--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: America is an insane asylum run by the…" description: "\"America is an insane asylum run by the inmates.\" — Lester Roloff" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/313/lester-roloff-27444_america_america-is-an-insane-asylum-run-by-the-i_1050916.png" --- # America is an insane asylum run by the inmates. ![“America is an insane asylum run by the inmates.” quote by Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/313/lester-roloff-27444_america_america-is-an-insane-asylum-run-by-the-i_1050916.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/313/lester-roloff-27444_america_america-is-an-insane-asylum-run-by-the-i_1050916.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/313/lester-roloff-27444_america_america-is-an-insane-asylum-run-by-the-i_1050916.png) > “America is an insane asylum run by the inmates.” [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement likens the United States to a chaotic mental institution run by its own citizens, suggesting widespread disorder and mismanagement. **In simple terms:** America is portrayed as a chaotic, self‑run asylum. Key Takeaway Recognize systemic issues and seek reform. Themes politics society critique governance Mood critical analytical Type political satirical When to use this quote - public policy debates - community activism - media analysis Key Concepts institutional dysfunction citizen responsibility political satire Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports this view? - How can constructive change be pursued? A Different Perspective Such analogies can be polarizing and oversimplify. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Asylum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asylum/) [Asylums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asylums/) [Founders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/founders/) [Inmates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inmates/) [Insane asylum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insane-asylum/) [Insanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insanity/) [Preacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preacher/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Sanctuary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanctuary/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Usa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/usa/) ## Related quotes > [Society is an insane asylum ran by the inmates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erving-goffman/society-is-an-insane-asylum-ran-by-the-inmates/) [Erving Goffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erving-goffman/) > [Once I talked to the inmates of an insane asylum in Hartford. I have talked to idiots a thousand times, but only once to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/once-i-talked-to-the-inmates-of-an-insane-asylum-in-hartford-i-have/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The world sometimes feels like an insane asylum. You can decide whether you want to be an inmate or pick up your visitor's badge.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/the-world-sometimes-feels-like-an-insane-asylum-you-can-decide/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [The whole country is one vast insane asylum and they're letting the worst patients run the place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-w-welch-jr/the-whole-country-is-one-vast-insane-asylum-and-they-re-letting-the/) Robert W. Welch, Jr > [There is nothing like an insane asylum for gently incubating death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/there-is-nothing-like-an-insane-asylum-for-gently-incubating-death/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [Let's say you went to Harvard or Oxford or Cambridge, and you said, 'I've come here because I'm in search of morality, guidance and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/let-s-say-you-went-to-harvard-or-oxford-or-cambridge-and-you-said-i/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [We did just leave an insane asylum,” Hi agreed. “For all we know, Chance spend his nights dancing naked with sock puppets, plotting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-reichs/we-did-just-leave-an-insane-asylum-hi-agreed-for-all-we-know-chance/) [Kathy Reichs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-reichs/) > [Surely my macking on some guy in an insane asylum wouldn't hurt him. He'd been living with his stalker, for heaven's sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/surely-my-macking-on-some-guy-in-an-insane-asylum-wouldn-t-hurt-him/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-l-petigru/south-carolina-is-too-small-for-a-republic-and-too-large-for-an/) James L. Petigru > [I think there was no other profession for me. I was either going into an insane asylum or to be an actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-wilde/i-think-there-was-no-other-profession-for-me-i-was-either-going-into/) [Olivia Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-wilde/) > [The insane asylum on Blackwell’s Island is a human rat-trap. It is easy to get in, but once there it is impossible to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-bly/the-insane-asylum-on-blackwell-s-island-is-a-human-rat-trap-it-is/) [Nellie Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-bly/) > [Erroneous views and presumptuousness send a talent to the insane asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/erroneous-views-and-presumptuousness-send-a-talent-to-the-insane/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [“Insane asylums are deliberate and premeditated receptacles of black magic, and it is not only that doctors encourage magic with their untimely and hybrid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/insane-asylums-are-deliberate-and-premeditated-receptacles-of-black/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [Such instances of the almost infinite unpredictability of man are known to social scientists, but they are no more affected by them than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-standen/such-instances-of-the-almost-infinite-unpredictability-of-man-are/) [Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/) > [For eight years I was an inmate in a state asylum for the insane. During those years I passed through such unbearable terror that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-farmer/for-eight-years-i-was-an-inmate-in-a-state-asylum-for-the-insane/) [Frances Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-farmer/) ## More by Lester Roloff > [I would rather sail and hit a rock than sit and rot in dry dock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/i-would-rather-sail-and-hit-a-rock-than-sit-and-rot-in-dry-dock/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [It seems that some consideration should be given to the cause of our mounting physical disabilities, but instead of going to the root of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/it-seems-that-some-consideration-should-be-given-to-the-cause-of-our/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [People read newspapers far more than they read the Word of God and then we wonder way America is in the mess she's in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/people-read-newspapers-far-more-than-they-read-the-word-of-god-and/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [You are not going to be lost when you get to hell. If you are without Christ, you are lost right now. Your trial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/you-are-not-going-to-be-lost-when-you-get-to-hell-if-you-are-without/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [God is the God of the impossible, as well as the God of the possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/god-is-the-god-of-the-impossible-as-well-as-the-god-of-the-possible/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [Christian families are under attack in America! The Communists, Masons, Atheists, Humanists, Evolutionists, and other Godless sickos want to destroy the family. Parents beware;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/christian-families-are-under-attack-in-america-the-communists-masons/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > ['Faith' Him When You Can't Feel Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/faith-him-when-you-can-t-feel-him/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [If you want to save America, get America saved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/if-you-want-to-save-america-get-america-saved/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [Churches become poor if they become rich and care not for the poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/churches-become-poor-if-they-become-rich-and-care-not-for-the-poor/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [The only way to build a church, if you have a Bible church, is to preach out of the Bible, teach out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/the-only-way-to-build-a-church-if-you-have-a-bible-church-is-to/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [A test of a Christian's character is what he does after he comes to the blockade in the road and what his attitude is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/a-test-of-a-christian-s-character-is-what-he-does-after-he-comes-to/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [The Television is the monster of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/the-television-is-the-monster-of-hell/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [...You cannot live by sight and by faith, neither can you live by fear and by faith. It either has to be by faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/you-cannot-live-by-sight-and-by-faith-neither-can-you-live-by-fear/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [Better a pink bottom than a black soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/better-a-pink-bottom-than-a-black-soul/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [I see no hope for a revival among God's people today. They are so enamored and so cluttered up with Hollywood and newspapers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/i-see-no-hope-for-a-revival-among-god-s-people-today-they-are-so/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) [Explore all 20 Lester Roloff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) ## 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": "America is an insane asylum run by the inmates.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lester Roloff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/america-is-an-insane-asylum-run-by-the-inmates/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/america-is-an-insane-asylum-run-by-the-inmates/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/313/lester-roloff-27444_america_america-is-an-insane-asylum-run-by-the-i_1050916.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/313/lester-roloff-27444_america_america-is-an-insane-asylum-run-by-the-i_1050916.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/313/lester-roloff-27444_america_america-is-an-insane-asylum-run-by-the-i_1050916.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“America is an insane asylum run by the inmates.” — Lester Roloff", "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": "Lester Roloff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "America is an insane asylum run...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/america-is-an-insane-asylum-run-by-the-inmates/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/america-is-an-insane-asylum-run-by-the-inmates/#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 } } ] } ```