I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
Will RogersRead
Why don't they pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting anybody from learning anything? If it works as well as prohibition did, in five years Americans would be the smartest race of people on Earth.
Interpretation
The quote humorously suggests that preventing learning would paradoxically lead to greater intelligence among people.
Will Rogers uses satire to critique the absurdity of prohibiting education. He proposes that if learning were forbidden, the resultant determination of individuals to acquire knowledge would ultimately make them smarter, highlighting the value and resilience inherent in the pursuit of education despite restrictions.
In practice
During a debate on educational reform, one might use this quote to illustrate the value of learning.
I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
People who fly into a rage always make a bad landing.
The 1928 Republican Convention opened with a prayer. If the Lord can see His way clear to bless the Republican Party the way it's been carrying on, then the rest of us ought to get it without even asking.
Let advertisers spend the same amount of money improving their product that they do on advertising and they wouldn't have to advertise it.
The man with the best job in the country is the vice-president. All he has to do is get up every morning and say, 'How is the president?'
Heroing is one of the shortest-lived professions there is.
Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts my parents ever gave me.
Universities think people come up with great ideas by closing the door. The academic tenure process, where you have to publish to journals which are very narrow, stands in the way of great research.
People start panicking because they think it's the end of everything. But the fact is, you know, books survived movies; books survived TV. Books are surviving manga and anime. Books will always be there in one form or another. You just have a larger palette of entertainment options.
How often we all have heard speakers begin by calling the attention of the audience to their lack of preparation or lack of ability. If you are not prepared, the audience will probably discover it without your assistance.
If the truth is told, the youth can grow.
Life must be kept up at a great rate in order to absorb any considerable amount of learning.
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