--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's a great feeling of powerlessness…" description: "\"There's a great feeling of powerlessness in America. When I express ideas to people, they say, 'That's terrific, but do you think it really counts?'\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/mort-sahl-7819_america_there-s-a-great-feeling-of-powerlessness_341401.jpg" --- # There's a great feeling of powerlessness in America. When… ![“There's a great feeling of powerlessness in America. When I express ideas to people, they say, 'That's terrific, but do you think it really counts?'” quote by Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/mort-sahl-7819_america_there-s-a-great-feeling-of-powerlessness_341401.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/mort-sahl-7819_america_there-s-a-great-feeling-of-powerlessness_341401.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/mort-sahl-7819_america_there-s-a-great-feeling-of-powerlessness_341401.jpg) > “There's a great feeling of powerlessness in America. When I express ideas to people, they say, 'That's terrific, but do you think it really counts?'” [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Americans feel powerless; ideas are praised but dismissed as insignificant, revealing a cultural cynicism. **In simple terms:** Ideas are praised but seen as irrelevant. Key Takeaway Seek impact beyond applause. Themes powerlessness culture communication relevance politics society Mood critical hopeful Type social inspirational When to use this quote - public speaking - political activism - community organizing - media commentary Key Concepts sociology media studies psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you make ideas feel consequential? - What changes would shift perception of impact? A Different Perspective Some audiences may value ideas if presented compellingly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Powerlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerlessness/) ## Related quotes > [Once you're back on your feet - if you ever make it back on your feet - that's the ultimate achievement. I remember I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rihanna/once-you-re-back-on-your-feet-if-you-ever-make-it-back-on-your-feet/) [Rihanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rihanna/) > [When you know you have great support from the studio, that's a great feeling, and when it's the creative support, that's great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramin-djawadi/when-you-know-you-have-great-support-from-the-studio-that-s-a-great/) [Ramin Djawadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramin-djawadi/) > [If I'm left high and dry at the end of this wild journey, just taking it is a great feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-wilde/if-i-m-left-high-and-dry-at-the-end-of-this-wild-journey-just-taking/) [Olivia Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-wilde/) > [It's a great feeling to know that I've played the best golf throughout the season of any of the guys for the second time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-mcilroy/it-s-a-great-feeling-to-know-that-i-ve-played-the-best-golf/) [Rory McIlroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-mcilroy/) > [Each time you get a job you really want, there's a feeling of accomplishment, you feel like you're in stride with yourself, where everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-fitzgerald/each-time-you-get-a-job-you-really-want-there-s-a-feeling-of/) [Tara Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-fitzgerald/) > [It is a great feeling to know that from a window I can go to books to cans of beer to past loves. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-corso/it-is-a-great-feeling-to-know-that-from-a-window-i-can-go-to-books-to/) [Gregory Corso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-corso/) > [I've got children and it's still this one thing that I feel incredibly proud about, when my children are in the playground with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-standen/i-ve-got-children-and-it-s-still-this-one-thing-that-i-feel/) [Clive Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-standen/) > [Playing in the Olympics was a great feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peng-shuai/playing-in-the-olympics-was-a-great-feeling/) [Peng Shuai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peng-shuai/) > [I'm going down in history with Star Trek. It's a great feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/persis-khambatta/i-m-going-down-in-history-with-star-trek-it-s-a-great-feeling/) [Persis Khambatta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/persis-khambatta/) > [It's a great feeling as a coach to see your athlete run well, hearing the oohs and aahs as she picks people off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-kersee/it-s-a-great-feeling-as-a-coach-to-see-your-athlete-run-well-hearing/) Bob Kersee > [It's always good to have my dad there to support me. I know he's watching every game when he's at home. But when he's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jae-crowder/it-s-always-good-to-have-my-dad-there-to-support-me-i-know-he-s/) [Jae Crowder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jae-crowder/) > [It's a great feeling to think that I can be a friend to so many people through my movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/river-phoenix/it-s-a-great-feeling-to-think-that-i-can-be-a-friend-to-so-many/) [River Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/river-phoenix/) > [Giving birth to something that could possibly change the lives of millions of people for possibly decades, hundreds of years, whatever the length of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reid-hoffman/giving-birth-to-something-that-could-possibly-change-the-lives-of/) [Reid Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reid-hoffman/) > [There's