--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you're out there in America, meeting…" description: "\"When you're out there in America, meeting with regular people, it's a pretty mellow, relaxed, kind-hearted country. The direction from the top, from th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/george-saunders-317_america_when-you-re-out-there-in-america-meeting_2183658.jpg" --- # When you're out there in America, meeting with regular… ![“When you're out there in America, meeting with regular people, it's a pretty mellow, relaxed, kind-hearted country. The direction from the top, from the President, is following mean-spirited tendencies: fear and undue caution and distrust of the other, so it's very depressing.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/george-saunders-317_america_when-you-re-out-there-in-america-meeting_2183658.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/george-saunders-317_america_when-you-re-out-there-in-america-meeting_2183658.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/george-saunders-317_america_when-you-re-out-there-in-america-meeting_2183658.jpg) > “When you're out there in America, meeting with regular people, it's a pretty mellow, relaxed, kind-hearted country. The direction from the top, from the President, is following mean-spirited tendencies: fear and undue caution and distrust of the other, so it's very depressing.” [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. America is portrayed as friendly yet undermined by fear‑driven leadership, creating a depressing national mood. **In simple terms:** Fearful leadership depresses a kind nation. Key Takeaway Address fear in leadership. Themes politics culture leadership Mood critical somber Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - election cycles - policy debates - media narratives Key Concepts fear trust national mood Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens counter fear‑based rhetoric? - What role does media play in shaping trust? A Different Perspective Optimism may be dismissed as naive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Caution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caution/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Depressing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressing/) [Distrust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distrust/) [Kind hearted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind-hearted/) [Mean spirited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean-spirited/) [Meetings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meetings/) [Mellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mellow/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Spirited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirited/) ## Related quotes > [I just care about the heart and soul of our country and the direction it's headed in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-frazier/i-just-care-about-the-heart-and-soul-of-our-country-and-the-direction/) [Ryan Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-frazier/) > [People are genuinely excited about taking the country in another direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-mcconnell/people-are-genuinely-excited-about-taking-the-country-in-another/) [Mitch McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-mcconnell/) > [It is socialism. It moves the country in a direction which is not good for anyone, whether they be young or old. It charts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-curtis/it-is-socialism-it-moves-the-country-in-a-direction-which-is-not-good/) Carl Curtis > [The connection has been lost between the country's direction, especially with regard to the way in which the economy has been run, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-d-higgins/the-connection-has-been-lost-between-the-country-s-direction/) [Michael D. Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-d-higgins/) > [I hope we don't have to keep going back over the same territory and winning the same rights over and over again. The battle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-hope-we-don-t-have-to-keep-going-back-over-the-same-territory-and/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [I had a very depressing response because I realized that these were my own people, these were Negroes throwing eggs at me. I'm concerned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-had-a-very-depressing-response-because-i-realized-that-these-were/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [It is very depressing to see that in the 21st century people are still using the same 1950s and '60s style of propaganda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/it-is-very-depressing-to-see-that-in-the-21st-century-people-are/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [It was very depressing to realize that, when looking around for regimes that have systematically corrupted science within the past century or so, three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grant/it-was-very-depressing-to-realize-that-when-looking-around-for/) [John Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grant/) > [Decline and Fall was a very depressing Evelyn Waugh novel, I think it was his first. I didn't get it at all, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/decline-and-fall-was-a-very-depressing-evelyn-waugh-novel-i-think-it/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [I think my music's kind of cold, but I don't know if it's related to the weather. It might be because it's always grey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grimes/i-think-my-music-s-kind-of-cold-but-i-don-t-know-if-it-s-related-to/) [Grimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grimes/) > [I once got a call from a bank, asking me to compute a mortgage, since their computers were down. This was a very depressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-a-falk/i-once-got-a-call-from-a-bank-asking-me-to-compute-a-mortgage-since/) [Richard A. Falk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-a-falk/) > [This whole issue of limits to growth, which provides a psychological, as well as a physical, cap on potential expansion of activity and awareness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rusty-schweickart/this-whole-issue-of-limits-to-growth-which-provides-a-psychological/) [Rusty Schweickart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rusty-schweickart/) > [The music business, and the travel that comes with it, is stressful, challenging, redundant, exhausting, exciting, and often very depressing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kozelek/the-music-business-and-the-travel-that-comes-with-it-is-stressful/) [Mark Kozelek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kozelek/) > [It's very depressing to live in a time where it's easier to break an atom than a prejudice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/it-s-very-depressing-to-live-in-a-time-where-it-s-easier-to-break-an/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Despite my extremely modest prices, dealers and art lovers are turning their backs on me. It is very depressing to see the lack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/despite-my-extremely-modest-prices-dealers-and-art-lovers-are-turning/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) ## 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 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. 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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": "When you're out there in America, meeting with regular people, it's a pretty mellow, relaxed, kind-hearted country. 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