Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by P. J. O'Rourke

Quote by P. J. O'Rourke

“Our democracy, our culture, our whole way of life is a spectacular triumph of the blah. Why not have a political convention without politics to nominate a leader who's out in front of nobody? Maybe our national mindlessness is the very thing that keeps us from turning into one of those smelly European countries full of pseudo-reds and crypto-fascists and greens who dress like forest elves.”

Quote by P. J. O'Rourke

Create image

Author

P. J. O'Rourke
P. J. O'Rourke

P. J. O'Rourke, born on November 14, 1947, is a renowned satirical writer known for his humorous and satirical commentary on political and social issues. His distinctive writing style, characterized by wit and sharpness, has won him a wide readership. more

You May Also Like

“How a peaceful, uncrowded place with ample wherewithal stays poor is hard to explain. How a conflict-ridden, grossly over-populated place with no resources whatsoever gets rich is simple. The British colonial government turned Hong Kong into an economic miracle by doing nothing.”

HardGovernmentSimplePoorRichEconomicConflictResourcesMiracleBritishPeacefulDoing NothingGet RichHong Kong
Book:Eat the Rich: A Treatise on Economics
Create image

“Money is preferable to politics. It is the difference between being free to be anybody you want and to vote for anybody you want. And money is more effective than politics both in solving problems and in providing individual independence. To rid ourselves of all the trouble in the world, we need to make money. And to make money, we need to be free.”

WorldWantNeedsProblemIndividualDifferencesTroubleVoteIndependenceMaking MoneyProvidingProblem SolvingBeing FreeIndividual Independence
Book:All the Trouble in the World: The Lighter Side of Overpopulation, Famine, Ecological Disaster, Ethnic Hatred, Plague, and Poverty
Create image

“If libertarianism were easy to explain, and it weren't easy to exaggerate the effects of libertarianism, I think it would have been done already. Many many very intelligent people have applied themselves to crafting an agenda that people could grab ahold of. But the problem of course is that libertarianism isn't political. It is kind of anti-political. It wants to take a lot of things out of the political arena.”

PeopleIfsThinkingWantKindHas BeensDoneProblemPoliticalCoursesEasyEffectsIntelligentAgendasLibertarianismArenaAnti Political
Author:P. J. O'Rourke
Create image

“Wealth is, for most people, the only honest and likely path to liberty. With money comes power over the world. Men are freed from drudgery, women from exploitation. Businesses can be started, homes built, communities formed, religions practiced, educations pursued. But liberals aren't very interested in such real and material freedoms. They have a more innocent - not to say toddlerlike - idea of freedom. Liberals want the freedom to put anything into their mouths, to say bad words and to expose their private parts in art museums.”

PeopleMenWorldWantArtIdeasRealHomeCommunityWealthLibertyPathHonestMaterialsMouthsBuiltInnocentMuseumsExploitationPursuedDrudgeryBad WordPrivate Parts
Book:Give War a Chance: Eyewitness Accounts of Mankind's Struggle Against Tyranny, Injustice, and Alcohol-Free Beer
Create image

“Social Security is a government program with a constituency made up of the old, the near old and those who hope or fear to grow old. After 215 years of trying, we have finally discovered a special interest that includes 100 percent of the population. Now we can vote ourselves rich.”

TryingYearsMadeGovernmentSocialGrowsInterestRichSpecialSecurityPercentProgramVotePopulationSocial SecuritySpecial InterestsGovernment ProgramsGovernment Welfare
Book:Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government
Create image

“There are twenty-seven specific complaints against the British Crown set forth in the Declaration of Independence. To modern ears they still sound reasonable. They still sound reasonable, in large part, because so many of them can be leveled against the federal government of the United States.”

StillsStatesGovernmentSoundUnitedUnited StatesModernEarsTwentiesIndependenceSevenBritishReasonableCrownsComplaintsFederal GovernmentDeclarationDeclaration Of Independence
Author:P. J. O'Rourke
Create image

“Newsmen believe that news is a tacitly acknowledged fourth branch of the federal system. This is why most news about government sounds as if it were federally mandated -- serious, bulky and blandly worthwhile, like a high-fiber diet set in type.”

IfsBelieveGovernmentSoundSeriousTypeNewsJournalismDietsBranchesWorthwhileFourthFiber
Book:Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government
Create image