--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This country has such little sense of…" description: "\"This country has such little sense of itself sometimes, I'm astonished. America is one of the biggest myth-making countries, whether we're talking abou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/junot-diaz-531_america_this-country-has-such-little-sense-of-it_1961728.jpg" --- # This country has such little sense of itself sometimes… ![“This country has such little sense of itself sometimes, I'm astonished. America is one of the biggest myth-making countries, whether we're talking about how many books are published, how many movies we make. But the greatest myth of all is what America is.” quote by Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/junot-diaz-531_america_this-country-has-such-little-sense-of-it_1961728.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/junot-diaz-531_america_this-country-has-such-little-sense-of-it_1961728.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/junot-diaz-531_america_this-country-has-such-little-sense-of-it_1961728.jpg) > “This country has such little sense of itself sometimes, I'm astonished. America is one of the biggest myth-making countries, whether we're talking about how many books are published, how many movies we make. But the greatest myth of all is what America is.” [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. America creates grand narratives about itself, often ignoring its contradictions and complexities. **In simple terms:** America’s myths hide its true self. Key Takeaway Question national narratives and seek nuance. Themes culture identity mythmaking nationalism self‑reflection Mood critical thought‑provoking Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - media analysis - history classes - public discourse - personal essays Key Concepts narrative theory cultural criticism collective memory Questions to Reflect On - What myths shape your identity? - How do myths affect policy? A Different Perspective Myths can be empowering for some groups. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Biggest Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biggest-myth-2135464/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Myth America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth-america-514325/) [Myth Making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth-making-780864/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking/) ## Related quotes > [“The absolute truth is the biggest myth in human history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mouloud-benzadi/the-absolute-truth-is-the-biggest-myth-in-human-history/) [Mouloud Benzadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mouloud-benzadi/) > [“The biggest myth about comedy is that it’s magical, unknowable, unteachable. Those who subscribe to that myth believe that the world is divided into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-biggest-myth-about-comedy-is-that-it-s-magical-unknowable/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The greatest myth of all is what America is. I think that America is such an incredibly dynamic place because of immigration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/the-greatest-myth-of-all-is-what-america-is-i-think-that-america-is/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Ideology is the sterner face of myth and we're a myth-making people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-trilling/ideology-is-the-sterner-face-of-myth-and-we-re-a-myth-making-people/) [Diana Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-trilling/) > [My child, you have a flawed grasp of the nature of myth-making. I am a poet and storyteller, a creator of ballads and sagas.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/my-child-you-have-a-flawed-grasp-of-the-nature-of-myth-making-i-am-a/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [When you're talking about rock n' roll, myth-making is what it's all about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/when-you-re-talking-about-rock-n-roll-myth-making-is-what-it-s-all/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [“There is an illusion about America, a myth about America to which we are clinging which has nothing to do with the lives we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/there-is-an-illusion-about-america-a-myth-about-america-to-which-we/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > ['Peace Mom' is my most heartfelt, but I am most proud of 'Myth America' because I nailed the problem and gave the solutions long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sheehan/peace-mom-is-my-most-heartfelt-but-i-am-most-proud-of-myth-america/) [Cindy Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sheehan/) > [“The myth of America’s religious founding thus provided an explanation for those who needed to sanctify the past before they could go forward with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-k-green/the-myth-of-america-s-religious-founding-thus-provided-an-explanation/) [Steven K. Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-k-green/) > [This myth that America has this atomic bomb that makes us right, it makes us good, it makes us set the agenda for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/this-myth-that-america-has-this-atomic-bomb-that-makes-us-right-it/) [Oliver Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-stone/) > [“On the contrary, we have a very deep-seated distrust of real intellectual effort (probably because we suspect that it will destroy, as I hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/on-the-contrary-we-have-a-very-deep-seated-distrust-of-real/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“But, said Lewis, myths are lies, even though lies breathed through silver. No, said Tolkien, they are not. ...just as speech is invention about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphrey-carpenter/but-said-lewis-myths-are-lies-even-though-lies-breathed-through/) [Humphrey Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphrey-carpenter/) > [The myth-making machine is the mimetic contagion that disappears behind the myth it generates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-girard/the-myth-making-machine-is-the-mimetic-contagion-that-disappears/) [Rene Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-girard/) > [There's something very truthful about American brutality, spirit and myth-making that is so present in the great westerns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hechinger/there-s-something-very-truthful-about-american-brutality-spirit-and/) [Fred Hechinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hechinger/) > [I'm entranced by the idea of reading the culture back to itself, because I'm conscious that we as people and also as a culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-gottlieb/i-m-entranced-by-the-idea-of-reading-the-culture-back-to-itself/) [Daphne Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-gottlieb/) ## More by Junot Diaz > [It might interest you that just as the U.S. was ramping up its involvement in Vietnam, LBJ launched an illegal invasion of the Dominican…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-might-interest-you-that-just-as-the-u-s-was-ramping-up-its/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Tell her that you love her hair, that you love her skin, her lips, because, in truth, you love them more than you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/tell-her-that-you-love-her-hair-that-you-love-her-skin-her-lips/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [It took me sixteen years to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-took-me-sixteen-years-to-write/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [You ask everybody you know: How long does it usually take to get over it? There are many formulas. One year for every year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/you-ask-everybody-you-know-how-long-does-it-usually-take-to-get-over/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Instead of finding himself in nerd heaven—where every nerd gets fifty-eight virgins to role-play with—he woke up in Robert Wood Johnson with two broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/instead-of-finding-himself-in-nerd-heaven-where-every-nerd-gets-fifty/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [The one thing about being a dude and writing from a female perspective is that the baseline is, you suck. The baseline is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/the-one-thing-about-being-a-dude-and-writing-from-a-female/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“I used to think those were the barrio rules, Latinos and blacks in, whites out —a place we down cats weren’t supposed to go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-used-to-think-those-were-the-barrio-rules-latinos-and-blacks-in/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“I put my hand on her knee. I just wish you'd say you love me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-put-my-hand-on-her-knee-i-just-wish-you-d-say-you-love-me/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [I've always thought that you don't love a country by turning a blind eye to its crimes and to a problem. The way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-ve-always-thought-that-you-don-t-love-a-country-by-turning-a-blind/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Called her a whore and attacked her walls, tearing down her posters and throwing her books everywhere. I found out because some whitegirl ran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/called-her-a-whore-and-attacked-her-walls-tearing-down-her-posters/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [You're Dominican only if you do this, this, and that. And if you do this and that, you'll be accepted to a certain degree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/you-re-dominican-only-if-you-do-this-this-and-that-and-if-you-do-this/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Ramfis fled the country after Trujillo's death, lived dissolutely off his father's swag, and ended up dying in a car crash of his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/ramfis-fled-the-country-after-trujillo-s-death-lived-dissolutely-off/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [If you didn't grow up like I did then you don't know, and if you don't know it's probably better you don't judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/if-you-didn-t-grow-up-like-i-did-then-you-don-t-know-and-if-you-don-t/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“If you ask me I don't think there are any such things as curses. I think there is only life. That's enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/if-you-ask-me-i-don-t-think-there-are-any-such-things-as-curses-i/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [The only difference between a published and unpublished writer is a tolerance for imperfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/the-only-difference-between-a-published-and-unpublished-writer-is-a/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) [Explore all 486 Junot Diaz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) ## 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": "This country has such little sense of itself sometimes, I'm astonished. America is one of the biggest myth-making countries, whether we're talking about how many books are published, how many movies we make. 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