a really great feeling among the Australians in Hollywood. There's so many of us, and we all support each other, and it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-samuel/there-s-a-really-great-feeling-among-the-australians-in-hollywood/) [Benedict Samuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-samuel/) > [It's a great feeling to have genuine friends who I have known since high school. It's kind of rare, actually, and I love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karrueche-tran/it-s-a-great-feeling-to-have-genuine-friends-who-i-have-known-since/) [Karrueche Tran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karrueche-tran/) ## More by Mort Sahl > [Remember that no matter how selfish, how cruel, how unfeeling you have been today, every time you take a breath, you make a flower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/remember-that-no-matter-how-selfish-how-cruel-how-unfeeling-you-have/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [Comedians have to challenge the power. Comedians should be dangerous and devastating - and funny. That's the hardest part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/comedians-have-to-challenge-the-power-comedians-should-be-dangerous/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [Too much comedy today is vulgar, not clever. I say that as a comedian and as a consumer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/too-much-comedy-today-is-vulgar-not-clever-i-say-that-as-a-comedian/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [“The beat generation is a coffeehouse full of people expectantly looking at their watches waiting for the beat generation to come on. \*1958”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/the-beat-generation-is-a-coffeehouse-full-of-people-expectantly/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [“I don't think crucifixion is the answer. I believe in the resurrection. I like that part of the story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/i-don-t-think-crucifixion-is-the-answer-i-believe-in-the-resurrection/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [My life needs editing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/my-life-needs-editing/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [Every time the Russians throw an American in jail, the Committee throws an American in jail to get even.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/every-time-the-russians-throw-an-american-in-jail-the-committee/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [you don't know what you think unless you say it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/you-don-t-know-what-you-think-unless-you-say-it/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [I'm a radical, and I always have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/i-m-a-radical-and-i-always-have-been/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [Those who the gods would make rich and famous on TV, they first drive mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/those-who-the-gods-would-make-rich-and-famous-on-tv-they-first-drive/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [Obama says his recreation consists of reading the Constitution... looking for a loophole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/obama-says-his-recreation-consists-of-reading-the-constitution/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [If you can't join them, beat them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/if-you-can-t-join-them-beat-them/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [One thing about being narrow-minded: you'll never be lonely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/one-thing-about-being-narrow-minded-you-ll-never-be-lonely/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [Nixon's the kind of guy that if you were drowning fifty feet off shore, he'd throw you a thirty foot rope. Then Kissinger would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/nixon-s-the-kind-of-guy-that-if-you-were-drowning-fifty-feet-off/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [Everything I tell you is true, but this is factual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/everything-i-tell-you-is-true-but-this-is-factual/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) [Explore all 87 Mort Sahl quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) ## 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": "There's a great feeling of powerlessness in America. When I express ideas to people, they say, 'That's terrific, but do you think it really counts?'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mort Sahl" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/there-s-a-great-feeling-of-powerlessness-in-america-when-i-express/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/there-s-a-great-feeling-of-powerlessness-in-america-when-i-express/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/mort-sahl-7819_america_there-s-a-great-feeling-of-powerlessness_341401.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/mort-sahl-7819_america_there-s-a-great-feeling-of-powerlessness_341401.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/mort-sahl-7819_america_there-s-a-great-feeling-of-powerlessness_341401.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's a great feeling of powerlessness in America. When I express ideas to people, they say, 'That's…” — Mort Sahl", "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": "Mort Sahl", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There's a great feeling of powerlessness...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/there-s-a-great-feeling-of-powerlessness-in-america-when-i-express/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/there-s-a-great-feeling-of-powerlessness-in-america-when-i-express/#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 } } ] } ```