Words not only affect us temporarily; they change us, they socialize or unsocialize us.
David RiesmanRead
Why, I ask, isn't it possible that advertising as a whole is a fantastic fraud, presenting an image of America taken seriously by no one, least of all by the advertising men who create it?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote questions the authenticity of advertising in representing America.
David Riesman suggests that advertising is ultimately a deception, creating a facade of America that lacks genuine belief, even among those who produce it. This reflects a deeper commentary on the nature of perception and reality in a consumer-driven society, where the image portrayed is often far removed from the truth.
Themes
AdvertisingFraudPerceptionImageReality
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on consumerism, one might use this quote to emphasize the deceptive nature of advertising.
More from David Riesman
All quotes →Similar quotes
Human beings are pattern-seeking animals who will prefer even a bad theory or a conspiracy theory to no theory at all.
Christopher HitchensRead
There is nothing in the world more stubborn than a corpse: you can hit it, you can knock it to pieces, but you cannot convince it.
Alexander HerzenRead
Paradise was unendurable, otherwise the first man would have adapted to it; this world is no less so, since here we regret paradise or anticipate another one. What to do? Where to go? Do nothing and go nowhere, easy enough.
Emile M. CioranRead
Some people take the view that the universe is simply there, and it runs along - it's a bit as though it just sort of computes, and we happen by accident to find ourselves in this thing. I don't think that's a very fruitful or helpful way of looking at the universe.
Roger PenroseRead
We can glimpse it in the book of Acts: the method of the kingdom will match the message of the kingdom. The kingdom…goes out into the world vulnerable, suffering, praising, praying, misunderstood, misjudged, vindicated, celebrating: always – as Paul puts it in one of his letters – bearing in the body the dying of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed.
N. T. WrightRead
A god's relationship to the world, even a world in which he was walking, was about as emotionally connected as that of a computer gamer playing with knowledge of the overall shape of the game and armed with a complete set of cheat codes.
Neil GaimanRead