--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I loved the audacity of that American…" description: "\"I loved the audacity of that American principle which says. When life gets tainted or goes stale, junk it! Leave it behind! Go West!\" — Jonathan Raban" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5f/jonathan-raban-11981_audacity_i-loved-the-audacity-of-that-american-pr_2319965.jpg" --- # I loved the audacity of that American principle which… ![“I loved the audacity of that American principle which says. When life gets tainted or goes stale, junk it! Leave it behind! Go West!” quote by Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5f/jonathan-raban-11981_audacity_i-loved-the-audacity-of-that-american-pr_2319965.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5f/jonathan-raban-11981_audacity_i-loved-the-audacity-of-that-american-pr_2319965.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5f/jonathan-raban-11981_audacity_i-loved-the-audacity-of-that-american-pr_2319965.jpg) > “I loved the audacity of that American principle which says. When life gets tainted or goes stale, junk it! Leave it behind! Go West!” [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When circumstances become corrupt or stagnant, discard them and pursue new horizons with boldness. **In simple terms:** Abandon stale life, seek fresh opportunities. Key Takeaway Embrace change, move forward. Themes courage renewal individualism Mood determined optimistic Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - career change - relocation - creative projects - personal reinvention Key Concepts Americanism frontier myth personal agency Questions to Reflect On - What are you holding onto that hinders growth? - How can you pursue new horizons responsibly? A Different Perspective Discarding can be risky without planning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audacity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audacity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Principle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principle/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) ## Related quotes > [I think that with West Ham, it was more complicated for me. It happened naturally; there was urgency to leave West Ham.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimitri-payet/i-think-that-with-west-ham-it-was-more-complicated-for-me-it-happened/) [Dimitri Payet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimitri-payet/) > [“The soul of a man such as you can never leave the west.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-soul-of-a-man-such-as-you-can-never-leave-the-west/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I think most defense attorneys honestly believe the principle that says, 'Better 10 guilty go free than even one possibly innocent person be convicted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/i-think-most-defense-attorneys-honestly-believe-the-principle-that/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [As super position principle says. one can add all goods he\|she had done and evils. if total result in goods continue with life bt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nyakallo-lets-ela/as-super-position-principle-says-one-can-add-all-goods-he-she-had/) [Nyakallo Lets'ela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nyakallo-lets-ela/) > [Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/here-is-my-principle-taxes-shall-be-levied-according-to-ability-to/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [“People succeed or fail on the merits in America, not on who they know or whose reelection campaign they supported. This absolutely American principle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-k-abdelnour/people-succeed-or-fail-on-the-merits-in-america-not-on-who-they-know/) [Ziad K. Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-k-abdelnour/) > [Neither the George W. Bush nor the Obama administrations volunteered to bail out G.M., Chrysler and other parts of the auto sector. Both subscribed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rattner/neither-the-george-w-bush-nor-the-obama-administrations-volunteered/) [Steven Rattner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rattner/) > [Consider: what could be more American than the principle that every person is to be held accountable for his or her crimes only? Could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zindler/consider-what-could-be-more-american-than-the-principle-that-every/) [Frank Zindler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zindler/) > [I have always been a firm believer in the longstanding American principle of having the right to bear arms and I will remain committed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-miller/i-have-always-been-a-firm-believer-in-the-longstanding-american/) [Jeff Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-miller/) > [Secession is a deeply American principle. This country was born through secession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/secession-is-a-deeply-american-principle-this-country-was-born/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [It is not a question of religion, or of creed, or of party; it is a question of declaring and maintaining the great American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elihu-root/it-is-not-a-question-of-religion-or-of-creed-or-of-party-it-is-a/) [Elihu Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elihu-root/) > [Nondiscrimination is a great American principle. It's a core American principle, as is religious freedom. When you have two important American principles coming into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-haynes/nondiscrimination-is-a-great-american-principle-it-s-a-core-american/) [Charles Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-haynes/) > [We can't be dominated by ruthless terrorism and the American principle is that we never will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-kennedy-smith/we-can-t-be-dominated-by-ruthless-terrorism-and-the-american/) [Jean Kennedy Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-kennedy-smith/) > [Part of me says that no life will work if I can't make this one right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-danner/part-of-me-says-that-no-life-will-work-if-i-can-t-make-this-one-right/) [Blythe Danner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-danner/) > [“Because I want you to know,” she says, “that there is life after survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzi-lee/because-i-want-you-to-know-she-says-that-there-is-life-after-survival/) [Mackenzi Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzi-lee/) ## More by Jonathan Raban > [No president has come near to rivaling Lincoln as a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/no-president-has-come-near-to-rivaling-lincoln-as-a-writer/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [All this piling up of one technology on top of another-railroad on steamboat, interstate highway on railroad, hydroelectric dam on watermill-had reduced the Mississippi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/all-this-piling-up-of-one-technology-on-top-of-another-railroad-on/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Life, as the most ancient of all metaphors insists, is a journey; and the travel book, in its deceptive simulation of the journey's fits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/life-as-the-most-ancient-of-all-metaphors-insists-is-a-journey-and/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Inaugurals conventionally start with a history lesson and finish with a prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/inaugurals-conventionally-start-with-a-history-lesson-and-finish-with/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [When New Yorkers tell one about the dangers of their city, the muggings, the dinner parties to which no one turns up for fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/when-new-yorkers-tell-one-about-the-dangers-of-their-city-the/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [ My new city \[Seattle\] and its hinterland felt deceptively homely. Their similar latitude gave them the angular light and lingering evenings I was used… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/my-new-city-seattle-and-its-hinterland-felt-deceptively-homely-their/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [At night, what you see is a city, because all you see is lights. By day, it doesn't look like a city at all.