--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those who called themselves liberals…" description: "\"“Those who called themselves liberals proved later that being well dressed, eloquent, and standing up against Islamist fascism doesn’t really mean you ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/bassem-youssef-22282_well-dressed_those-who-called-themselves-liberals-pro_2250124.jpg" --- # Those who called themselves liberals proved later that… ![“Those who called themselves liberals proved later that being well dressed, eloquent, and standing up against Islamist fascism doesn’t really mean you are a liberal. On the day of my interrogation the joke was on the Islamists. But a year later the liberals were the new joke that kept on giving.” quote by Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/bassem-youssef-22282_well-dressed_those-who-called-themselves-liberals-pro_2250124.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/bassem-youssef-22282_well-dressed_those-who-called-themselves-liberals-pro_2250124.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/bassem-youssef-22282_well-dressed_those-who-called-themselves-liberals-pro_2250124.jpg) > ““Those who called themselves liberals proved later that being well dressed, eloquent, and standing up against Islamist fascism doesn’t really mean you are a liberal. On the day of my interrogation the joke was on the Islamists. But a year later the liberals were the new joke that kept on giving.”” [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Labelsiberal labels don’t guarantee consistent values; actions can contradict proclaimed ideals, leading to hypocrisy. **In simple terms:** Being liberal isn’t just about appearance or rhetoric. Key Takeaway Align actions with principles consistently. Themes politics hypocrisy identity media liberalism Mood critical skeptical Type political satirical When to use this quote - activism - public discourse - media criticism Key Concepts authenticity political consistency public perception Questions to Reflect On - What defines true liberalism beyond symbols? - How can we hold leaders accountable without cynicism? A Different Perspective Critiques may oversimplify complex political realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Liberals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberals/) [Well dressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/well-dressed/) ## Related quotes > [Look at liberty's greatest historic advances: ending slavery. Giving women the vote. Outlawing legal segregation. Each and every time, the people at the forefront…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perlstein/look-at-liberty-s-greatest-historic-advances-ending-slavery-giving/) [Rick Perlstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perlstein/) > [The believing mind reaches its perihelion in the so-called Liberals. They believe in each and every quack who sets up his booth inthe fairgrounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-believing-mind-reaches-its-perihelion-in-the-so-called-liberals/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Very few of the so-called liberals are open-minded… They shout you down and won't let you speak if you disagree with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/very-few-of-the-so-called-liberals-are-open-minded-they-shout-you/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [The so-called liberals of today have the very popular idea that freedom of speech, of thought, of the press, freedom of religion, freedom from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-so-called-liberals-of-today-have-the-very-popular-idea-that/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [The belief, not only of the socialist but of those so-called liberals who are diligently preparing the way for them is that by due…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/the-belief-not-only-of-the-socialist-but-of-those-so-called-liberals/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [“Dirt is a great respecter of persons; it lets you alone when you are well dressed, but as soon as your collar is gone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/dirt-is-a-great-respecter-of-persons-it-lets-you-alone-when-you-are/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It's more important to be happy than well-dressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-apfel/it-s-more-important-to-be-happy-than-well-dressed/) [Iris Apfel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-apfel/) > [The religion of England is part of good-breeding. When you see on the continent the well-dressed Englishman come into his ambassador's chapel and put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-religion-of-england-is-part-of-good-breeding-when-you-see-on-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Never,ever confuse what happens on a runway with fashion. A runway is spectacle. It's only fashion when a woman puts it on. Being well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-de-la-renta/never-ever-confuse-what-happens-on-a-runway-with-fashion-a-runway-is/) [Oscar de la Renta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-de-la-renta/) > [I was not ugly. I might never be anything for men to lose their heads about, but I need never again be ugly. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/i-was-not-ugly-i-might-never-be-anything-for-men-to-lose-their-heads/) [Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) > [I think I've heard somebody say that I was a well-dressed golfer. I guess that has something to do with the fact that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-palmer/i-think-i-ve-heard-somebody-say-that-i-was-a-well-dressed-golfer-i/) [Arnold Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-palmer/) > [Every young woman should dress well, that is, neatly, tastefully, modestly, whether she be rich or poor. Conspicuous dressing is vulgar. True refinement avoids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-miller/every-young-woman-should-dress-well-that-is-neatly-tastefully/) [J.R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-miller/) > [“of the ready green on a blue felt top. The gentlemen who had assembled around it for an evening of high-stakes Hold ’Em were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-woodrell/of-the-ready-green-on-a-blue-felt-top-the-gentlemen-who-had-assembled/) [Daniel Woodrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-woodrell/) > [We have a direct contact with our clothes; they're like a little house. You have to feel good and at home in what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christophe-lemaitre/we-have-a-direct-contact-with-our-clothes-they-re-like-a-little-house/) [Christophe Lemaitre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christophe-lemaitre/) > [Has a woman who knew she was well-dressed ever caught a cold?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/has-a-woman-who-knew-she-was-well-dressed-ever-caught-a-cold/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More by Bassem Youssef > [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [People went out there and they wrote articles and went on television shows saying that I am an operative that the CIA who used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/people-went-out-there-and-they-wrote-articles-and-went-on-television/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [It doesn't matter if the truth is right there out in front of your eyes. You will find a way, a mechanism, in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/it-doesn-t-matter-if-the-truth-is-right-there-out-in-front-of-your/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [Donald Trump is not stupid. He knows exactly what he's saying. And he's just saying out there - I mean, forget about Muslims. