--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No failure in America, whether of love or…" description: "\"No failure in America, whether of love or money, is ever simple; it is always a kind of betrayal, of a mass of shadowy, shared hopes.\" — Greil Marcus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/greil-marcus-10438_america_no-failure-in-america-whether-of-love-or_69824.jpg" --- # No failure in America, whether of love or money, is ever… ![“No failure in America, whether of love or money, is ever simple; it is always a kind of betrayal, of a mass of shadowy, shared hopes.” quote by Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/greil-marcus-10438_america_no-failure-in-america-whether-of-love-or_69824.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/greil-marcus-10438_america_no-failure-in-america-whether-of-love-or_69824.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/greil-marcus-10438_america_no-failure-in-america-whether-of-love-or_69824.jpg) > “No failure in America, whether of love or money, is ever simple; it is always a kind of betrayal, of a mass of shadowy, shared hopes.” [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Failure in America is portrayed as a deep betrayal of collective aspirations, not a trivial mishap. **In simple terms:** Failure betrays shared hopes. Key Takeaway Failure is a collective betrayal. Themes betrayal collective hope American idealism disillusionment social expectation Mood melancholy reflective somber Type philosophical cultural critique observational When to use this quote - political campaign collapse - failed business venture - broken personal relationship - community project collapse - national policy reversal Key Concepts trust illusion social contract cultural narrative Practical Applications - counseling for groups - analysis of systemic risk Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to betray collective expectations? - How does this view of failure shape societal resilience? A Different Perspective Some view failure as a personal learning opportunity rather than a betrayal of shared hopes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Betrayal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/betrayal/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) ## Related quotes > [“At the same time that “self-made” entered the nation’s lexicon, so did the notion of abject failure. Once reserved to describe a discrete financial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/at-the-same-time-that-self-made-entered-the-nation-s-lexicon-so-did/) [Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) > [My argument is that COVID policy in the United States is the biggest public policy failure in America since the Vietnam War.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-travis/my-argument-is-that-covid-policy-in-the-united-states-is-the-biggest/) [Clay Travis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-travis/) > [The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. America has a debt problem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-fact-that-we-are-here-today-to-debate-raising-america-s-debt/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“I stood there, staring at the sleeping man snoring peacefully in my bed, unaware of the intrusion. I felt like a boy trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-fox/i-stood-there-staring-at-the-sleeping-man-snoring-peacefully-in-my/) [Ellie Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-fox/) > [We've all gone through some kind of betrayal, whether it's with a boyfriend or a friend or a family member. That's why this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-diaz/we-ve-all-gone-through-some-kind-of-betrayal-whether-it-s-with-a/) [Cameron Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-diaz/) > [Fidelity to meaning alone in translation is a kind of betrayal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/fidelity-to-meaning-alone-in-translation-is-a-kind-of-betrayal/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“If there is anything that makes my blood boil it is to see our allies in Indochina and Java deploying Japanese troops to reconquer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/if-there-is-anything-that-makes-my-blood-boil-it-is-to-see-our-allies/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [I never could understand - it was impossible for me to get my head around - what the furor was, what the sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/i-never-could-understand-it-was-impossible-for-me-to-get-my-head/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [There is no impossibility to him who stands prepared to conquer every hazard. The fearful are the failing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-josepha-hale/there-is-no-impossibility-to-him-who-stands-prepared-to-conquer-every/) [Sarah Josepha Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-josepha-hale/) > [There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/there-is-no-such-thing-as-failure-failure-is-just-life-trying-to-move/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [Have compassion for yourself when you write. There is no failure - just a big field to wander in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/have-compassion-for-yourself-when-you-write-there-is-no-failure-just/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [There is no failure, only a process which is leading us to become the greatest version of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-smart/there-is-no-failure-only-a-process-which-is-leading-us-to-become-the/) [Ralph Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-smart/) > [When Marconi suggested the possibility of wireless transmission of sound (the radio),he was committed to a mental institution. But people like Lincoln, Edison, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-marconi-suggested-the-possibility-of-wireless-transmission-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have learned that there is no failure in running, or in life, as long as you keep moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amby-burfoot/i-have-learned-that-there-is-no-failure-in-running-or-in-life-as-long/) [Amby Burfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amby-burfoot/) > [In God's world, for those who are in earnest, there is no failure. No work truly done, no word earnestly spoken, no sacrifice freely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/in-god-s-world-for-those-who-are-in-earnest-there-is-no-failure-no-2/) [Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/) ## More by Greil Marcus > [As I write, Johnny Rotten's first moments in "Anarchy in the U.K." - a rolling earthquake of a laugh, a buried shout, then hoary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/as-i-write-johnny-rotten-s-first-moments-in-anarchy-in-the-u-k-a/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [Elvis' early music has drama because as he sang he was escaping limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/elvis-early-music-has-drama-because-as-he-sang-he-was-escaping-limits/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [You're going to react to a painting in a way that the painting demands you react.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/you-re-going-to-react-to-a-painting-in-a-way-that-the-painting/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [ “\[Listening to a song\] one could experience a freedom from one's physical body, and from one's social body - the mask you wore to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/listening-to-a-song-one-could-experience-a-freedom-from-one-s/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [Records that were the sound of somebody - more often than not, a she - speaking with a voice that had never been heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/records-that-were-the-sound-of-somebody-more-often-than-not-a-she/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [I never could understand - it was impossible for me to get my head around - what the furor was, what the sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/i-never-could-understand-it-was-impossible-for-me-to-get-my-head/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [There is no pop category, let alone any infinitely gene-sliced genre name, to contain the lead in Rihanna's voice in 'Needed Me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/there-is-no-pop-category-let-alone-any-infinitely-gene-sliced-genre/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [I'm a fan of Oliver Stone. 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So the term 'still' seems meaningless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/bob-dylan-continues-to-release-odd-and-unsettling-records-and-to-do/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [When you're writing criticism or thinking critically, to draw a very limited minor conclusion from solid evidence is really not thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/when-you-re-writing-criticism-or-thinking-critically-to-draw-a-very/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [My ideal reader is somebody who trips over a copy of my book on the sidewalk; then they pick it up and read as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/my-ideal-reader-is-somebody-who-trips-over-a-copy-of-my-book-on-the/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [I don't know that there's a division between American and British, European, South American, Asian sensibilities when it comes to rock n' roll or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/i-don-t-know-that-there-s-a-division-between-american-and-british/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [We fight our way through the massed and leveled collective safe taste of the Top 40, just looking for a little something we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/we-fight-our-way-through-the-massed-and-leveled-collective-safe-taste/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [“Banishing the love song, people discovered what else there was to sing about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/banishing-the-love-song-people-discovered-what-else-there-was-to-sing/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [“Every time Elvis sings, he makes a bargain with the devil -- just like Captain Ahab in MOBY DICK!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/every-time-elvis-sings-he-makes-a-bargain-with-the-devil-just-like/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) [Explore all 65 Greil Marcus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) ## 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! 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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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