--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: American society is uncomfortable with…" description: "\"“American society is uncomfortable with the idea that some people’s lives are difficult past the point of sanity and that they aren’t necessarily to bl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/george-saunders-317_american-society_american-society-is-uncomfortable-with-t_586744.jpg" --- # American society is uncomfortable with the idea that some… ![“American society is uncomfortable with the idea that some people’s lives are difficult past the point of sanity and that they aren’t necessarily to blame. There’s no way you can argue that everyone has a difficult life. This is an incredible culture; the majority of people live in amazing comfort…” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/george-saunders-317_american-society_american-society-is-uncomfortable-with-t_586744.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/george-saunders-317_american-society_american-society-is-uncomfortable-with-t_586744.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/george-saunders-317_american-society_american-society-is-uncomfortable-with-t_586744.jpg) > ““American society is uncomfortable with the idea that some people’s lives are difficult past the point of sanity and that they aren’t necessarily to blame. There’s no way you can argue that everyone has a difficult life. This is an incredible culture; the majority of people live in amazing comfort, with real dignity, maybe more comfort and dignity than any other culture in the history of the world. We live relatively safe and sane lives, which, if you’ve ever loved anybody and therefore feared for them, is a wonderful thing. But part of our moral responsibility is to keep in our minds those whose lives are unsafe and insane. In this way, fiction can be like a meditation, a way of saying: Though things are this way for me right now, they could be different later and are different for others this very moment.”” [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author urges awareness of privileged comfort while remembering those in hardship, using fiction as a reflective tool **In simple terms:** Remember the privileged and the suffering; use stories to reflect Key Takeaway Stay aware of inequality and use narrative empathy Themes empathy inequality responsibility Mood reflective compassionate Type literary ethical When to use this quote - reading fiction - community discussions - educational curricula Key Concepts ethical storytelling social consciousness Questions to Reflect On - How can stories balance comfort and critique? - What role does personal experience play in interpreting fiction? A Different Perspective Fiction may oversimplify complex social issues ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-society/) [Comfort Dignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort-dignity-2879402/) [Difficult life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lives Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives-difficult-1425322/) [Moral responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-responsibility/) [Right now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-now/) [Sane Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sane-lives-4810990/) [Society Uncomfortable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-uncomfortable-4810991/) ## Related quotes > [“Why are some people’s lives so hard and painful?” “It goes back to the two-sided coin. The opposite sides are needed to complete the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-bynar/why-are-some-people-s-lives-so-hard-and-painful-it-goes-back-to-the/) [Charlie Bynar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-bynar/) > [“There is nothing sane about the worship of beauty. It is too splendid to be sane. Those of whose lives it forms the dominant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/there-is-nothing-sane-about-the-worship-of-beauty-it-is-too-splendid/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [We should all expect to be able to die with comfort, dignity and love. Our society does not lack the wealth to realise this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-jones/we-should-all-expect-to-be-able-to-die-with-comfort-dignity-and-love/) [Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) > [“Art is a communication informing man of his own dignity, and of the value of his life, whether in joy or grief, whether in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nathan/art-is-a-communication-informing-man-of-his-own-dignity-and-of-the/) [Robert Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nathan/) > [To one American family out of four, the idea of capitalism as a benign system of comfort , dignity , and personal advance is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-heilbroner/to-one-american-family-out-of-four-the-idea-of-capitalism-as-a-benign/) [Robert Heilbroner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-heilbroner/) > [The car has made our lives more difficult. If not for it, we would have everything we needed within walking distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddharth-katragadda/the-car-has-made-our-lives-more-difficult-if-not-for-it-we-would-have/) [Siddharth Katragadda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddharth-katragadda/) > [Since the death of my father four years ago, our lives have become difficult, and I must help my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/since-the-death-of-my-father-four-years-ago-our-lives-have-become/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [There are people who want to make men's lives more difficult for no other reason than the chance it provides them afterwards to offer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/there-are-people-who-want-to-make-men-s-lives-more-difficult-for-no/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [People have very difficult lives. We can judge them for making the wrong decisions, but if you look harder and understand that these lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-haigh/people-have-very-difficult-lives-we-can-judge-them-for-making-the/) [Andrew Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-haigh/) > [Tony Scott was one of the best directors I've ever worked with, and I was devastated when I heard about his death. