--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most thoughtful Americans of today seem…" description: "\"Most thoughtful Americans of today seem to have forgotten how strongly their own and immediate predecessors, Emerson, Hawthorne and Whitman, were still..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/johan-huizinga-5595_america_most-thoughtful-americans-of-today-seem_2266190.jpg" --- # Most thoughtful Americans of today seem to have forgotten… ![“Most thoughtful Americans of today seem to have forgotten how strongly their own and immediate predecessors, Emerson, Hawthorne and Whitman, were still preoccupied with the essence behind things.” quote by Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/johan-huizinga-5595_america_most-thoughtful-americans-of-today-seem_2266190.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/johan-huizinga-5595_america_most-thoughtful-americans-of-today-seem_2266190.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/johan-huizinga-5595_america_most-thoughtful-americans-of-today-seem_2266190.jpg) > “Most thoughtful Americans of today seem to have forgotten how strongly their own and immediate predecessors, Emerson, Hawthorne and Whitman, were still preoccupied with the essence behind things.” [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) ## 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 laments modern Americans' loss of deep, philosophical engagement once common among earlier writers. **In simple terms:** Modern Americans have forgotten deep philosophical thought. Key Takeaway Revive curiosity about underlying meanings. Themes culture history philosophy literature reflection heritage Mood nostalgic critical Type historical reflective When to use this quote - education - literary study - public discourse - personal contemplation Key Concepts intellectual history critical thinking cultural memory Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of past literature can inform today? - How can we foster deeper thinking now? A Different Perspective The claim may overgeneralize contemporary thought. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Behinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behinds/) [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgotten/) [Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hawthorne/) [Predecessors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predecessors/) [Predecessors Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predecessors-emerson-5233647/) [Preoccupied Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preoccupied-essence-5233645/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Thoughtful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughtful/) [Thoughtful Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughtful-americans-5233646/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Today Forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today-forgotten-2643197/) [Whitman Preoccupied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whitman-preoccupied-5233644/) ## Related quotes > [The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-good-you-do-today-may-be-forgotten-tomorrow-do-good-anyway/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hot today, forgotten tomorrow. I'm not buying anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-marshall/hot-today-forgotten-tomorrow-i-m-not-buying-anything/) [James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-marshall/) > [“I was lost yesterday, I am found today and I will be forgotten tomorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/i-was-lost-yesterday-i-am-found-today-and-i-will-be-forgotten-tomorrow/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-good-you-do-today-may-be-forgotten-tomorrow-do-good-anyway-give/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The good you do today, will be forgotten; do good anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/the-good-you-do-today-will-be-forgotten-do-good-anyway/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) > [Movies are written in sand: applauded today, forgotten tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-w-griffith/movies-are-written-in-sand-applauded-today-forgotten-tomorrow/) [D. W. Griffith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-w-griffith/) > [“Because the power of God does not fade over time, Dr. Hawthorne,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-hoesel/because-the-power-of-god-does-not-fade-over-time-dr-hawthorne/) [Don Hoesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-hoesel/) > [Mayer Hawthorne's old school pop-R&B homages are so meticulous that it's tempting to overrate his pipes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-eddy/mayer-hawthorne-s-old-school-pop-r-b-homages-are-so-meticulous-that/) [Chuck Eddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-eddy/) > [“I was too much of a Bronx kid to read Emerson or Hawthorne.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-was-too-much-of-a-bronx-kid-to-read-emerson-or-hawthorne/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“The sharp white steeple of the Hawthorne First Baptist Church stuck up through the leafless trees like an admonishing finger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-r-mccammon/the-sharp-white-steeple-of-the-hawthorne-first-baptist-church-stuck/) [Robert R. McCammon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-r-mccammon/) > [I'll never forget reading Chekhov's "A Doctor's Visit" on a train to Hawthorne, New York, and I got to the end - the scene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ross/i-ll-never-forget-reading-chekhov-s-a-doctor-s-visit-on-a-train-to/) [Adam Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ross/) > [Poe is a kind of Hawthorne and delirium tremens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/poe-is-a-kind-of-hawthorne-and-delirium-tremens/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [I think that what happens is that all of my modern influences blend together with the older soul influences and you get Mayer Hawthorne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayer-hawthorne/i-think-that-what-happens-is-that-all-of-my-modern-influences-blend/) [Mayer Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayer-hawthorne/) > [Great books are readable anyway. Dickens is readable. Jane Austen is readable. John Updike's readable. Hawthorne's readable. It's a meaningless term. You have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/great-books-are-readable-anyway-dickens-is-readable-jane-austen-is/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More by Johan Huizinga > [Do you know anything that in all its innocence is more humiliating than the funny pages of a Sunday newspaper in America?