--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...America has enjoyed the doubtful…" description: "\"...America has enjoyed the doubtful blessing of a single-track mind. We are able to accommodate, at a time, only one national hero; and we demand that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/ellen-glasgow-1897_able_america-has-enjoyed-the-doubtful-blessin_1880388.jpg" --- # ...America has enjoyed the doubtful blessing of a… ![“...America has enjoyed the doubtful blessing of a single-track mind. We are able to accommodate, at a time, only one national hero; and we demand that that hero shall be uniform and invincible. As a literate people we are preoccupied, neither with the race nor the individual, but with the type…” quote by Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/ellen-glasgow-1897_able_america-has-enjoyed-the-doubtful-blessin_1880388.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/ellen-glasgow-1897_able_america-has-enjoyed-the-doubtful-blessin_1880388.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/ellen-glasgow-1897_able_america-has-enjoyed-the-doubtful-blessin_1880388.jpg) > “...America has enjoyed the doubtful blessing of a single-track mind. We are able to accommodate, at a time, only one national hero; and we demand that that hero shall be uniform and invincible. As a literate people we are preoccupied, neither with the race nor the individual, but with the type. Yesterday, we romanticized the "tough guy;" today, we are romanticizing the underprivileged, tough or tender; tomorrow, we shall begin to romanticize the pure primitive.” [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques America’s tendency to focus on a single archetype of hero, shifting ideals over time while ignoring individual diversity. **In simple terms:** America fixates on one hero type at a time. Key Takeaway Recognize and value varied individual strengths. Themes identity heroism culture media conformity Mood critical reflective Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - political discourse - media analysis - education curricula - community leadership Key Concepts social psychology collective narrative hero worship Questions to Reflect On - How does singular hero worship limit societal growth? - What alternative narratives could broaden our collective identity? A Different Perspective It oversimplifies complex societies into single narratives, risking exclusion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Accommodate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accommodate/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Blessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessing/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Doubtful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubtful/) [Enjoyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoyed/) [Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guy/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Invincible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invincible/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [National Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national-hero-247300/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Primitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primitive/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Pure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pure/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romance/) [Romanticized Tough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romanticized-tough-2651194/) [Romanticizing Underprivileged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romanticizing-underprivileged-2651197/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thoughtful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughtful/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Today Romanticizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today-romanticizing-2651195/) [Tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow/) [Tough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tough/) [Tough guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tough-guy/) [Track](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/track/) [Type](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/type/) [Underprivileged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/underprivileged/) [Uniforms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uniforms/) [Yesterday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yesterday/) [Yesterday Romanticized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yesterday-romanticized-2651196/) ## Related quotes > [A man who kills on his own is a murderer. A man who kills at his government's request is a national hero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramman-kenoun/a-man-who-kills-on-his-own-is-a-murderer-a-man-who-kills-at-his/) [Ramman Kenoun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramman-kenoun/) > [“Rizal's greatest misfortune is being national hero of the Philippines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambeth-ocampo/rizal-s-greatest-misfortune-is-being-national-hero-of-the-philippines/) [Ambeth Ocampo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambeth-ocampo/) > [Public image can change at the drop of a hat. One person can be a national hero and a month later because he wore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benson-henderson/public-image-can-change-at-the-drop-of-a-hat-one-person-can-be-a/) [Benson Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benson-henderson/) > [I grew up in India. From my childhood, I remember the great reverence that people held for our national hero, Mahatma Gandhi. He galvanized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punit-renjen/i-grew-up-in-india-from-my-childhood-i-remember-the-great-reverence/) [Punit Renjen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punit-renjen/) > [Generally speaking, I think it is unbecoming to act as a national hero, wave hands and so on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitaly-scherbo/generally-speaking-i-think-it-is-unbecoming-to-act-as-a-national-hero/) [Vitaly Scherbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitaly-scherbo/) > [Everywhere I go, people embrace me and treat me like a national hero. The people in the streets are asking for the return of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jair-bolsonaro/everywhere-i-go-people-embrace-me-and-treat-me-like-a-national-hero/) [Jair Bolsonaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jair-bolsonaro/) > [I do not feel betrayed. ... He has a fine record. He is a national hero. (On Oliver L North's work)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-do-not-feel-betrayed-he-has-a-fine-record-he-is-a-national-hero-on/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [If kids remember me as a national hero, why would I mind? In fact, I'd give my right arm for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suniel-shetty/if-kids-remember-me-as-a-national-hero-why-would-i-mind-in-fact-i-d/) [Suniel Shetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suniel-shetty/) > [It is true that in America I've become a national hero, but really I was a hopeless case, that was all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/it-is-true-that-in-america-i-ve-become-a-national-hero-but-really-i/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [The revival of the Right is as extraordinary as it would be if the public had demanded dozens of new nuclear plants in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/the-revival-of-the-right-is-as-extraordinary-as-it-would-be-if-the/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [I don't know if I'm a