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-slater/tony-scott-was-one-of-the-best-directors-i-ve-ever-worked-with-and-i/) [Christian Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-slater/) > [Almost all human who can form a sentence will eventually let you in on the fact that their lives are very difficult and sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/almost-all-human-who-can-form-a-sentence-will-eventually-let-you-in/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [Over the course of time, we made our lives more and more difficult, and we started losing touch with who we really are and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate/over-the-course-of-time-we-made-our-lives-more-and-more-difficult-and/) [Nate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate/) > [“When our lives are difficult beyond description, we must remember that our God is good beyond explanation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/when-our-lives-are-difficult-beyond-description-we-must-remember-that/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I travel around the world, experiencing every language, every religion... some places where there's just no reason to smile, because their lives are so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-richie/i-travel-around-the-world-experiencing-every-language-every-religion/) [Lionel Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-richie/) > [Control over the use of one's ideas really constitutes control over other people's lives; and it is usually used to make their lives more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stallman/control-over-the-use-of-one-s-ideas-really-constitutes-control-over/) [Richard Stallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stallman/) ## More by George Saunders > [Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you're not careful, it will take up your whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/success-is-like-a-mountain-in-front-of-you-that-keeps-growing-if-you/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Wow wow wow is all I can say! Remember how I always buy lunchtime Scratch-Off ticket? Have I said? Maybe did not say? Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/wow-wow-wow-is-all-i-can-say-remember-how-i-always-buy-lunchtime/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“None of it was real; nothing was real. Everything was real; inconceivably real, infinitely dear. These and all things started as nothing, latent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/none-of-it-was-real-nothing-was-real-everything-was-real/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“We must see God not as a Him (some linear rewarding fellow) but an IT, a great beast beyond our understanding, who wants something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-must-see-god-not-as-a-him-some-linear-rewarding-fellow-but-an-it-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [America, to me, should be shouting all the time, a bunch of shouting voices, most of them wrong, some of them nuts, but please,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/america-to-me-should-be-shouting-all-the-time-a-bunch-of-shouting/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [In my case, when I am trying to be "kind" I often default in a sort of toothless loving-all stance that is, actually, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-my-case-when-i-am-trying-to-be-kind-i-often-default-in-a-sort-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Whatever your supposed politics are - left, right - if you put it in a human connection, most people will rise to the occasion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/whatever-your-supposed-politics-are-left-right-if-you-put-it-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“A Clinton staffer tells me his theory. Think about Frank Sinatra, he says: born to sing. Think about Willie Mays: born to play ball.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/a-clinton-staffer-tells-me-his-theory-think-about-frank-sinatra-he/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We try, we fail, we posture, we aspire, we pontificate - and then we age, shrink, die, and vanish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-try-we-fail-we-posture-we-aspire-we-pontificate-and-then-we-age/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What America is, to me, is a guy doesn't want to buy, you let him not buy, you respect his not buying. A guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-america-is-to-me-is-a-guy-doesn-t-want-to-buy-you-let-him-not/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What good the prophet in the wilderness may do is incremental and personal. It's good for us to hear someone speak the irrational truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-good-the-prophet-in-the-wilderness-may-do-is-incremental-and/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We're in the transition between birth and death. But the one that people often know about is the transition between the moment of death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-re-in-the-transition-between-birth-and-death-but-the-one-that/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [You don't want to be that parent - the one who dresses his kid in a cloth sack when all the other kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-don-t-want-to-be-that-parent-the-one-who-dresses-his-kid-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) [Explore all 690 George Saunders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## More American society quotes > [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't see much future for the Americans ... it's a decayed country. And they have their racial problem, and the problem of social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-don-t-see-much-future-for-the-americans-it-s-a-decayed-country-and/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [I have tried to defend what is most precious to our American society, a society that is now at war against the forces