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/do-you-know-anything-that-in-all-its-innocence-is-more-humiliating/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [Physical nature lies at our feet shackled with a hundred chains. What of the control of human nature? Do not point to the triumphs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/physical-nature-lies-at-our-feet-shackled-with-a-hundred-chains-what/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [Play: It is an an activity which proceeds within certain limits of time and space, in a visible order, according to rules freely accepted,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/play-it-is-an-an-activity-which-proceeds-within-certain-limits-of/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [You can deny, if you like, nearly all abstractions: justice, beauty, truth, goodness, mind, God. You can deny seriousness, but not play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/you-can-deny-if-you-like-nearly-all-abstractions-justice-beauty-truth/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [The awareness of the all-surpassing importance of social groups is now general property in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/the-awareness-of-the-all-surpassing-importance-of-social-groups-is/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [If we are to preserve culture we must continue to create it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/if-we-are-to-preserve-culture-we-must-continue-to-create-it/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [We have to transpose ourselves into this impressionability of mind, into this sensitivity to tears and spiritual repentance, intothis susceptibility, before we can judge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/we-have-to-transpose-ourselves-into-this-impressionability-of-mind/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [If the Americans, in addition to the eagle and the Stars and Stripes and the more unofficial symbols of bison, moose and Indian, should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/if-the-americans-in-addition-to-the-eagle-and-the-stars-and-stripes/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [The content of the ideal is a desire to return to the perfection of an imaginary past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/the-content-of-the-ideal-is-a-desire-to-return-to-the-perfection-of/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [Play is older than culture, for culture, however inadequately defined, always presupposes human society, and animals have not waited for man to teach them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/play-is-older-than-culture-for-culture-however-inadequately-defined/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [If, then, this civilization is to be saved, if it is not to be submerged by centuries of barbarism, but to secure the treasures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/if-then-this-civilization-is-to-be-saved-if-it-is-not-to-be-submerged/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [“Nyugalom az egyén számára, könyvektől körülvéve, ez a legvágyottabb állapot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/nyugalom-az-egy-n-sz-m-ra-k-nyvekt-l-k-r-lv-ve-ez-a-legv-gyottabb/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [“A bölcsesség úgy áramlik a balgasághoz, mint az ész az érzelmekhez. S a világban sokkal több az érzelem, mint az ész. Ami az életet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/a-b-lcsess-g-gy-ramlik-a-balgas-ghoz-mint-az-sz-az-rzelmekhez-s-a-vil/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [We can't put up a protectionist dam on our own against the neo-liberal world market either. However, we can try, together with our European…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/we-can-t-put-up-a-protectionist-dam-on-our-own-against-the-neo/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [The spirit of playful competition is, as a social impulse, older than culture itself and pervades all life like a veritable ferment. Ritual grew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/the-spirit-of-playful-competition-is-as-a-social-impulse-older-than/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) [Explore all 92 Johan Huizinga quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) ## 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": "Most thoughtful Americans of today seem to have forgotten how strongly their own and immediate predecessors, Emerson, Hawthorne and Whitman, were still preoccupied with the essence behind things.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Johan Huizinga" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/most-thoughtful-americans-of-today-seem-to-have-forgotten-how/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/most-thoughtful-americans-of-today-seem-to-have-forgotten-how/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/johan-huizinga-5595_america_most-thoughtful-americans-of-today-seem_2266190.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/johan-huizinga-5595_america_most-thoughtful-americans-of-today-seem_2266190.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/johan-huizinga-5595_america_most-thoughtful-americans-of-today-seem_2266190.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Most thoughtful Americans of today seem to have forgotten how strongly their own and immediate predecessors…” — Johan Huizinga", "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": "Johan Huizinga", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Most thoughtful Americans of today seem...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/most-thoughtful-americans-of-today-seem-to-have-forgotten-how/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/most-thoughtful-americans-of-today-seem-to-have-forgotten-how/#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 } } ] } ```