national hero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hidilyn-diaz/i-don-t-know-if-i-m-a-national-hero/) [Hidilyn Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hidilyn-diaz/) > [Dillinger at one point was the second most popular man in America after President Roosevelt. And he was a national hero for a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mann/dillinger-at-one-point-was-the-second-most-popular-man-in-america/) [Michael Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mann/) > [Walesa was a national hero, a true icon. The vast majority of Poles didn't believe a word the authorities said. They took everything the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slawomir-cenckiewicz/walesa-was-a-national-hero-a-true-icon-the-vast-majority-of-poles/) [Slawomir Cenckiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slawomir-cenckiewicz/) > [“Nonviolence is supremely the weapon of the dispossessed, the underprivileged, and the egalitarian, not those who are still addicted to private profit, commercial values,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-t-dellinger/nonviolence-is-supremely-the-weapon-of-the-dispossessed-the/) [David T. Dellinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-t-dellinger/) > [Too much is made for us; too much is given to us - even those of us who are underprivileged. The poverty is given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/too-much-is-made-for-us-too-much-is-given-to-us-even-those-of-us-who/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) ## More by Ellen Glasgow > [Too much principle is often more harmful than too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/too-much-principle-is-often-more-harmful-than-too-little/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [I have watchedmany literary fashions shoot up and blossom, and then fade and drop… Yet with the many that I have seen comeand go,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-have-watchedmany-literary-fashions-shoot-up-and-blossom-and-then/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [After a day of rain the sun came out suddenly at five o'clock and threw a golden bar into the deep Victorian gloom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/after-a-day-of-rain-the-sun-came-out-suddenly-at-five-o-clock-and/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [What I hated even more than the conflict was the lurid spectacle of a world of unreason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/what-i-hated-even-more-than-the-conflict-was-the-lurid-spectacle-of-a/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Preserve, within a wild sanctuary, an inaccessible valley of reverie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/preserve-within-a-wild-sanctuary-an-inaccessible-valley-of-reverie/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [The attraction of horror is a mental, or even an intellectual, excitement, but the fascination of the repulsive, so noticeable incontemporary writing, can spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/the-attraction-of-horror-is-a-mental-or-even-an-intellectual/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [I was always a feminist, for I liked intellectual revolt as much as I disliked physical violence. On the whole, I think women havelost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-was-always-a-feminist-for-i-liked-intellectual-revolt-as-much-as-i/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Although the primitive in art may be both interesting and impressive, as portrayed in American fiction it is conspicuous for dullness alone. Drab persons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/although-the-primitive-in-art-may-be-both-interesting-and-impressive/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Do you know there is always a barrier between me and any man or woman who does not like dogs?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/do-you-know-there-is-always-a-barrier-between-me-and-any-man-or-woman/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [You look as if you lived on duty and it hadn't;t agreed with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/you-look-as-if-you-lived-on-duty-and-it-hadn-t-t-agreed-with-you/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [there are times when life surprises one, and anything may happen, even what one had hoped for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/there-are-times-when-life-surprises-one-and-anything-may-happen-even/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Life may take away happiness. But it can't take away having had it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/life-may-take-away-happiness-but-it-can-t-take-away-having-had-it/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [So long as one is able to pose one has still much to learn about suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/so-long-as-one-is-able-to-pose-one-has-still-much-to-learn-about/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [...I had grown up in a world that was dominated by immature age. Not by vigorous immaturity, but by immaturity that was old and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-had-grown-up-in-a-world-that-was-dominated-by-immature-age-not-by/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [I hated the things they believe in, the things they so innocently and charmingly pretended. I hated the sanctimonious piety that let people hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-hated-the-things-they-believe-in-the-things-they-so-innocently-and/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) [Explore all 200 Ellen Glasgow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) [Greg Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-perry/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) [Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...America has enjoyed the doubtful blessing of a single-track mind. We are able to accommodate, at a time, only one national hero; and we demand that that hero shall be uniform and invincible. As a literate people we are preoccupied, neither with the race nor the individual, but with the type. Yesterday, we romanticized the \"tough guy;\" today, we are romanticizing the underprivileged, tough or tender; tomorrow, we shall begin to romanticize the pure primitive.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellen Glasgow" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/america-has-enjoyed-the-doubtful-blessing-of-a-single-track-mind-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Able" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/america-has-enjoyed-the-doubtful-blessing-of-a-single-track-mind-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/ellen-glasgow-1897_able_america-has-enjoyed-the-doubtful-blessin_1880388.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/ellen-glasgow-1897_able_america-has-enjoyed-the-doubtful-blessin_1880388.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/ellen-glasgow-1897_able_america-has-enjoyed-the-doubtful-blessin_1880388.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...America has enjoyed the doubtful blessing of a single-track mind. We are able to accommodate, at a time…” — Ellen Glasgow", "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": "Ellen Glasgow", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "...America has enjoyed the doubtful blessing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/america-has-enjoyed-the-doubtful-blessing-of-a-single-track-mind-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/america-has-enjoyed-the-doubtful-blessing-of-a-single-track-mind-we/#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 } } ] } ```