--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Maybe there was a time that you could…" description: "\"Maybe there was a time that you could count on the American home as being the moral fabric center and that they would teach you right, but with the lib..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/nick-nolte-4449_divorcing_maybe-there-was-a-time-that-you-could-co_2719404.jpg" --- # Maybe there was a time that you could count on the… ![“Maybe there was a time that you could count on the American home as being the moral fabric center and that they would teach you right, but with the liberty of just divorcing without a thought, it's horrible.” quote by Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/nick-nolte-4449_divorcing_maybe-there-was-a-time-that-you-could-co_2719404.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/nick-nolte-4449_divorcing_maybe-there-was-a-time-that-you-could-co_2719404.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/nick-nolte-4449_divorcing_maybe-there-was-a-time-that-you-could-co_2719404.jpg) > “Maybe there was a time that you could count on the American home as being the moral fabric center and that they would teach you right, but with the liberty of just divorcing without a thought, it's horrible.” [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critiques the erosion of traditional moral structures in American homes, noting the ease of divorce and its negative impact. **In simple terms:** Traditional morals are weakening. Key Takeaway Recognize changing family values. Themes family morality change Mood critical reflective Type social cultural When to use this quote - marriage - divorce - parenting - community - social norms Key Concepts social contract cultural shift Questions to Reflect On - What values should replace old ones? - How can families adapt healthily? A Different Perspective It may overlook positive aspects of modern freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Divorcing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divorcing/) [Divorcing Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divorcing-thought-2869412/) [Fabric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fabric/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Home Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home-moral-2869414/) [Horrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horrible/) [Just Divorcing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-divorcing-2869413/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Thought Horrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-horrible-523601/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [One night I couldn't sleep and I was up and just Googling random stuff and I'm like, 'Hmmm, PETA.' I saw all the videos…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-pickler/one-night-i-couldn-t-sleep-and-i-was-up-and-just-googling-random/) [Kellie Pickler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-pickler/) > [The situation's fraught, Fraughter than I thought, With horrible, impossible possibilities!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-sondheim/the-situation-s-fraught-fraughter-than-i-thought-with-horrible/) [Stephen Sondheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-sondheim/) > [At 14, I'd have given my left arm to be a boy: I thought I was horrible and that no-one would ever find me attractive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irina-shayk/at-14-i-d-have-given-my-left-arm-to-be-a-boy-i-thought-i-was-horrible/) [Irina Shayk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irina-shayk/) > [I thought I was horrible and really mean on 'Total Divas.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-rae/i-thought-i-was-horrible-and-really-mean-on-total-divas/) [Summer Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-rae/) > [Oh", she thought, "how horrible it is that people have to grow up-and marry-and change!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/oh-she-thought-how-horrible-it-is-that-people-have-to-grow-up-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I have this thought, it’s horrible, and it makes me sick, but it’s true: one day these students will grow up and have their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-elliot/i-have-this-thought-it-s-horrible-and-it-makes-me-sick-but-it-s-true/) [Tucker Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-elliot/) > [“The thought was horrible, yet fascinating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/the-thought-was-horrible-yet-fascinating/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“There was nowhere to go. This hate was everywhere, even in my bedroom. I choked out a sob and wondered why everyone thought I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-nacht/there-was-nowhere-to-go-this-hate-was-everywhere-even-in-my-bedroom-i/) [Jackie Nacht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-nacht/) > [After divorcing, I left South Africa to live in Toronto. They were tough years. On my own with three young children and no income.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maye-musk/after-divorcing-i-left-south-africa-to-live-in-toronto-they-were/) [Maye Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maye-musk/) > [“Why weren’t they just overcome with joy every time they looked at those kids? Why in the world were they divorcing?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/why-weren-t-they-just-overcome-with-joy-every-time-they-looked-at/) [Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/) > [“This is a day of celebration! Today, we are divorcing the past and marrying the present. Dance, and you will find God in every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/this-is-a-day-of-celebration-today-we-are-divorcing-the-past-and/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“You never have to suffer because of, or be denatured by, another person, even someone you love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rossana-condoleo/you-never-have-to-suffer-because-of-or-be-denatured-by-another-person/) [Rossana Condoleo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rossana-condoleo/) > [Judge: you want to divorce your husband for threatening you with a deadly weapon? Wife: no ur honor I am divorcing him for threatening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azgraybebly-josland/judge-you-want-to-divorce-your-husband-for-threatening-you-with-a/) [Azgraybebly Josland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azgraybebly-josland/) > [“Divorce = Rebirth: forget the past, replan your life, improve your appearance & REJUVENATE!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rossana-condoleo/divorce-rebirth-forget-the-past-replan-your-life-improve-your/) [Rossana Condoleo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rossana-condoleo/) > [I nod, because I do understand. I'm just not sure how to go about divorcing myself from the evil I've already accepted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/i-nod-because-i-do-understand-i-m-just-not-sure-how-to-go-about/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) ## More by Nick Nolte > [I never caught on to being a bully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/i-never-caught-on-to-being-a-bully/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [You don't want to make awards the reason you're doing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/you-don-t-want-to-make-awards-the-reason-you-re-doing-things/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [A warrior is not about perfection or victory or invulnerability. He's about absolute vulnerability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/a-warrior-is-not-about-perfection-or-victory-or-invulnerability-he-s/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [I never felt comfortable in real life very well. It's always been an awkward kind of thing for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/i-never-felt-comfortable-in-real-life-very-well-it-s-always-been-an/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [The only people who ever called me a rebel were people who wanted me to do what they wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/the-only-people-who-ever-called-me-a-rebel-were-people-who-wanted-me/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [I am a good sewer. My mother taught me how to sew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/i-am-a-good-sewer-my-mother-taught-me-how-to-sew/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [I've been called 'the voice actor.