--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For all its terrible faults, in one sense…" description: "\"For all its terrible faults, in one sense America is still the last, best hope of mankind, because it spells out so vividly the kind of happiness that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/ferdinand-mount-23911_america_for-all-its-terrible-faults-in-one-sense_155071.png" --- # For all its terrible faults, in one sense America is still… ![“For all its terrible faults, in one sense America is still the last, best hope of mankind, because it spells out so vividly the kind of happiness that most people actually want, regardless of what they are told they ought to want.” quote by Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/ferdinand-mount-23911_america_for-all-its-terrible-faults-in-one-sense_155071.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/ferdinand-mount-23911_america_for-all-its-terrible-faults-in-one-sense_155071.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/ferdinand-mount-23911_america_for-all-its-terrible-faults-in-one-sense_155071.png) > “For all its terrible faults, in one sense America is still the last, best hope of mankind, because it spells out so vividly the kind of happiness that most people actually want, regardless of what they are told they ought to want.” [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. America is portrayed as the flawed yet hopeful model of happiness that people truly desire despite societal prescriptions. **In simple terms:** America is a flawed but hopeful model of true happiness. Key Takeaway Recognize hope in imperfection. Themes hope politics society happiness illusion Mood reflective critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political discourse - media analysis - personal reflection Key Concepts American exceptionalism cultural critique idealism Questions to Reflect On - What does “best hope” mean to you? - How do you balance criticism and optimism? A Different Perspective Idealizing any nation ignores systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hoping for the best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hoping-for-the-best/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [The United States remains the last best hope for a mankind plagued by tyranny and deprivation. America is no stronger than its people --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-united-states-remains-the-last-best-hope-for-a-mankind-plagued-by/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [It's said that prayer can move mountains. Well, it's certainly moved the hearts and minds of Americans in their times of trial and helped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/it-s-said-that-prayer-can-move-mountains-well-it-s-certainly-moved/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [As we keep or break the Sabbath Day we nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope by which man rises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/as-we-keep-or-break-the-sabbath-day-we-nobly-save-or-meanly-lose-the/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/you-and-i-have-a-rendezvous-with-destiny-we-will-preserve-for-our/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Freedom is the last, best hope of earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/freedom-is-the-last-best-hope-of-earth/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I would not lose so great an honor As one man more methinks would share with me For the best hope I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-would-not-lose-so-great-an-honor-as-one-man-more-methinks-would/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Harry is the best hope we have. Trust him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/harry-is-the-best-hope-we-have-trust-him/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The last best hope of earth, two trillion dollars in debt, is spinning out of control, and all we can do is stare at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-last-best-hope-of-earth-two-trillion-dollars-in-debt-is-spinning/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Bisexuality is our best hope of escape from the animosities and false polarities of the current sex wars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/bisexuality-is-our-best-hope-of-escape-from-the-animosities-and-false/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [I remain the optimist: you just do your best and hope for the best. But it's an evolving state of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/i-remain-the-optimist-you-just-do-your-best-and-hope-for-the-best-but/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [Total peace after death, becoming someone else, is the best hope I've got.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/total-peace-after-death-becoming-someone-else-is-the-best-hope-i-ve/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [Best hope for what, Catman? Death? Bankruptcy? You know, my life was going along…well, rather crappily, to be honest, but at least no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/best-hope-for-what-catman-death-bankruptcy-you-know-my-life-was-going/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [The best hope for Australia is the ballot box and good education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-monash/the-best-hope-for-australia-is-the-ballot-box-and-good-education/) [John Monash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-monash/) > [In a world wracked by hatred, economic crisis, and political tension, America remains mankind's best hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/in-a-world-wracked-by-hatred-economic-crisis-and-political-tension/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Why is America the last best hope of Earth? What if it's Liechtenstein? Or, worse, Canada?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/why-is-america-the-last-best-hope-of-earth-what-if-it-s-liechtenstein/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) ## More by Ferdinand Mount > [We want a system that will improve consistency and steadiness in the quality of government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/we-want-a-system-that-will-improve-consistency-and-steadiness-in-the/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [It's true that I'm taking a break from writing a regular column to do other things but it's got nothing to do with what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/it-s-true-that-i-m-taking-a-break-from-writing-a-regular-column-to-do/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [America slept because most Americans preferred it that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/america-slept-because-most-americans-preferred-it-that-way/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [All the research shows that being married, with all its ups and downs, is by far the most effective way of making young men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/all-the-research-shows-that-being-married-with-all-its-ups-and-downs/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [The president is being denounced for not taking the kind of pre-emptive action in Afghanistan that he has been so passionately denounced for taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/the-president-is-being-denounced-for-not-taking-the-kind-of-pre/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [Something is happening to Britain and the British. Or has happened. We are said to be passing through a transition, or a turning point,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/something-is-happening-to-britain-and-the-british-or-has-happened-we/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [A majority in all parties do, I think, want to see local government recover its old vigour and independence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/a-majority-in-all-parties-do-i-think-want-to-see-local-government/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [Sexual relations, of course, have existed, exist, and will exist. However, this is in no way connected with the indispensability of the existence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/sexual-relations-of-course-have-existed-exist-and-will-exist-however/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [We are also further than ever from equality of opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/we-are-also-further-than-ever-from-equality-of-opportunity/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [In real terms, there is a greater disparity of earnings between the very rich and the very poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/in-real-terms-there-is-a-greater-disparity-of-earnings-between-the/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [According to Richard Clarke, the former White House counterterrorism chief, Bush was so obsessed with Iraq that he failed to take action against Osama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/according-to-richard-clarke-the-former-white-house-counterterrorism/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [If life was what you made of it, then it could not be made for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/if-life-was-what-you-made-of-it-then-it-could-not-be-made-for-you/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [Francis Wheen takes a hugely enjoyable sweep through the tangled thickets of superstition and gullibility in which modern man likes to ramble. He takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/francis-wheen-takes-a-hugely-enjoyable-sweep-through-the-tangled/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [Defenders of the status quo will argue that this system has served us well over the centuries, that our parliamentary traditions have combined stability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/defenders-of-the-status-quo-will-argue-that-this-system-has-served-us/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [I hate churches, all of them. But they used to know something about the importance of silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/i-hate-churches-all-of-them-but-they-used-to-know-something-about-the/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) [Explore all 25 Ferdinand Mount quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For all its terrible faults, in one sense America is still the last, best hope of mankind, because it spells out so vividly the kind of happiness that most people actually want, regardless of what they are told they ought to want.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ferdinand Mount" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/for-all-its-terrible-faults-in-one-sense-america-is-still-the-last/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/for-all-its-terrible-faults-in-one-sense-america-is-still-the-last/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/ferdinand-mount-23911_america_for-all-its-terrible-faults-in-one-sense_155071.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/ferdinand-mount-23911_america_for-all-its-terrible-faults-in-one-sense_155071.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/ferdinand-mount-23911_america_for-all-its-terrible-faults-in-one-sense_155071.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For all its terrible faults, in one sense America is still the last, best hope of mankind, because it spells…” — Ferdinand Mount", "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": "Ferdinand Mount", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For all its terrible faults, in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/for-all-its-terrible-faults-in-one-sense-america-is-still-the-last/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/for-all-its-terrible-faults-in-one-sense-america-is-still-the-last/#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 } } ] } ```