If you get down about the state of American culture, just remember there are still more public libraries in this country than there are McDonalds.
David McculloughRead
And read… read all the time… read as a matter of principle, as a matter of self-respect. Read as a nourishing staple of life.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Reading is essential for personal growth and self-respect.
David McCullough emphasizes the importance of reading as a fundamental activity that enriches our lives. He advocates for making reading a regular practice, suggesting that it is not just a leisure activity but a necessity for intellectual nourishment and self-improvement.
Themes
ReadingEducationSelf-RespectGrowthNourishment
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about lifelong learning, I quoted McCullough to inspire the audience to embrace reading.
More from David Mccullough
All quotes →There is only one person who can measure your success. That person is you.
David McculloughRead
I just thank my father and mother, my lucky stars, that I had the advantage of an education in the humanities.
David McculloughRead
Napoleon could never imagine that some people loved their country as much as he loved his own.
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When the founders wrote about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, they didn't mean longer vacations and more comfortable hammocks. They meant the pursuit of learning. The pursuit of improvement and excellence. In hard work is happiness.
David McculloughRead
Any nation that expects to be ignorant and free," Jefferson said, "expects what never was and never will be." And if the gap between the educated and the uneducated in America continues to grow as it is in our time, as fast as or faster than the gap between the rich and the poor, the gap between the educated and the uneducated is going to be of greater consequence and the more serious threat to our way of life. We must not, by any means, misunderstand that.
David McculloughRead
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As Americans, we rightfully place tremendous value on having a free and independent press. Our role as journalists is to give voice to the voiceless, and hold our leaders and institutions accountable. But the circle is only completed when that information is consumed by a free-thinking and engaged audience.
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The shelf was filled with books that were hard to read, that could devastate and remake one's soul, and that, when they were finished, had a kick like a mule.
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