--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem with America today is that…" description: "\"The problem with America today is that too many people know too much about not enough.\" — Margaret Mead" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/margaret-mead-982_america_the-problem-with-america-today-is-that-t_2500616.jpg" --- # The problem with America today is that too many people… ![“The problem with America today is that too many people know too much about not enough.” quote by Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/margaret-mead-982_america_the-problem-with-america-today-is-that-t_2500616.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/margaret-mead-982_america_the-problem-with-america-today-is-that-t_2500616.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/margaret-mead-982_america_the-problem-with-america-today-is-that-t_2500616.jpg) > “The problem with America today is that too many people know too much about not enough.” [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society suffers when people are overly informed about trivial matters but lack depth in essential knowledge, leading to superficial understanding. **In simple terms:** Too much trivial knowledge, not enough essential insight. Key Takeaway Prioritize depth over breadth. Themes education knowledge society media Mood concerned reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - media consumption - curriculum design - public policy - personal development Key Concepts Superficiality information overload critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What essential knowledge is being neglected today? - How can we balance breadth and depth in learning? A Different Perspective Depth may be inaccessible without resources; null. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-today/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-know/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Problem America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem-america/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Today People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today-people-255967/) [Too many people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-many-people/) [Too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much/) ## Related quotes > [The world today is the same as it always was but people know more about what's going on in the world than they used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-johansen/the-world-today-is-the-same-as-it-always-was-but-people-know-more/) [David Johansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-johansen/) > [Not too many people know who the editor is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-schwartz/not-too-many-people-know-who-the-editor-is/) [Julius Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-schwartz/) > [I know how to make money. That's what I know. Not too many people know that, that well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/i-know-how-to-make-money-that-s-what-i-know-not-too-many-people-know/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Today, people are more into the glitz and the glamour of everything. We don't even read the inside of records anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-kravitz/today-people-are-more-into-the-glitz-and-the-glamour-of-everything-we/) [Lenny Kravitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-kravitz/) > [“As hard as it is to believe today, people didn’t really know that there was a mob organization in those days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-brandt/as-hard-as-it-is-to-believe-today-people-didn-t-really-know-that/) [Charles Brandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-brandt/) > [Excellence is everything today, and most people aren't excellent. If you're not excellent - like truly excellent at what you do - you're toast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-calacanis/excellence-is-everything-today-and-most-people-aren-t-excellent-if/) [Jason Calacanis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-calacanis/) > [“Today there are very few people in this world who go out of the way to help and even fewer who express gratitude after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-abraham/today-there-are-very-few-people-in-this-world-who-go-out-of-the-way/) [Amit Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-abraham/) > [So many of the problems we have today are because people don't respect the beliefs of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-quinn/so-many-of-the-problems-we-have-today-are-because-people-don-t/) [Sally Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-quinn/) > [It's fun conjuring what people will be wearing in the future. We exist in this world today, and yet there are people walking around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-atwood/it-s-fun-conjuring-what-people-will-be-wearing-in-the-future-we-exist/) [Colleen Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-atwood/) > [Today people are a hundred times more interested in the personality of the person they are with than the clothes he wears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emilio-pucci/today-people-are-a-hundred-times-more-interested-in-the-personality/) [Emilio Pucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emilio-pucci/) > [God is on a roll today people, make sure your eyes, heart and ears are open and looking/listening for him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-is-on-a-roll-today-people-make-sure-your-eyes-heart-and-ears-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is a big difference between lust and love. The problem with today is that some people don't know the difference anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhat/there-is-a-big-difference-between-lust-and-love-the-problem-with/) [Zhat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhat/) > [I've tried to stick with the same people from when my career started to today. The more people you add around you, the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-jones-jr/i-ve-tried-to-stick-with-the-same-people-from-when-my-career-started/) [Roy Jones Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-jones-jr/) > [Everything that is wrong with this country today, the people who are opposed to Donald Trump are responsible for!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-miller/everything-that-is-wrong-with-this-country-today-the-people-who-are/) [Stephen Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-miller/) > [A very small percentage of the people in this world will actually experience and live today. So many people will be stuck on another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/a-very-small-percentage-of-the-people-in-this-world-will-actually/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) ## More by Margaret Mead > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [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/) > [If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that even an intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should remain within the cloistered walls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/if-one-cannot-state-a-matter-clearly-enough-so-that-even-an/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I learned the value of hard work by working hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/i-learned-the-value-of-hard-work-by-working-hard/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/children-must-be-taught-how-to-think-not-what-to-think/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Women are scolded both for being mothers and for not being mothers, for wanting to eat their cake and have it too, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/women-are-scolded-both-for-being-mothers-and-for-not-being-mothers/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [we came to realize that a civilization which rode roughshod over the way of life of other peoples was incorporating evil in its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-came-to-realize-that-a-civilization-which-rode-roughshod-over-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [WE MUST DEVISE A SYSTEM IN WHICH PEACE IS MORE REWARDING THAN WAR.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-must-devise-a-system-in-which-peace-is-more-rewarding-than-war/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Through a grandmother's voice and hands the end of life is known at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/through-a-grandmother-s-voice-and-hands-the-end-of-life-is-known-at/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [today's children are the first generation to grow up in a world that has the power to destroy itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/today-s-children-are-the-first-generation-to-grow-up-in-a-world-that/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We are now at a point where we must educate our children in what no one knew yesterday, and prepare our schools for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-are-now-at-a-point-where-we-must-educate-our-children-in-what-no/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Humanity . . . lies in man's capacity to question the known and imagine the unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/humanity-lies-in-man-s-capacity-to-question-the-known-and-imagine-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Fathers are biological necessities, but social accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/fathers-are-biological-necessities-but-social-accidents/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture an animal and not be held responsible.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/one-of-the-most-dangerous-things-that-can-happen-to-a-child-is-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We end up with the contradictory picture of a society that appears to throw its doors wide open to women, but translates her every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-end-up-with-the-contradictory-picture-of-a-society-that-appears-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) [Explore all 314 Margaret Mead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## 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": "The problem with America today is that too many people know too much about not enough.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Mead" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-problem-with-america-today-is-that-too-many-people-know-too-much/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-problem-with-america-today-is-that-too-many-people-know-too-much/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/margaret-mead-982_america_the-problem-with-america-today-is-that-t_2500616.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/margaret-mead-982_america_the-problem-with-america-today-is-that-t_2500616.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/margaret-mead-982_america_the-problem-with-america-today-is-that-t_2500616.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The problem with America today is that too many people know too much about not enough.” — Margaret Mead", "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": "Margaret Mead", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The problem with America today is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-problem-with-america-today-is-that-too-many-people-know-too-much/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-problem-with-america-today-is-that-too-many-people-know-too-much/#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 } } ] } ```