--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you get down about the state of…" description: "\"If you get down about the state of American culture, just remember there are still more public libraries in this country than there are McDonalds.\" — D..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06d/david-mccullough-1091_american-culture_if-you-get-down-about-the-state-of-ameri_2702839.png" --- # If you get down about the state of American culture, just… ![“If you get down about the state of American culture, just remember there are still more public libraries in this country than there are McDonalds.” quote by David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06d/david-mccullough-1091_american-culture_if-you-get-down-about-the-state-of-ameri_2702839.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06d/david-mccullough-1091_american-culture_if-you-get-down-about-the-state-of-ameri_2702839.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06d/david-mccullough-1091_american-culture_if-you-get-down-about-the-state-of-ameri_2702839.png) > “If you get down about the state of American culture, just remember there are still more public libraries in this country than there are McDonalds.” [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Public libraries outnumber fast‑food chains, showing cultural priorities can differ from commercial growth. **In simple terms:** Libraries are more common than McDonalds. Key Takeaway Value community resources over consumerism. Themes culture public institutions values Mood reflective optimistic Type observational analytical When to use this quote - urban planning - education policy - community development - library advocacy Key Concepts civic engagement social capital Questions to Reflect On - How does this affect your view of cultural health? - What role should libraries play today? A Different Perspective Numbers don’t reflect quality or accessibility of services. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-culture/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Public library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-library/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I think the public library system is one of the most amazing American institutions. Free for everybody. If you ever get the blues about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/i-think-the-public-library-system-is-one-of-the-most-amazing-american/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [What is also strange to me is that public libraries have always been in the forefront of opposing censorship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/what-is-also-strange-to-me-is-that-public-libraries-have-always-been/) [Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/) > [Access to public libraries also affects how much children read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-d-krashen/access-to-public-libraries-also-affects-how-much-children-read/) [Stephen D. Krashen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-d-krashen/) > [We English majors...need to promote public libraries as a tool in the war against terror. How many readers of Edith Wharton have engaged in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/we-english-majors-need-to-promote-public-libraries-as-a-tool-in-the/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [Children have to have access to books, and a lot of children can't go to a store and buy a book. We need not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/children-have-to-have-access-to-books-and-a-lot-of-children-can-t-go/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [The reflections and histories of men and women throughout the world are contained in books… America's greatness is not only recorded in books, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-cooke/the-reflections-and-histories-of-men-and-women-throughout-the-world/) Terence Cooke > [Public libraries are the last vestige of public free space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-prince-ramus/public-libraries-are-the-last-vestige-of-public-free-space/) [Joshua Prince-Ramus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-prince-ramus/) > [Health information is just about the number one thing that people go into public libraries and connect to public libraries for. They're also looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-hayden/health-information-is-just-about-the-number-one-thing-that-people-go/) [Carla Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-hayden/) > [I ransack public libraries, and find them full of sunk treasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/i-ransack-public-libraries-and-find-them-full-of-sunk-treasure/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [In my world there would be as many public libraries as there are Starbucks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/in-my-world-there-would-be-as-many-public-libraries-as-there-are/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [I ransack public libraries & find them full of sunk treasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/i-ransack-public-libraries-find-them-full-of-sunk-treasure/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Public libraries have been a mainstay of my life. They represent an individual's right to acquire knowledge; they are the sinews that bind civilized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/public-libraries-have-been-a-mainstay-of-my-life-they-represent-an/) [James A. Michener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-michener/) > [The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-america-i-love-still-exists-at-the-front-desks-of-our-public/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Public libraries are our great teachers and storytellers, and are a vital adjunct to our schools. In this day of standardized and homogenized education,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-andrews/public-libraries-are-our-great-teachers-and-storytellers-and-are-a/) [Julie Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-andrews/) > [In America there is a public library in every community. How many public libraries are there in Africa? Every day there are new books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-weah/in-america-there-is-a-public-library-in-every-community-how-many/) [George Weah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-weah/) ## More by David McCullough > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Steamboats by this time were becoming a familiar presence on the rivers and coastal waters of America, but not until 1838 did steam-powered ships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/steamboats-by-this-time-were-becoming-a-familiar-presence-on-the/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [I feel that history is in many ways the most important of all subjects because it is about everything and because it's about who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/i-feel-that-history-is-in-many-ways-the-most-important-of-all/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Even mighty states and kingdoms are not exempted. If we look into history, we shall find some nations rising from contemptible beginnings and spreading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/even-mighty-states-and-kingdoms-are-not-exempted-if-we-look-into/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [History isn't just what happened, but what happened to whom and why and what would have been different if the cast of characters had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/history-isn-t-just-what-happened-but-what-happened-to-whom-and-why/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [Nobody ever lived in the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/nobody-ever-lived-in-the-past/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Only TR openly declared his love for the job. “Nobody ever enjoyed the presidency as I did,” he boasted, and by all evidence