--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The niceties of existence were not a…" description: "\"The niceties of existence were not a matter of concern, yet everything around was closed down most of the time. If you lived in a middle-class communit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2e/paul-samuelson-9078_adults_the-niceties-of-existence-were-not-a-mat_1650612.png" --- # The niceties of existence were not a matter of concern… ![“The niceties of existence were not a matter of concern, yet everything around was closed down most of the time. If you lived in a middle-class community in Chicago, children and adults came daily to the door saying, 'We are starving, how about a potato?' I speak from poignant memory.” quote by Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2e/paul-samuelson-9078_adults_the-niceties-of-existence-were-not-a-mat_1650612.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2e/paul-samuelson-9078_adults_the-niceties-of-existence-were-not-a-mat_1650612.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2e/paul-samuelson-9078_adults_the-niceties-of-existence-were-not-a-mat_1650612.png) > “The niceties of existence were not a matter of concern, yet everything around was closed down most of the time. If you lived in a middle-class community in Chicago, children and adults came daily to the door saying, 'We are starving, how about a potato?' I speak from poignant memory.” [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on how everyday hardships are ignored while people are preoccupied with trivial concerns, highlighting social neglect and the disconnect between personal comfort and collective suffering. **In simple terms:** People ignore real problems while focusing on minor issues. Key Takeaway Pay attention to deeper societal needs. Themes social neglect urban life class disparity empathy indifference Mood reflective somber critical Type observational social commentary When to use this quote - community outreach - policy advocacy - social work - urban planning - public awareness Key Concepts socioeconomic disparity urban alienation human suffering Questions to Reflect On - How can one balance personal concerns with societal responsibilities? - What actions can reduce indifference to others’ suffering? A Different Perspective The quote may overgeneralize and ignore individual agency in addressing problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) [Chicago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chicago/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Community Chicago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community-chicago-649905/) [Concern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concern/) [Doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doors/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle/) [Middle class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-class/) [Niceties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/niceties/) [Poignant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poignant/) [Potatoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/potatoes/) [Saying Starving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saying-starving-649904/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Starving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starving/) [Starving Potato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starving-potato-649903/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I want to be more involved outside just my community of Chicago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chance-the-rapper/i-want-to-be-more-involved-outside-just-my-community-of-chicago/) [Chance The Rapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chance-the-rapper/) > [Nothing is more memorable than a smell. 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Smells detonate softly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/smell-brings-to-mind-a-family-dinner-of-pot-roast-and-sweet-potatoes/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Too much nicety of detail disgusts the greatest part of readers, and to throw a multitude of particulars under general heads, and lay down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/too-much-nicety-of-detail-disgusts-the-greatest-part-of-readers-and/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Law always chooses sides on the basis of enforcement power. Morality and legal niceties have little to do with it when the real question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/law-always-chooses-sides-on-the-basis-of-enforcement-power-morality/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [My father always has been attractive because of his energy, warmth, charm, and talent for finding some connection with people from all cultures and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezekiel-emanuel/my-father-always-has-been-attractive-because-of-his-energy-warmth/) [Ezekiel Emanuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezekiel-emanuel/) > [There are two ways to aquire the niceties of life: 1) To produce them or 2) To plunder them. 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Acts of kindness aren’t just niceties, they become acts of worship..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/if-we-serve-jesus-then-every-act-thought-has-meaning-acts-of-kindness/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [To me this technical acceptation seems not applicable here, where we have to deal with the simplest moral precepts, and not with psychological niceties…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-muller/to-me-this-technical-acceptation-seems-not-applicable-here-where-we/) [Max Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-muller/) > [Twenty years ago, when you bumped into someone and asked how they were, they would say, 'Mustn't grumble' or 'Getting by': now they feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ravenhill/twenty-years-ago-when-you-bumped-into-someone-and-asked-how-they-were/) [Mark Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ravenhill/) ## More by Paul Samuelson > [Companies are not charitable enterprises: They hire workers to make profits. 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But they are remarkably well-hidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/perhaps-there-really-are-managers-who-can-outperform-the-market/) [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) > [Globalization presumes sustained economic growth. Otherwise, the process loses its economic benefits and political support.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/globalization-presumes-sustained-economic-growth-otherwise-the/) [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) > [In every mutual fund prospectus, in every sales promotional folder, and in every mutual fund advertisement (albeit in print almost too small to read),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/in-every-mutual-fund-prospectus-in-every-sales-promotional-folder-and/) [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) > [I don't care who writes a nation's laws-or crafts its advanced treaties-if I can write its economics textbooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/i-don-t-care-who-writes-a-nation-s-laws-or-crafts-its-advanced/) [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) > [It isn't that greed's increased. What's increased is the realization that you've got a free field to reach out for what you'd like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/it-isn-t-that-greed-s-increased-what-s-increased-is-the-realization/) [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) > [Forsake search for needles that are so very small in haystacks that are so very large.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/forsake-search-for-needles-that-are-so-very-small-in-haystacks-that/) [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) > [The problem is no longer that with every pair of hands that comes into the world there comes a hungry stomach. Rather it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/the-problem-is-no-longer-that-with-every-pair-of-hands-that-comes/) [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) [Explore all 75 Paul Samuelson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) ## More Adults quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. 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Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Plainly, the environment must be a living one, directed by a higher intelligence, arranged by an adult who is prepared for his mission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/plainly-the-environment-must-be-a-living-one-directed-by-a-higher/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society . . . but for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/education-for-most-people-means-trying-to-lead-the-child-to-resemble/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [I do not believe in public shaming. 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As much as we like them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-abagnale/when-i-was-a-child-at-sixteen-i-was-just-a-child-all-sixteen-year/) [Frank Abagnale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-abagnale/) [Browse all 3,113 Adults quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The niceties of existence were not a matter of concern, yet everything around was closed down most of the time. If you lived in a middle-class community in Chicago, children and adults came daily to the door saying, 'We are starving, how about a potato?' 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