of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demian-bichir/i-have-tried-to-defend-what-is-most-precious-to-our-american-society/) [Demian Bichir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demian-bichir/) > [Cumulatively, American society is sliding toward a new form of 'authoritarian democracy'. Elections continue, free speech is generally protected, institutions operate in accordance with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-a-falk/cumulatively-american-society-is-sliding-toward-a-new-form-of/) [Richard A. Falk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-a-falk/) > [“As a culture, we had no heroes. Certainly not any politician--Barack Obama was then the most admired man in America (and likely still is),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/as-a-culture-we-had-no-heroes-certainly-not-any-politician-barack/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [ “The Sexual plight of these children \[those adolescents experimenting sexually\] is officially not mentioned. The revolutionary attack on hypocrisy by Ibsen, Freud, Ellis, Dreiser,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/the-sexual-plight-of-these-children-those-adolescents-experimenting/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Hip-hop is contributing to American society's misogyny and racism, hyper-sexuality anti-Black representations. Hip-Hop isn't setting the standard for misogyny. No one reduces the presidency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/hip-hop-is-contributing-to-american-society-s-misogyny-and-racism/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) > [I believe it is essential to have English as the official language of our National Government, for the English language is the tie that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-sensenbrenner/i-believe-it-is-essential-to-have-english-as-the-official-language-of/) [Jim Sensenbrenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-sensenbrenner/) > [Black people cannot and will not become integrated into American society on any terms but those of self-determination and autonomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/black-people-cannot-and-will-not-become-integrated-into-american/) [Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/) > [Black people in America have to, for their own protection, develop a defense mechanism, and I just grew terribly tired of it. When you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-robinson/black-people-in-america-have-to-for-their-own-protection-develop-a/) [Randall Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-robinson/) > [Public image is extremely important in American society and I observed personally that the Presidency of John F. Kennedy did much in the public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rosovsky/public-image-is-extremely-important-in-american-society-and-i/) [Henry Rosovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rosovsky/) > [Sometimes, you know, the president is a father-like figure in American society, to most Americans, even today, no matter how cynical we've become. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-baldwin/sometimes-you-know-the-president-is-a-father-like-figure-in-american/) [Alec Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-baldwin/) > [The family has always been the cornerstone of American society. Our families nurture, preserve, and pass on to each succeeding generation the values we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-family-has-always-been-the-cornerstone-of-american-society-our/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [While President Barack Obama has, in one sense, tipped his hand by saying that he wants judges with "empathy" for certain groups, he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/while-president-barack-obama-has-in-one-sense-tipped-his-hand-by/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) [Browse all 315 American society quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-society/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“American society is uncomfortable with the idea that some people’s lives are difficult past the point of sanity and that they aren’t necessarily to blame. There’s no way you can argue that everyone has a difficult life. This is an incredible culture; the majority of people live in amazing comfort, with real dignity, maybe more comfort and dignity than any other culture in the history of the world. We live relatively safe and sane lives, which, if you’ve ever loved anybody and therefore feared for them, is a wonderful thing. But part of our moral responsibility is to keep in our minds those whose lives are unsafe and insane. In this way, fiction can be like a meditation, a way of saying: Though things are this way for me right now, they could be different later and are different for others this very moment.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Saunders" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/american-society-is-uncomfortable-with-the-idea-that-some-people-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American society" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/american-society-is-uncomfortable-with-the-idea-that-some-people-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/george-saunders-317_american-society_american-society-is-uncomfortable-with-t_586744.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/george-saunders-317_american-society_american-society-is-uncomfortable-with-t_586744.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/george-saunders-317_american-society_american-society-is-uncomfortable-with-t_586744.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“American society is uncomfortable with the idea that some people’s lives are difficult past the point of…” — George Saunders", "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": "George Saunders", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“American society is uncomfortable with the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/american-society-is-uncomfortable-with-the-idea-that-some-people-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/american-society-is-uncomfortable-with-the-idea-that-some-people-s/#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 } } ] } ```