--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The great problem of American life [is]…" description: "\"The great problem of American life [is] the riddle ofauthority: the difficulty of finding a way, within a liberaland individualistic social order, of l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f58/anonymous-1_american-life_the-great-problem-of-american-life-is-th_1286447.jpg" --- # The great problem of American life \[is\] the riddle… ![“The great problem of American life [is] the riddle ofauthority: the difficulty of finding a way, within a liberaland individualistic social order, of living in harmoniousand consecrated submission to something larger than oneself… A yearning for self-transcendence and submission to authority [is]…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f58/anonymous-1_american-life_the-great-problem-of-american-life-is-th_1286447.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f58/anonymous-1_american-life_the-great-problem-of-american-life-is-th_1286447.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f58/anonymous-1_american-life_the-great-problem-of-american-life-is-th_1286447.jpg) > “The great problem of American life \[is\] the riddle ofauthority: the difficulty of finding a way, within a liberaland individualistic social order, of living in harmoniousand consecrated submission to something larger than oneself… A yearning for self-transcendence and submission to authority \[is\] as deeply rooted as the lure ofindividual liberation.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The tension between individual liberty and the need for higher purpose creates a paradox in liberal societies. **In simple terms:** Balancing freedom with higher purpose is hard. Key Takeaway Seek meaningful connections beyond self. Themes individualism authority purpose societal tension Mood reflective thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - political debate - personal development - community building - civic engagement Key Concepts social psychology philosophy identity collectivism Questions to Reflect On - How can societies honor both freedom and shared purpose? - What personal higher purpose guides you? A Different Perspective Authority can suppress personal autonomy if misapplied. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-life/) [Authority Deeply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority-deeply-4175194/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Great saying by great authors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-saying-by-great-authors/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Ofindividual Liberation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ofindividual-liberation-4175195/) [Problem American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem-american-444483/) [Riddle Ofauthority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/riddle-ofauthority-4175193/) [Self Transcendence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-transcendence-473860/) [Social order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-order/) ## Related quotes > [The idea of feminine authority is so deeply embedded in the human subconscious that even after all these centuries of father-right the young child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gould-davis/the-idea-of-feminine-authority-is-so-deeply-embedded-in-the-human/) [Elizabeth Gould Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gould-davis/) > [Its a big problem for American movies that all their movies are produced to be global.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-a-big-problem-for-american-movies-that-all-their-movies-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Only to the extent that someone is living out this self transcendence of human existence, is he truly human or does he become his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/only-to-the-extent-that-someone-is-living-out-this-self-transcendence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Politics \[is\] the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/politics-is-the-art-of-achieving-the-maximum-amount-of-freedom-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am opposing a social order in which it is possible for one man who does absolutely nothing that is useful to amass a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-opposing-a-social-order-in-which-it-is-possible-for-one-man-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If human society produces children like cats and dogs for the disturbance of social order, then the world becomes hellish, as it has in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-human-society-produces-children-like-cats-and-dogs-for-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“CHAPTER II—THE LOWEST DEPTHS There disinterestedness vanishes. 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Emphasis is placed on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-most-women-the-language-of-conversation-is-primarily-a-language/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The problem with American democracy is the American corporation, which is a slave holder construct, pure and simple. It's totally invasive, and people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/the-problem-with-american-democracy-is-the-american-corporation-which/) [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) > [I think it's important to make clear, you know, that the problem with American soccer... it isn't talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-pulisic/i-think-it-s-important-to-make-clear-you-know-that-the-problem-with/) [Christian Pulisic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-pulisic/) > [The problem isn't a Congress that won't cut spending or a president who won't raise taxes. The problem is an American public with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-problem-isn-t-a-congress-that-won-t-cut-spending-or-a-president/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [The government of Iran has no problem with the American nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-ahmadinejad/the-government-of-iran-has-no-problem-with-the-american-nation/) [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-ahmadinejad/) > [“Violence isn't a Democrat or Republican problem. It's an American problem, requiring an American solution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashanne-stokes/violence-isn-t-a-democrat-or-republican-problem-it-s-an-american/) [DaShanne Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashanne-stokes/) > [The biggest problem with American music right now, is that kids don't listen. They come by it honestly, Americans don't listen anyway. When people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branford-marsalis/the-biggest-problem-with-american-music-right-now-is-that-kids-don-t/) [Branford Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branford-marsalis/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More American life quotes > [“As we look over the list of the early leaders of the republic, Washington, John Adams, Hamilton, and others, we discern that they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-truslow-adams/as-we-look-over-the-list-of-the-early-leaders-of-the-republic/) [James Truslow Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-truslow-adams/) > [Our families and our homes are the center of American life, Everything we do is to make those homes-and the lives in them-more beautiful,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stewart/our-families-and-our-homes-are-the-center-of-american-life-everything/) [Martha Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stewart/) > [As Americans, we want peace - we work and sacrifice for peace. 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It is violence punctuated by committee meetings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/football-combines-two-of-the-worst-things-in-american-life-it-is/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [I produced a play in New York that got nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best American Play.The play is called Stalking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-richman/i-produced-a-play-in-new-york-that-got-nominated-for-an-outer-critics/) [Adam Richman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-richman/) > [The final test of Afro-American studies will be the extent to which they rid the minds of whites and blacks alike of false learning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-saunders-redding/the-final-test-of-afro-american-studies-will-be-the-extent-to-which/) [Jay Saunders Redding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-saunders-redding/) > [In the decade of the 1980s, a massive and comprehensive study of religion in American life was undertaken by the Gallup organization. The results…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/in-the-decade-of-the-1980s-a-massive-and-comprehensive-study-of/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [Envy is the central fact of American life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/envy-is-the-central-fact-of-american-life/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [A trillion dollars spent, 2,000 American lives lost - Afghanistan is the longest war in American history. But you don't hear a word about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-baumgartner/a-trillion-dollars-spent-2-000-american-lives-lost-afghanistan-is-the/) [Michael Baumgartner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-baumgartner/) > [Crime and the fear of crime have permeated the fabric of American life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-e-burger/crime-and-the-fear-of-crime-have-permeated-the-fabric-of-american-life/) [Warren E. Burger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-e-burger/) [Browse all 344 American life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The great problem of American life [is] the riddle ofauthority: the difficulty of finding a way, within a liberaland individualistic social order, of living in harmoniousand consecrated submission to something larger than oneself… A yearning for self-transcendence and submission to authority [is] as deeply rooted as the lure ofindividual liberation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-great-problem-of-american-life-is-the-riddle-ofauthority-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-great-problem-of-american-life-is-the-riddle-ofauthority-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f58/anonymous-1_american-life_the-great-problem-of-american-life-is-th_1286447.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f58/anonymous-1_american-life_the-great-problem-of-american-life-is-th_1286447.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f58/anonymous-1_american-life_the-great-problem-of-american-life-is-th_1286447.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The great problem of American life [is] the riddle ofauthority: the difficulty of finding a way, within a…” — Anonymous", "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": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The great problem of American life...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-great-problem-of-american-life-is-the-riddle-ofauthority-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-great-problem-of-american-life-is-the-riddle-ofauthority-the/#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 } } ] } ```