---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We lost our way, our society lost our way."
description: "\"We lost our way, our society lost our way.\" — David Ervine"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/david-ervine-88318_community_we-lost-our-way-our-society-lost-our-way_1679189.jpg"
---

#  We lost our way, our society lost our way.

![“We lost our way, our society lost our way.” quote by David Ervine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/david-ervine-88318_community_we-lost-our-way-our-society-lost-our-way_1679189.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/david-ervine-88318_community_we-lost-our-way-our-society-lost-our-way_1679189.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/david-ervine-88318_community_we-lost-our-way-our-society-lost-our-way_1679189.jpg)

> “We lost our way, our society lost our way.”

[David Ervine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ervine/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Societal direction is lost, leading to collective confusion.

**In simple terms:** Society has lost its way.

Key Takeaway

Seek clearer purpose.

Themes

society direction confusion

Mood

reflective concerned

Type

philosophical political

When to use this quote

- community planning
- policy reform
- public discourse

Key Concepts

political theory social cohesion

Questions to Reflect On

- What values should guide society?
- How can individuals restore direction?

A Different Perspective

Changing direction requires consensus, which can be hard.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Lost Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-way/) [Our society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-society/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Society Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-lost-940423/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Way Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-society-940424/)

## Related quotes

> [Our society has lost confidence in the power of reason, except perhaps scientific reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-radcliffe/our-society-has-lost-confidence-in-the-power-of-reason-except-perhaps/)

[Timothy Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-radcliffe/)

> [“the way they put it, we as a society have decided not to modify the society but to modify the children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-way-they-put-it-we-as-a-society-have-decided-not-to-modify-the/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [I love how much dance is sneaking its way back into society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haley-lu-richardson/i-love-how-much-dance-is-sneaking-its-way-back-into-society/)

[Haley Lu Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haley-lu-richardson/)

> [I don't like the way I see society going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-hodgson/i-don-t-like-the-way-i-see-society-going/)

[Roy Hodgson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-hodgson/)

> [Student loans are destroying the imagination of youth. If there’s a way of a society committing mass suicide, what better way than to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/student-loans-are-destroying-the-imagination-of-youth-if-there-s-a/)

[David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/)

> [When a leader encourages the culture of impunity, the society is lost and it makes the work harder for the rest of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/when-a-leader-encourages-the-culture-of-impunity-the-society-is-lost/)

[Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/)

> [In achieving the depersonalization of childbirth and at the same time solving the problem of pain, our society may have lost more than it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kitzinger/in-achieving-the-depersonalization-of-childbirth-and-at-the-same-time/)

[Sheila Kitzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-kitzinger/)

> [It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. We have lost it, or we have never had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/it-is-no-measure-of-health-to-be-well-adjusted-to-a-profoundly-sick-2/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [Have you lost your way? Don't be sad; be happy, because you will see new places, places that you have never been to! It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/have-you-lost-your-way-don-t-be-sad-be-happy-because-you-will-see-new/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [“He knew there were no forevers and there was always a way out, yet he lost his way, lost his balance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-chase/he-knew-there-were-no-forevers-and-there-was-always-a-way-out-yet-he/)

[Loretta Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-chase/)

> [This wasn't the way he had expected his life to be. It worked, but that was about all. Happiness had got lost somewhere along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ajvide-lindqvist/this-wasn-t-the-way-he-had-expected-his-life-to-be-it-worked-but-that/)

[John Ajvide Lindqvist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ajvide-lindqvist/)

> [“When all ways are lost the way is clear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/when-all-ways-are-lost-the-way-is-clear/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [“...not everything in your heart makes it to your mouth. A lot of it gets lost on the way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-lodato/not-everything-in-your-heart-makes-it-to-your-mouth-a-lot-of-it-gets/)

[Victor Lodato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-lodato/)

> [“The way of life can be free and beautiful. But we have lost the way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-chaplin/the-way-of-life-can-be-free-and-beautiful-but-we-have-lost-the-way/)

[Charles Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-chaplin/)

> [You may sometime feel that you're lost on the way, but if you dont lose faith in yourself and dont stop moving on, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/you-may-sometime-feel-that-you-re-lost-on-the-way-but-if-you-dont/)

[Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/)

## More by David Ervine

> [We have got to extend the hand of friendship, we have got to take the peacelines down brick by brick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ervine/we-have-got-to-extend-the-hand-of-friendship-we-have-got-to-take-the/)

[David Ervine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ervine/)

> [This society believed it was looking towards a new future, yet we consistently find ourselves being dragged backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ervine/this-society-believed-it-was-looking-towards-a-new-future-yet-we/)

[David Ervine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ervine/)

[Explore all 3 David Ervine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ervine/)

## More Community 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/)

> [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/)

[Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/)

> [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/)

[Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/)

> [The strains and stresses suffered by the individual in society are grounded in the normal functioning of that society (and of the individual!) rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/the-strains-and-stresses-suffered-by-the-individual-in-society-are/)

[Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/)

> [Hackney gets a bit of a bad rap, but it's the only place I've ever lived that felt like a community. I know my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-horgan/hackney-gets-a-bit-of-a-bad-rap-but-it-s-the-only-place-i-ve-ever/)

[Sharon Horgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-horgan/)

> [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/)

[Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/)

> [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/)

[Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/)

> [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/)

[Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/)

> [It rolls off my back. Ridicule doesn't mean anything - even from people you're supposed to wear knee pads around, like the scientific community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-schultz/it-rolls-off-my-back-ridicule-doesn-t-mean-anything-even-from-people/)

[Dwight Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-schultz/)

> [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/)

[Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/)

> [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [Human life consists of doing certain things ... to take part in the life of the community; to be able to talk about subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/human-life-consists-of-doing-certain-things-to-take-part-in-the-life/)

[Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/)

> [Parents who are stressed or disturbed will have more difficulty in meeting their children's needs. Parents who have little support--from friends, relatives, neighbors, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/parents-who-are-stressed-or-disturbed-will-have-more-difficulty-in/)

[Sheila Kamerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-kamerman/)

> [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/)

[Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/)

> [Perhaps the greatest and least visible form of impoverishment caused by the Corporate State is the destruction of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/perhaps-the-greatest-and-least-visible-form-of-impoverishment-caused/)

[Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/)

[Browse all 13,840 Community quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We lost our way, our society lost our way.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "David Ervine"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ervine/we-lost-our-way-our-society-lost-our-way/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Community"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ervine/we-lost-our-way-our-society-lost-our-way/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/david-ervine-88318_community_we-lost-our-way-our-society-lost-our-way_1679189.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/david-ervine-88318_community_we-lost-our-way-our-society-lost-our-way_1679189.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/david-ervine-88318_community_we-lost-our-way-our-society-lost-our-way_1679189.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We lost our way, our society lost our way.” — David Ervine",
                "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": "David Ervine",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ervine/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We lost our way, our society...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ervine/we-lost-our-way-our-society-lost-our-way/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ervine/we-lost-our-way-our-society-lost-our-way/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