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/at-night-what-you-see-is-a-city-because-all-you-see-is-lights-by-day/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Because Washington state now votes by mail, elections here tend to play out, at an agonizingly slow speed, over many days and, sometimes, weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/because-washington-state-now-votes-by-mail-elections-here-tend-to/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [The only nation I've ever been tempted to feel really racist about are the Swiss - a whole country of phobic hand washers living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/the-only-nation-i-ve-ever-been-tempted-to-feel-really-racist-about/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [ The \[travel\] writer, looking back at the journey from a distance of a year or two (or three), is a different character from the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/the-travel-writer-looking-back-at-the-journey-from-a-distance-of-a/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [The mythical America?that marvellous, heroic, sentimental landwas an object of faith. It challenged you to make the believer's leap over the rude facts at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/the-mythical-america-that-marvellous-heroic-sentimental-landwas-an/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Over emphatic negatives always suggest that what is being denied may be what is really being asserted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/over-emphatic-negatives-always-suggest-that-what-is-being-denied-may/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Heartbreak comes in different sizes, and the departure of an 18-year-old child for a far college has to be treated as a very benign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/heartbreak-comes-in-different-sizes-and-the-departure-of-an-18-year/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Books admitted me to their world open-handedly, as people for their most part, did not. The life I lived in books was one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/books-admitted-me-to-their-world-open-handedly-as-people-for-their/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [One of the oddest features of western Christianized culture is its ready acceptance of the myth of the stable family and the happy marriage.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/one-of-the-oddest-features-of-western-christianized-culture-is-its/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) [Explore all 57 Jonathan Raban quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) ## More Audacity quotes > [All too often, it is audacity and not talent that moves an artist to center stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/all-too-often-it-is-audacity-and-not-talent-that-moves-an-artist-to/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [“Between an Error and a Lie, there are Worlds – an Error is an unintended Mistake, a Lie is an intentional Audacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sino-melo/between-an-error-and-a-lie-there-are-worlds-an-error-is-an-unintended/) [Sino Melo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sino-melo/) > [Few men realize that their life, the very essence of their character, their capabilities and their audacities, are only the expression of their belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/few-men-realize-that-their-life-the-very-essence-of-their-character/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [To reinvent your own country you need a great audacity of hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/to-reinvent-your-own-country-you-need-a-great-audacity-of-hope/) [Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/) > [“She was fierce in the presence of death, heroic even, as she was at no other time. Its threat gave her direction, clarity, audacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-was-fierce-in-the-presence-of-death-heroic-even-as-she-was-at-no/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [What price would God demand from the churches for having the audacity to lighten the color of his son's skin, and straighten out his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gregory/what-price-would-god-demand-from-the-churches-for-having-the-audacity/) [Dick Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gregory/) > [Anything can happen: anything. Or nothing. Who can say? The world, monstrous, is made that way, and in the end consumes us all. Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/anything-can-happen-anything-or-nothing-who-can-say-the-world/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [“How can you have memories if you don't have the audacity to create them?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wunder/how-can-you-have-memories-if-you-don-t-have-the-audacity-to-create/) [Wendy Wunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wunder/) > [“The audacity of my sagacity is instrumentality to my successity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/the-audacity-of-my-sagacity-is-instrumentality-to-my-successity/) [Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/) > [“I had artistic classical training, and when you learn the classics for so many years, you might gain audacity, power and confidence to subvert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuno-roque/i-had-artistic-classical-training-and-when-you-learn-the-classics-for/) Nuno Roque > [God beckons storm clouds and they come. He tells the wind to blow and the rain to fall, and they obey immediately. He speaks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/god-beckons-storm-clouds-and-they-come-he-tells-the-wind-to-blow-and/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [Hypocrisy is the audacity to preach integrity from a den of corruption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-fesler/hypocrisy-is-the-audacity-to-preach-integrity-from-a-den-of-corruption/) [Wes Fesler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-fesler/) > [I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-have-the-audacity-to-believe-that-peoples-everywhere-can-have-three/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The difference between a vision and a daydream is the audacity to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-furtick/the-difference-between-a-vision-and-a-daydream-is-the-audacity-to-act/) [Steven Furtick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-furtick/) > [“Whether personal or organizational, building capacity to effectively deal with change creates resilience, and without exceptional resilience there is no antifragility.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spitz/whether-personal-or-organizational-building-capacity-to-effectively/) [Roger Spitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spitz/) [Browse all 193 Audacity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audacity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I loved the audacity of that American principle which says. 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