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/i-ve-been-called-the-voice-actor/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [I've been in movies where the movie doesn't come together but the role comes together, or the movie comes together but the role doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/i-ve-been-in-movies-where-the-movie-doesn-t-come-together-but-the/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [Even though I play guitar, I don't do it publicly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/even-though-i-play-guitar-i-don-t-do-it-publicly/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [American society is still puritanical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/american-society-is-still-puritanical/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [I accept the dying process. I would just like to be as healthy as I possibly can at each step and phase along the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/i-accept-the-dying-process-i-would-just-like-to-be-as-healthy-as-i/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [No one wants to spend too long inside their own darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/no-one-wants-to-spend-too-long-inside-their-own-darkness/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [If you're older you want to tell stories about the pool of human life and living and to communicate, not only to your age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/if-you-re-older-you-want-to-tell-stories-about-the-pool-of-human-life/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [I can't get any satiation. My brain is wired in such a way that I - in my research, I probably have a lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/i-can-t-get-any-satiation-my-brain-is-wired-in-such-a-way-that-i-in/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [I don't see myself stopping, even though it gets harder and harder. Especially when you find out that you can't really compromise because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/i-don-t-see-myself-stopping-even-though-it-gets-harder-and-harder/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) [Explore all 111 Nick Nolte quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) ## More Divorcing quotes > [“Why weren’t they just overcome with joy every time they looked at those kids? Why in the world were they divorcing?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/why-weren-t-they-just-overcome-with-joy-every-time-they-looked-at/) [Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/) > [After divorcing, I left South Africa to live in Toronto. They were tough years. On my own with three young children and no income.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maye-musk/after-divorcing-i-left-south-africa-to-live-in-toronto-they-were/) [Maye Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maye-musk/) > [“Divorce = Rebirth: forget the past, replan your life, improve your appearance & REJUVENATE!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rossana-condoleo/divorce-rebirth-forget-the-past-replan-your-life-improve-your/) [Rossana Condoleo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rossana-condoleo/) > [I nod, because I do understand. I'm just not sure how to go about divorcing myself from the evil I've already accepted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/i-nod-because-i-do-understand-i-m-just-not-sure-how-to-go-about/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [Judge: you want to divorce your husband for threatening you with a deadly weapon? Wife: no ur honor I am divorcing him for threatening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azgraybebly-josland/judge-you-want-to-divorce-your-husband-for-threatening-you-with-a/) [Azgraybebly Josland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azgraybebly-josland/) > [“You never have to suffer because of, or be denatured by, another person, even someone you love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rossana-condoleo/you-never-have-to-suffer-because-of-or-be-denatured-by-another-person/) [Rossana Condoleo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rossana-condoleo/) > [“This is a day of celebration! Today, we are divorcing the past and marrying the present. Dance, and you will find God in every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/this-is-a-day-of-celebration-today-we-are-divorcing-the-past-and/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [Separating is not divorcing. Please keep that in mind. It is, instead, the second step in seeing if there's a better way to manage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/separating-is-not-divorcing-please-keep-that-in-mind-it-is-instead/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [A man divorcing would never be accused of choosing career over children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-aniston/a-man-divorcing-would-never-be-accused-of-choosing-career-over/) [Jennifer Aniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-aniston/) > [“A competitive and insecure woman will tell you that “true love” is never giving up on someone you're in love with. A confident and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/a-competitive-and-insecure-woman-will-tell-you-that-true-love-is/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“You can't live in your mind and expect those dreams to become real, without the work. Reality requires actions that might feel scary, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/you-can-t-live-in-your-mind-and-expect-those-dreams-to-become-real/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [ \[When asked if she had ever considered divorcing Sir Lewis Casson:\] Divorce? Never. But murder often! ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybil-thorndike/when-asked-if-she-had-ever-considered-divorcing-sir-lewis-casson/) [Sybil Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybil-thorndike/) > [“In the end, a lack of compatibility is what ruins relationships. You can't force someone to be an eagle when they are a duck.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/in-the-end-a-lack-of-compatibility-is-what-ruins-relationships-you/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“Some people leave a marriage literally, by divorcing. Others do so by leading parallel lives together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-m-gottman/some-people-leave-a-marriage-literally-by-divorcing-others-do-so-by/) [John M. Gottman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-m-gottman/) > [“Divorce is an expensive punishment love gets when it fails”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/divorce-is-an-expensive-punishment-love-gets-when-it-fails/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) [Browse all 23 Divorcing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divorcing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Maybe there was a time that you could count on the American home as being the moral fabric center and that they would teach you right, but with the liberty of just divorcing without a thought, it's horrible.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nick Nolte" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/maybe-there-was-a-time-that-you-could-count-on-the-american-home-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Divorcing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/maybe-there-was-a-time-that-you-could-count-on-the-american-home-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/nick-nolte-4449_divorcing_maybe-there-was-a-time-that-you-could-co_2719404.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/nick-nolte-4449_divorcing_maybe-there-was-a-time-that-you-could-co_2719404.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/nick-nolte-4449_divorcing_maybe-there-was-a-time-that-you-could-co_2719404.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Maybe there was a time that you could count on the American home as being the moral fabric center and that…” — Nick Nolte", "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": "Nick Nolte", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Maybe there was a time that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/maybe-there-was-a-time-that-you-could-count-on-the-american-home-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/maybe-there-was-a-time-that-you-could-count-on-the-american-home-as/#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 } } ] } ```