ways of ruining a society - namely, letting the market "be the sole director of the fate of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-berman/there-are-two-inter-alia-two-ways-of-ruining-a-society-namely-letting/) [Morris Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-berman/) > [All empires come to an end, and the American one is no exception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/all-empires-come-to-an-end-and-the-american-one-is-no-exception/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [“American era is ending in part because a powerful group of Americans wants it to end. The American dream is shrinking because some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/american-era-is-ending-in-part-because-a-powerful-group-of-americans/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [Once you run current-account deficits, you depend on the kindness of strangers. This might be the beginning of the end of the American empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouriel-roubini/once-you-run-current-account-deficits-you-depend-on-the-kindness-of/) [Nouriel Roubini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouriel-roubini/) > [“But it's like the feeling you get at the end of a book you love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-murdoch/but-it-s-like-the-feeling-you-get-at-the-end-of-a-book-you-love/) Stuart Murdoch > [I don't answer the phone. I get the feeling whenever I do that there will be someone on the other end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-couples/i-don-t-answer-the-phone-i-get-the-feeling-whenever-i-do-that-there/) [Fred Couples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-couples/) > [Standing here, in this quiet house where I can hear the birds chirping out back, I think I’m kind of getting the concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/standing-here-in-this-quiet-house-where-i-can-hear-the-birds-chirping/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [I'm not ganna lie, I love my life...but I hate that feeling at the end of the night when I have no one to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-ganna-lie-i-love-my-life-but-i-hate-that-feeling-at-the-end/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Tolerance is the uncomfortable feeling that in the end the other could be right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/tolerance-is-the-uncomfortable-feeling-that-in-the-end-the-other/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Somehow the image begins to have a sort of memory in it, even if you can't see it. It can build up a dense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vija-celmins/somehow-the-image-begins-to-have-a-sort-of-memory-in-it-even-if-you/) Vija Celmins > [Can't let the music stop, Can't let this feeling end, 'Cause if I do, It'll all be over, And I'll never see you again!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-archuleta/can-t-let-the-music-stop-can-t-let-this-feeling-end-cause-if-i-do-it/) [David Archuleta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-archuleta/) ## More by Anna Quindlen > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/sometimes-change-came-all-at-once-with-a-sound-like-a-fire-taking/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Loss as muse. Loss as character. Loss as life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/loss-as-muse-loss-as-character-loss-as-life/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/knowledge-of-our-own-mortality-is-the-greatest-gift-god-ever-gives-us/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [You teach your 16-year-old with your heart in your mouth to be a good driver and none of that makes any difference when some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-teach-your-16-year-old-with-your-heart-in-your-mouth-to-be-a-good/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Every reader, I suspect, has a book like this somewhere in his or her past, a book that seemed to hold within it, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/every-reader-i-suspect-has-a-book-like-this-somewhere-in-his-or-her/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“I’ve finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-ve-finally-recognized-my-body-for-what-it-is-a-personality-delivery/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [A man who builds his own pedestal had better use strong cement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/a-man-who-builds-his-own-pedestal-had-better-use-strong-cement/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“In England I am always madam; I arrived too late to ever be a miss. In New York I have only been madamed once,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-england-i-am-always-madam-i-arrived-too-late-to-ever-be-a-miss-in/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“Yet there was always in me, even when I was very small, the sense that I ought to be somewhere else. And wander I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/yet-there-was-always-in-me-even-when-i-was-very-small-the-sense-that/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I can't think of a single downside to motherhood now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-can-t-think-of-a-single-downside-to-motherhood-now/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It would take a helluva man to replace no man at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-would-take-a-helluva-man-to-replace-no-man-at-all/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Not writing at all leads to nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/not-writing-at-all-leads-to-nothing/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Reading has always been my home, my sustenance, my great invincible companion. "Book love," Trollope called it. "It will make your hours pleasant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-always-been-my-home-my-sustenance-my-great-invincible/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) [Explore all 538 Anna Quindlen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## More British quotes > [I'd love to work in the States; I'd love to work anywhere where you get a good script and a good part to play.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-carmichael/i-d-love-to-work-in-the-states-i-d-love-to-work-anywhere-where-you/) [Laura Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-carmichael/) > [I shot for French and British Vogue. The British Vogue one featured clothes by Chloe and was shot at Highgate and the John Soane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nan-goldin/i-shot-for-french-and-british-vogue-the-british-vogue-one-featured/) [Nan Goldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nan-goldin/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [ No wonder that Churchill described this effort \[the British codebreakers working at Bletchley Park\] as "Britian"s secret weapon," a weapon far more effective than… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hilton/no-wonder-that-churchill-described-this-effort-the-british/) [Peter Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hilton/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [I always wanted to make a 'James Bond' film, and they only seemed to hire British directors, and I'd made 'Swingers' - they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-liman/i-always-wanted-to-make-a-james-bond-film-and-they-only-seemed-to/) [Doug Liman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-liman/) > [Somebody said that part of my reaction to British cinema is actually, paradoxically, a patriotic one. I'm so disappointed that we're not better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brownlow/somebody-said-that-part-of-my-reaction-to-british-cinema-is-actually/) [Kevin Brownlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brownlow/) > [All the cliches of glamorous sophistication have little appeal to me. Do I want to live the British version of 'Dynasty?' No thanks!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/all-the-cliches-of-glamorous-sophistication-have-little-appeal-to-me/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) > [British Forces should be in a position to give back in a ten fold measure any attack that the Germans may attempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-banting/british-forces-should-be-in-a-position-to-give-back-in-a-ten-fold/) [Frederick Banting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-banting/) > [Although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/although-i-don-t-have-anything-against-people-from-other-countries/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It could be my British need for discipline that makes me admire the American appetite for freedom and passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-winwood/it-could-be-my-british-need-for-discipline-that-makes-me-admire-the/) [Steve Winwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-winwood/) > [While we like to think queueing is unique to British culture, the truth is that we are mere amateurs. The old Soviet Union turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-hartley-brewer/while-we-like-to-think-queueing-is-unique-to-british-culture-the/) [Julia Hartley-Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-hartley-brewer/) > [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [The whole nuclear-arms-control and non-proliferation policy of the nuclear powers is a fraud: The Americans could not prevent the Soviets from replicating their weaponry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-black/the-whole-nuclear-arms-control-and-non-proliferation-policy-of-the/) [Conrad Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-black/) > [There just seems to be more acceptance now of other kinds of British films, than the picture-postcard ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-roth/there-just-seems-to-be-more-acceptance-now-of-other-kinds-of-british/) [Tim Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-roth/) [Browse all 3,149 British quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the same way the Brits had to get used to the idea that the sun had set on the British Empire, I think that there's the subrosa feeling that we are at the end of the American century, and I think that's very, very hard for Americans to take.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anna Quindlen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-the-same-way-the-brits-had-to-get-used-to-the-idea-that-the-sun/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "British" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-the-same-way-the-brits-had-to-get-used-to-the-idea-that-the-sun/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/anna-quindlen-467_british_in-the-same-way-the-brits-had-to-get-use_876603.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/anna-quindlen-467_british_in-the-same-way-the-brits-had-to-get-use_876603.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/anna-quindlen-467_british_in-the-same-way-the-brits-had-to-get-use_876603.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the same way the Brits had to get used to the idea that the sun had set on the British Empire, I think…” — Anna Quindlen", "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": "Anna Quindlen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In the same way the Brits...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-the-same-way-the-brits-had-to-get-used-to-the-idea-that-the-sun/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-the-same-way-the-brits-had-to-get-used-to-the-idea-that-the-sun/#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 } } ] } ```