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/donald-trump-is-not-stupid-he-knows-exactly-what-he-s-saying-and-he-s/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [Satire has its limits. It is really up to the people to make the change. The satirist's role ends at the screen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/satire-has-its-limits-it-is-really-up-to-the-people-to-make-the/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [There are people who believe in Egypt that I - I'm actually - I'm getting paid by external powers and external intelligence entities in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/there-are-people-who-believe-in-egypt-that-i-i-m-actually-i-m-getting/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [I was accused of insulting the president, insulting Islam, insulting - spreading rumors, disturbing the peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/i-was-accused-of-insulting-the-president-insulting-islam-insulting/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [Everybody grows up with comedy. I mean, Egyptian comedy has a very, very old tradition. Our theater and our movies are just, like, amazing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/everybody-grows-up-with-comedy-i-mean-egyptian-comedy-has-a-very-very/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [People would believe propagate, spread rumors or conspiracy theories in order to protect their own system of denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/people-would-believe-propagate-spread-rumors-or-conspiracy-theories/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [People say, 'Are you afraid? Are you scared for your life?' and I tell them: If I choose today to tone it down, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/people-say-are-you-afraid-are-you-scared-for-your-life-and-i-tell/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [“With Sissi, he was not the elephant in the room, he was the elephant and the room. As”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/with-sissi-he-was-not-the-elephant-in-the-room-he-was-the-elephant/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [“In the two years since I left Egypt, things haven’t gotten better. Thousands of people have been incarcerated for the most trivial reasons. Hundreds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/in-the-two-years-since-i-left-egypt-things-haven-t-gotten-better/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [What I saw day-to-day is like people who are actually asking for freedom, calling for freedom - protesting, singing, chanting, calling for the removal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/what-i-saw-day-to-day-is-like-people-who-are-actually-asking-for/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [I think by the time I left Egypt, there was about like 400 accusations against me in the drawer of the public persecutor office.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/i-think-by-the-time-i-left-egypt-there-was-about-like-400-accusations/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [I think that the religious and the military right wings are just two sides of the same coin if somebody uses God and religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/i-think-that-the-religious-and-the-military-right-wings-are-just-two/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) [Explore all 27 Bassem Youssef quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) ## More Liberals quotes > [Except for talk radio, liberals pretty much control the culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-goldberg/except-for-talk-radio-liberals-pretty-much-control-the-culture/) [Bernard Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-goldberg/) > [I want to reclaim 'liberal.' I'm a liberal, and I think most Americans are liberals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/i-want-to-reclaim-liberal-i-m-a-liberal-and-i-think-most-americans/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [It's not that liberals aren't smart, it's just that so much of what they know isn't so](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/it-s-not-that-liberals-aren-t-smart-it-s-just-that-so-much-of-what/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [When liberals say 'family', they mean 'Big Brother in Washington.' When we say 'family,' we mean 'honor thy father and mother.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/when-liberals-say-family-they-mean-big-brother-in-washington-when-we/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Liberalism's fatal flaw,... is that it has no permanent norms, only a succession of enthusiasms espoused by minor prophets. Each of these seems like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/liberalism-s-fatal-flaw-is-that-it-has-no-permanent-norms-only-a/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Liberals tell amazing lies about guns and everything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/liberals-tell-amazing-lies-about-guns-and-everything-else/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [Liberals worry that what's best for the individual might not be better for the public at large. But that philosophy assumes something vicious about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-west/liberals-worry-that-what-s-best-for-the-individual-might-not-be/) [Allen West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-west/) > [When contemplating college liberals, you really regret once again that John Walker is not getting the death penalty.We need to execute people like John…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/when-contemplating-college-liberals-you-really-regret-once-again-that/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [Liberals can always be trusted to see God in Mumia Abu-Jamal and the devil in the Pope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/liberals-can-always-be-trusted-to-see-god-in-mumia-abu-jamal-and-the/) [Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/) > [American views today are weak, confused, and divided. On one side, many progressive liberals still think that we humans are essentially good and getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/american-views-today-are-weak-confused-and-divided-on-one-side-many/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [ I'm wary of government. Part of \[the Tea Party\] impulse is to dislike and be worried about the rich. I'm that way too. So… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-m-wary-of-government-part-of-the-tea-party-impulse-is-to-dislike/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [Liberals have to get more comfortable with dealing with the poor as they actually are. I admire their refusal to look down on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance-2/liberals-have-to-get-more-comfortable-with-dealing-with-the-poor-as/) [J. D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance-2/) > [Too often in the post-9/11 world, when the time has come to translate the moral, and essentially progressive, roots of foreign policy idealism into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-just/too-often-in-the-post-9-11-world-when-the-time-has-come-to-translate/) Richard Just > [The liberals in the House strongly resemble liberals I have known through the last two decades in the civil rights conflict. When it comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/the-liberals-in-the-house-strongly-resemble-liberals-i-have-known/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [Pure, hard-core liberals believe in a superior race. They think they're it. They believe they're more intelligent than the general run of mankind, better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/pure-hard-core-liberals-believe-in-a-superior-race-they-think-they-re/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) [Browse all 824 Liberals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Those who called themselves liberals proved later that being well dressed, eloquent, and standing up against Islamist fascism doesn’t really mean you are a liberal. On the day of my interrogation the joke was on the Islamists. 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