--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Now, when I read constantly about the way…" description: "\"“Now, when I read constantly about the way in which library funds are being cut and cut, I can only think that the door is closing and that American so..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/801/isaac-asimov-309_american-society_now-when-i-read-constantly-about-the-way_2424746.jpg" --- # Now, when I read constantly about the way in which library… ![“Now, when I read constantly about the way in which library funds are being cut and cut, I can only think that the door is closing and that American society has found one more way to destroy itself.” quote by Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/801/isaac-asimov-309_american-society_now-when-i-read-constantly-about-the-way_2424746.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/801/isaac-asimov-309_american-society_now-when-i-read-constantly-about-the-way_2424746.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/801/isaac-asimov-309_american-society_now-when-i-read-constantly-about-the-way_2424746.jpg) > ““Now, when I read constantly about the way in which library funds are being cut and cut, I can only think that the door is closing and that American society has found one more way to destroy itself.”” [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker sees repeated library budget cuts as a sign that society is harming itself. **In simple terms:** Library cuts signal societal self‑destruction. Key Takeaway Recognize and oppose harmful funding cuts. Themes public policy education culture Mood concerned urgent Type political social commentary When to use this quote - advocacy for libraries - community meetings - policy debates Key Concepts civic decay public good budget priorities Questions to Reflect On - How do funding cuts affect community knowledge? - What alternatives exist to preserve libraries? A Different Perspective Cuts may be driven by complex economic pressures, not just neglect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-society/) [Closing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closing/) [Closing American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closing-american-314941/) [Door Closing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/door-closing-314944/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Funds Cut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funds-cut-314942/) [Libraries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libraries/) [Library Funds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library-funds-314943/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“When I read about the way in which library funds are being cut and cut, I can only think that the door is closing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/when-i-read-about-the-way-in-which-library-funds-are-being-cut-and/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [When I read about the way in which library funds are being cut and cut, I can only think that American society has found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/when-i-read-about-the-way-in-which-library-funds-are-being-cut-and-2/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“I received the fundamentals of my education in school, but that was not enough. My real education, the superstructure, the details, the true architecture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-received-the-fundamentals-of-my-education-in-school-but-that-was/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Once you walk out that door, I'm closing up my heart, there's no coming back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-you-walk-out-that-door-i-m-closing-up-my-heart-there-s-no-coming/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No is always a door-closing word; Yes is a door-opening word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dreier/no-is-always-a-door-closing-word-yes-is-a-door-opening-word/) [Thomas Dreier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dreier/) > [Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-graham-bell/sometimes-we-stare-so-long-at-a-door-that-is-closing-that-we-see-too/) [Alexander Graham Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-graham-bell/) > [“Congratulations on the new library, because it isn't just a library. 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Falk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-a-falk/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Isaac Asimov > [The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-strain-of-anti-intellectualism-has-been-a-constant-thread-winding/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Uncertainty that comes from knowledge (knowing what you don't know) is different from uncertainty coming from ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/uncertainty-that-comes-from-knowledge-knowing-what-you-don-t-know-is/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Don't you see? It's Galaxy-wide. It's a worship of the past. It's a deterioration - a stagnation!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/don-t-you-see-it-s-galaxy-wide-it-s-a-worship-of-the-past-it-s-a/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [So the universe is not quite as you thought it was. You'd better rearrange your beliefs, then. Because you certainly can't rearrange the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/so-the-universe-is-not-quite-as-you-thought-it-was-you-d-better/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [It is in meeting the great tests that mankind can most successfully rise to great heights. 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If there is one science into which man has probed continuously and successfully, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/you-are-a-military-man-and-should-know-better-if-there-is-one-science/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“temperatura constante de mais ou menos 21 graus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/temperatura-constante-de-mais-ou-menos-21-graus/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Human beings can tolerate an immortal robot, for it doesn't matter how long a machine lasts, but they cannot tolerate an immortal human being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/human-beings-can-tolerate-an-immortal-robot-for-it-doesn-t-matter-how/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“if people believe this, they would act on that belief. Many a prophecy, by the mere force of its being believed, is transmuted”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/if-people-believe-this-they-would-act-on-that-belief-many-a-prophecy/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [I do not use airplanes. They strike me as unsporting. You can have an automobile accident-and survive. You can be on a sinking ship-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-do-not-use-airplanes-they-strike-me-as-unsporting-you-can-have-an/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [There are many aspects of the universe that still cannot be explained satisfactorily by science; but ignorance implies only ignorance that may someday be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/there-are-many-aspects-of-the-universe-that-still-cannot-be-explained/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. \[The Second Law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/a-robot-must-obey-the-orders-given-it-by-human-beings-except-where/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) [Explore all 671 Isaac Asimov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## 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. 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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. 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