that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/only-tr-openly-declared-his-love-for-the-job-nobody-ever-enjoyed-the/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“s ships Phoenix and Rose, in the company of three tenders, cast off their moorings at Staten Island and started up the harbor under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/s-ships-phoenix-and-rose-in-the-company-of-three-tenders-cast-off/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“a people may let a King fall, yet still remain a people, but if a King let his people slip from him, he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/a-people-may-let-a-king-fall-yet-still-remain-a-people-but-if-a-king/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [Why limit yourself to the experience of your own relatively brief time on earth, according to your biological clock, when the whole realm of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/why-limit-yourself-to-the-experience-of-your-own-relatively-brief/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“He worked at a plain, tall desk at which he wrote standing up or perched on a high stool,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/he-worked-at-a-plain-tall-desk-at-which-he-wrote-standing-up-or/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Nothing happens in isolation. Everything that happens has consequences. We”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/nothing-happens-in-isolation-everything-that-happens-has-consequences/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [America faces an enemy who believes in enforced ignorance. And all that we stand for is the open mind, the generous spirit, the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/america-faces-an-enemy-who-believes-in-enforced-ignorance-and-all/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [My shorthand answer is that I try to write the kind of book that I would like to read. If I can make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/my-shorthand-answer-is-that-i-try-to-write-the-kind-of-book-that-i/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Seen under the microscope, Stegomyia is a creature of striking beauty. Its general color is dark gray, but the thorax is marked with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/seen-under-the-microscope-stegomyia-is-a-creature-of-striking-beauty/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) [Explore all 291 David McCullough quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) ## More American culture quotes > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [“Every twenty minutes on the Appalachian Trail, Katz and I walked farther than the average American walks in a week. For 93 percent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/every-twenty-minutes-on-the-appalachian-trail-katz-and-i-walked/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [The Soviet Union is like the Cross without Christ, while American culture is like Christ without the Cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-soviet-union-is-like-the-cross-without-christ-while-american/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [ \[If\] we can celebrate that in a way that celebrates our love for New England as well as our love for the Italian culture… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-batali/if-we-can-celebrate-that-in-a-way-that-celebrates-our-love-for-new/) [Mario Batali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-batali/) > [I think in American culture, we put value on economic success but tell people you don't have to be economically successful to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/i-think-in-american-culture-we-put-value-on-economic-success-but-tell/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [The most important thing about Jazz at Lincoln Center is the fact that it's the first time that perhaps the most important art form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-vinoly/the-most-important-thing-about-jazz-at-lincoln-center-is-the-fact/) [Rafael Vinoly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-vinoly/) > [And certainly in British culture, as I'm sure it's the same with American culture, we warm to cultures where people can make fun of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omid-djalili/and-certainly-in-british-culture-as-i-m-sure-it-s-the-same-with/) [Omid Djalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omid-djalili/) > [Canada could have enjoyed: English government, French culture, and American know-how. Instead it ended up with: English know-how, French government, and American culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/canada-could-have-enjoyed-english-government-french-culture-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In contemporary American culture, the religions are more and more treated as just passing beliefs - almost as fads - rather than as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-l-carter/in-contemporary-american-culture-the-religions-are-more-and-more/) [Stephen L. Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-l-carter/) > [Being educated in the United States gave me a good understanding of American culture. I think I got a lot of influence from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masayoshi-son/being-educated-in-the-united-states-gave-me-a-good-understanding-of/) [Masayoshi Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masayoshi-son/) > [“From the isolated, individualistic perspective of most white evangelicals and many other Americans, there really is no race problem other than bad interpersonal relationships.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-smith/from-the-isolated-individualistic-perspective-of-most-white/) [Christian Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-smith/) > [I got interested in the American culture war back in 2004, and it's one of the only growth stocks I've ever invested in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/i-got-interested-in-the-american-culture-war-back-in-2004-and-it-s/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [In American culture at large, but especially in African American culture, it's a sign of weakness to ask for help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/in-american-culture-at-large-but-especially-in-african-american/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) [Browse all 437 American culture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-culture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you get down about the state of American culture, just remember there are still more public libraries in this country than there are McDonalds.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David McCullough" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/if-you-get-down-about-the-state-of-american-culture-just-remember/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American culture" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/if-you-get-down-about-the-state-of-american-culture-just-remember/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06d/david-mccullough-1091_american-culture_if-you-get-down-about-the-state-of-ameri_2702839.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06d/david-mccullough-1091_american-culture_if-you-get-down-about-the-state-of-ameri_2702839.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06d/david-mccullough-1091_american-culture_if-you-get-down-about-the-state-of-ameri_2702839.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you get down about the state of American culture, just remember there are still more public libraries in…” — David McCullough", "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 McCullough", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you get down about the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/if-you-get-down-about-the-state-of-american-culture-just-remember/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/if-you-get-down-about-the-state-of-american-culture-just-remember/#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 } } ] } ```