You must not only learn to live with tension, you must seek it out. You must learn to thrive on stress.
J. Paul GettyRead
Today's dissenters mainly focus their attention and expend their energies on the most inconsequential of trivia. ...Allegedly serious intellectuals quibble endlessly over such ridiculous trivialities...In the meantime, the public is lulled into a perilous somnolence, spoon-fed pap, and palpable untruths, many of which are turned out by special-interest and pressure groups and well organized propaganda machines.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote criticizes those who focus on trivial matters while ignoring more significant societal issues.
J. Paul Getty's quote highlights the alarming tendency of intellectuals and the public to engage in trivial debates instead of addressing serious issues. He argues that this preoccupation with inconsequential matters not only distracts from important discussions but also allows harmful misinformation and propaganda to proliferate, ultimately endangering public awareness and understanding.
Themes
DissentTriviaIntellectualsPropagandaPublic Awareness
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a discussion about the importance of critical thinking in media consumption.
More from J. Paul Getty
All quotes →In times of rapid change, experience could be your worst enemy.
J. Paul GettyRead
The #1 guideline to success is you must be in business for yourself. When you work for someone else, you sell your time at wholesale to your employer, who then re-sells it at retail to the customer.
J. Paul GettyRead
Patience; this is the greatest business asset. Wait for the right time to make your moves.
J. Paul GettyRead
There is only one way to make a great deal of money; and that is in a business of your own.
J. Paul GettyRead
To succeed in business, to reach the top, an individual must know all it is possible to know about that business.
J. Paul GettyRead
Similar quotes
Whitney wanted to eradicate the idea that in the case of a language we are dealing with a natural faculty; in fact, social institutions stand opposed to natural institutions.
Ferdinand De SaussureRead
Stormy skies, says Ernesto. He grieved for them. Summer rain. Childhood.
Marguerite DurasRead
As far as I'm concerned, being any gender is a drag.
Patti SmithRead
How does a man decide in what order to abandon his life?
Cormac MccarthyRead
If the other fellow can't tell you his story, you can never be sure he isn't trying to kill you.
Orson Scott CardRead
Life will show you masks that are worth all your carnivals
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead