--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Things have not changed as much as we…" description: "\"Things have not changed as much as we would like to think they have. Or maybe we're just in another one of the divided moments in the country. The late..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/paul-auster-351_changed_things-have-not-changed-as-much-as-we-wo_1034281.jpg" --- # Things have not changed as much as we would like to think… ![“Things have not changed as much as we would like to think they have. Or maybe we're just in another one of the divided moments in the country. The late '60s certainly was one of them, the Civil War being another, but I'm hard-pressed to think of too many.” quote by Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/paul-auster-351_changed_things-have-not-changed-as-much-as-we-wo_1034281.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/paul-auster-351_changed_things-have-not-changed-as-much-as-we-wo_1034281.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/paul-auster-351_changed_things-have-not-changed-as-much-as-we-wo_1034281.jpg) > “Things have not changed as much as we would like to think they have. Or maybe we're just in another one of the divided moments in the country. The late '60s certainly was one of them, the Civil War being another, but I'm hard-pressed to think of too many.” [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societal change is slower than we hope; we often misread current tensions as historic. **In simple terms:** Change is gradual, not sudden. Key Takeaway Recognize incremental progress. Themes history perception politics Mood reflective critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - elections - public debates - social movements Key Concepts social change collective memory media framing Questions to Reflect On - What evidence shows real progress? - How do media narratives shape our sense of change? A Different Perspective Nostalgia may distort reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [60S Certainly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/60s-certainly-2382594/) [Changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changed/) [Civil war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Divided Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divided-moments-2382595/) [Late 60S](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late-60s-620650/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Things Changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-changed/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [There are lots of things about me that have changed. Some things are a process; some things take time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/there-are-lots-of-things-about-me-that-have-changed-some-things-are-a/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [I like to think that I've grown as an actor and things have changed, and I think so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maika-monroe/i-like-to-think-that-i-ve-grown-as-an-actor-and-things-have-changed/) [Maika Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maika-monroe/) > [We now know how things were in the '60s and how things have changed, but I don't think we appreciate how much things have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karine-vanasse/we-now-know-how-things-were-in-the-60s-and-how-things-have-changed/) [Karine Vanasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karine-vanasse/) > [A lot of things have changed in my life and for the best. I'm really happy about it. 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It's a physical experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/writing-has-always-had-a-tactile-quality-for-me-it-s-a-physical/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [People look at the same passage, and one person will say this is the best thing he's ever read, and another person will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/people-look-at-the-same-passage-and-one-person-will-say-this-is-the/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I was very moved to see that the name of the boat was Hamlet - an imaginary character becomes so important to people, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-was-very-moved-to-see-that-the-name-of-the-boat-was-hamlet-an/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Our lifelong certainties about the world can be demolished in a single second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/our-lifelong-certainties-about-the-world-can-be-demolished-in-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [The ideal reader's the same, and I suppose this person has never had a face or a gender or an age. 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I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Faith is the avenue to salvation. Not intellectual understanding. Not money. Not your works. Just simple faith. How much faith? The faith of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/faith-is-the-avenue-to-salvation-not-intellectual-understanding-not/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [When I became Miss World, I couldn't believe I had won it. 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