--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I imagine an America that can actually…" description: "\"I imagine an America that can actually change. That we become a nation that prospers again but without pillaging the resources of nations that make the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/richard-schiff-18142_actually_i-imagine-an-america-that-can-actually-c_2058001.jpg" --- # I imagine an America that can actually change. That we… ![“I imagine an America that can actually change. That we become a nation that prospers again but without pillaging the resources of nations that make their people hate us. That we become a nation that, as the constitution says in its preamble, its very first paragraph, 'promotes the general welfare'…” quote by Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/richard-schiff-18142_actually_i-imagine-an-america-that-can-actually-c_2058001.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/richard-schiff-18142_actually_i-imagine-an-america-that-can-actually-c_2058001.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc2/richard-schiff-18142_actually_i-imagine-an-america-that-can-actually-c_2058001.jpg) > “I imagine an America that can actually change. That we become a nation that prospers again but without pillaging the resources of nations that make their people hate us. That we become a nation that, as the constitution says in its preamble, its very first paragraph, 'promotes the general welfare' of its people.” [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vision of a renewed America that thrives without exploiting others and upholds the constitutional goal of general welfare. **In simple terms:** America can improve without harming others. Key Takeaway Seek policies that balance prosperity and ethical responsibility. Themes renewal ethics constitution prosperity Mood hopeful determined Type political visionary When to use this quote - policy reform - international trade - environmental stewardship - public health initiatives Key Concepts nationalism global interdependence social contract Questions to Reflect On - How can we grow prosperity while respecting global resources? - What policies best reflect the constitutional promise of general welfare? A Different Perspective Implementation may face entrenched interests and geopolitical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actually/) [Again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/again/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Become](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/become/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Change Nation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-nation-1212078/) [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Constitution Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution-says/) [First](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [General](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/general/) [General welfare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/general-welfare/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Imagine America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine-america-2846167/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [Nation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation/) [Nation Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation-constitution-1959790/) [Nation Prospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation-prospers-3912393/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Paragraph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paragraph/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pillaging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pillaging/) [Preamble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preamble/) [Prospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prospers/) [Resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resources/) [Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/says/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) [Very](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very/) [Welfare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/welfare/) [Without](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/without/) ## Related quotes > [Try to imagine an America without rich people. Rich people contribute a lot to this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-goldberg/try-to-imagine-an-america-without-rich-people-rich-people-contribute/) [Bernard Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-goldberg/) > [It's one of the nice things about this nation that when the Constitution is violated, if it affects you, you can bring a suit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-newdow/it-s-one-of-the-nice-things-about-this-nation-that-when-the/) [Michael Newdow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-newdow/) > [The conscience of this nation is the Constitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/the-conscience-of-this-nation-is-the-constitution/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [But the more an organization succeeds and prospers, the more it is likely to be diverted from its original ideals, principles and purposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-shea/but-the-more-an-organization-succeeds-and-prospers-the-more-it-is/) [Robert Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-shea/) > [Like a lovely orchid, or anything else that's nurtured, marriage prospers and grows, but if it's ignored, it withers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/like-a-lovely-orchid-or-anything-else-that-s-nurtured-marriage/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [When the country prospers, everyone does. 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It prospers with government support and subsidies, and it is accelerating its rate of destruction, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/logging-is-an-industry-driven-solely-by-greed-it-prospers-with/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [“What you let inside multiplies and prospers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramzi-najjar/what-you-let-inside-multiplies-and-prospers/) [Ramzi Najjar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramzi-najjar/) > [A man's homeland is wherever he prospers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/a-man-s-homeland-is-wherever-he-prospers/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“Excellence prospers in the absence of excuses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/excellence-prospers-in-the-absence-of-excuses/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [Evil prospers when good men do nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-philpot-curran/evil-prospers-when-good-men-do-nothing/) [John Philpot Curran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-philpot-curran/) > [Without labor nothing prospers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/without-labor-nothing-prospers/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Memories can bring comfort to the old and infirm, but memories can also be implacable foes, a malicious army of temporal ghosts forever pillaging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/memories-can-bring-comfort-to-the-old-and-infirm-but-memories-can/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) ## More by Richard Schiff > [I was happy to spend time with my family, get to know my daughter, who was born during The West Wing. I missed her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/i-was-happy-to-spend-time-with-my-family-get-to-know-my-daughter-who/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) > [Families are like puzzles. 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Despite the success that they both had in their lives, there's a certain mentality that tells you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/my-parents-grew-up-in-the-depression-despite-the-success-that-they/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) > [Every role is challenging in its own way, but the most challenging roles are the ones that are badly written - then it's completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/every-role-is-challenging-in-its-own-way-but-the-most-challenging/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) > [I still have the mentality of someone who doesn't know where he's going to sleep and doesn't know if he has enough money for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/i-still-have-the-mentality-of-someone-who-doesn-t-know-where-he-s/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) > [I love David Fincher - even though it was just two scenes, I loved the way we worked and could tell by the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/i-love-david-fincher-even-though-it-was-just-two-scenes-i-loved-the/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) > [I've been very lucky not to have turned down too many roles that I've later regretted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/i-ve-been-very-lucky-not-to-have-turned-down-too-many-roles-that-i-ve/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) > [It seems not to matter that we are at the brink of a war that may spread beyond Afghanistan and Iraq to Iran and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/it-seems-not-to-matter-that-we-are-at-the-brink-of-a-war-that-may/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) > [I go in to Warner Brothers to test and in the waiting area I saw Allison Janney sitting there, who I did not know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/i-go-in-to-warner-brothers-to-test-and-in-the-waiting-area-i-saw/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) > [The political nonsense of network television and the culture of a set and all the problems that that can create, I can take. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/the-political-nonsense-of-network-television-and-the-culture-of-a-set/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) [Explore all 35 Richard Schiff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) ## More Actually quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [I actually like getting out of my comfort zone. It shakes me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/i-actually-like-getting-out-of-my-comfort-zone-it-shakes-me-up/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [You have to talk about why things happened the way they did. You can't actually explain my political life except by a series of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lange/you-have-to-talk-about-why-things-happened-the-way-they-did-you-can-t/) [David Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lange/) > [Failure actually makes you strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neha-sharma/failure-actually-makes-you-strong/) [Neha Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neha-sharma/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [I'm from Europe, England, and I actually lived in Italy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/i-m-from-europe-england-and-i-actually-lived-in-italy/) [Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/) > [The alternative comedy scene is actually pretty small, I guess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-wilson/the-alternative-comedy-scene-is-actually-pretty-small-i-guess/) [Casey Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-wilson/) > [I was a very good student. Procrastinating gives me anxiety, and getting a B really ticked me off. Sure, I didn't always want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-loren/i-was-a-very-good-student-procrastinating-gives-me-anxiety-and/) [Josie Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-loren/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [Somebody said that part of my reaction to British cinema is actually, paradoxically, a patriotic one. I'm so disappointed that we're not better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brownlow/somebody-said-that-part-of-my-reaction-to-british-cinema-is-actually/) [Kevin Brownlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brownlow/) > [I actually do sing sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morten-harket/i-actually-do-sing-sometimes/) [Morten Harket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morten-harket/) > [I've actually got quite a good memory. I've good recall. 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