--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Long before 2020, many Americans were in…" description: "\"Long before 2020, many Americans were in the position of patching their own safety net and acting as their own city hall.\" — Annie Lowrey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/annie-lowrey-7218_acting_long-before-2020-many-americans-were-in_1438740.jpg" --- # Long before 2020, many Americans were in the position of… ![“Long before 2020, many Americans were in the position of patching their own safety net and acting as their own city hall.” quote by Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/annie-lowrey-7218_acting_long-before-2020-many-americans-were-in_1438740.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/annie-lowrey-7218_acting_long-before-2020-many-americans-were-in_1438740.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/annie-lowrey-7218_acting_long-before-2020-many-americans-were-in_1438740.jpg) > “Long before 2020, many Americans were in the position of patching their own safety net and acting as their own city hall.” [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often fill gaps left by government, acting as their own local authorities. **In simple terms:** Individuals replace missing public services. Key Takeaway Support community initiatives. Themes civic responsibility self‑reliance policy Mood concerned hopeful Type opinion analysis When to use this quote - neighborhood watch - mutual aid - local governance Key Concepts social safety nets grassroots governance Questions to Reflect On - What are the limits of self‑governance? - How can institutions better support communities? A Different Perspective Reliance on individuals can be unsustainable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [2020 Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/2020-americans-5142580/) [Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) [Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans/) [Americans Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans-position-578232/) [City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city/) [City hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city-hall/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/own/) [Safety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safety/) [Safety net](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safety-net/) ## Related quotes > [The Americans' position is clear: we promote democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-susman/the-americans-position-is-clear-we-promote-democracy/) [Louis Susman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-susman/) > [Most Americans believe in fairness; we believe that people should work hard but there should be a safety net. We believe in saving the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-maclean/most-americans-believe-in-fairness-we-believe-that-people-should-work/) [Nancy MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-maclean/) > [I think most Americans believe in a basic social safety net.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-sasse/i-think-most-americans-believe-in-a-basic-social-safety-net/) [Ben Sasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-sasse/) > [Americans are no less susceptible to disease, joblessness, and family changes than their peers in rich nations, but they are made more fragile by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/americans-are-no-less-susceptible-to-disease-joblessness-and-family/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [A thin safety net, an expansive security state: This is the American way. At all levels of government, the country spends roughly double on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/a-thin-safety-net-an-expansive-security-state-this-is-the-american/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [Because of my own experience with market fluctuation, I recognize the great risks one takes on investments. This converts the Social Security safety net…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-napolitano/because-of-my-own-experience-with-market-fluctuation-i-recognize-the/) [Grace Napolitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-napolitano/) > [In Britain, where the social safety net is more like a social swaddling cloth, crime rates other than murder are significantly higher than in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/in-britain-where-the-social-safety-net-is-more-like-a-social/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [I can't help but react to the painful realities of the two-tiered society we live in, where the signs of poverty and inequity are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-yarrow/i-can-t-help-but-react-to-the-painful-realities-of-the-two-tiered/) [Peter Yarrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-yarrow/) > [Go for broke. Always try and do too much. Dispense with safety nets. Take a deep breath before you begin talking. Aim for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/go-for-broke-always-try-and-do-too-much-dispense-with-safety-nets/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If the idea is you're working at a job solely to pay the bills because you have ambitions to do something else, if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-f-tompkins/if-the-idea-is-you-re-working-at-a-job-solely-to-pay-the-bills/) [Paul F. Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-f-tompkins/) > [Our people want jobs. They don't want a safety net as a way of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/our-people-want-jobs-they-don-t-want-a-safety-net-as-a-way-of-life/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [If the economy is growing fast, there is call for a distributing income from the rich to the poor to to put in place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manmohan-singh/if-the-economy-is-growing-fast-there-is-call-for-a-distributing/) [Manmohan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manmohan-singh/) > [Comedy scares me a lot. I feel like it's way harder than drama. I think my safety net is definitely drama, and I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-maslany/comedy-scares-me-a-lot-i-feel-like-it-s-way-harder-than-drama-i-think/) [Tatiana Maslany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-maslany/) > [I do not want to get rid of the safety net, I want to get rid of dependency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/i-do-not-want-to-get-rid-of-the-safety-net-i-want-to-get-rid-of/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [Nerves are always a big problem for me, which is why I loved doing American sitcoms. Because you know when you do the take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/nerves-are-always-a-big-problem-for-me-which-is-why-i-loved-doing/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) ## More by Annie Lowrey > [The bunker business is just one instantiation, the grandest instantiation, of what you might think of as conspiracy capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/the-bunker-business-is-just-one-instantiation-the-grandest/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [It is a country that professes to care for babies. But in the United States, the infant death rate is twice as high as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/it-is-a-country-that-professes-to-care-for-babies-but-in-the-united/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [Where Democrats have a real toehold to criticize Republicans is that families still feel very financially fragile. About 2 in 5 adults would struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/where-democrats-have-a-real-toehold-to-criticize-republicans-is-that/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [So overall in the entire economy, the issue is not that health care costs are growing dramatically. The issue is that the burden placed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/so-overall-in-the-entire-economy-the-issue-is-not-that-health-care/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [As a general point, the United States has an extreme budget commitment to prisons, guns, warplanes, armored vehicles, detention facilities, courts, jails, drones, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/as-a-general-point-the-united-states-has-an-extreme-budget-commitment/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [Conspiracy theories themselves are big business, of course, selling books, videos, conferences, and all kinds of merch. 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Independent-contractor jobs are the new normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/the-workforce-is-getting-uberized-the-gig-economy-is-taking-over-the/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [For animals, for humans, for the planet: It makes sense to curb meat consumption, and that is something vegans and omnivores agree on. Roughly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/for-animals-for-humans-for-the-planet-it-makes-sense-to-curb-meat/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [The rise of populist movements and the shrinking of the middle class - with all the economic pain and political turbulence that comes with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/the-rise-of-populist-movements-and-the-shrinking-of-the-middle-class/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [The student-loan crisis has an underappreciated emotional valence too: The debt makes people miserable. 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They're even leading young people to delay getting married…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/student-loans-are-delaying-retirements-they-re-suppressing-the/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [Economic anxiety might not have won Donald Trump the White House, but much of his strongest support came from more sclerotic rural and industrial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/economic-anxiety-might-not-have-won-donald-trump-the-white-house-but/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) [Explore all 93 Annie Lowrey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) ## More Acting quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. 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Sometimes it takes longer than what you can give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/acting-is-a-grind-just-like-music-is-a-grind-sometimes-it-takes/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [It was only when I started making short films in college and I was looking for girls to play the me-ish parts that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/it-was-only-when-i-started-making-short-films-in-college-and-i-was/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [Writing is something I took up rather than anything I had an inclination toward. I like acting -delivering someone else's message - but writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/writing-is-something-i-took-up-rather-than-anything-i-had-an/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. 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Whether you're a child mucking around with your friends or a grown up being paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-hewson/actors-don-t-hate-acting-most-people-don-t-hate-acting-whether-you-re/) [Liv Hewson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-hewson/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) [Ryan Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-newman/) > [The show was number one in the ratings, Gordon Russell was our head writer, the story lines were magnificent and the acting most exciting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-storm/the-show-was-number-one-in-the-ratings-gordon-russell-was-our-head/) [Michael Storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-storm/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [I do not believe in public shaming. 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