--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But I am scared. Everybody's scared.\"…" description: "\"“But I am scared. Everybody's scared.\" \"You know what I mean, like scared scared. Like coward scared, like if you never went to begin with. But with ev..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/ben-fountain-3198_hypocrisy_but-i-am-scared-everybody-s-scared-you-k_104548.jpg" --- # But I am scared. Everybody's scared." "You know what I… ![“But I am scared. Everybody's scared." "You know what I mean, like scared scared. Like coward scared, like if you never went to begin with. But with everything you've done nobody's going to doubt you." Then she made a somewhat frantic speech about a website she found that listed how certain people…” quote by Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/ben-fountain-3198_hypocrisy_but-i-am-scared-everybody-s-scared-you-k_104548.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/ben-fountain-3198_hypocrisy_but-i-am-scared-everybody-s-scared-you-k_104548.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/ben-fountain-3198_hypocrisy_but-i-am-scared-everybody-s-scared-you-k_104548.jpg) > ““But I am scared. Everybody's scared." "You know what I mean, like scared scared. Like coward scared, like if you never went to begin with. But with everything you've done nobody's going to doubt you." Then she made a somewhat frantic speech about a website she found that listed how certain people had avoided Vietnam. Cheney, Four education deferments, then a hardship 3-A. Limbaugh,4-F thanks to a cyst on his ass. Pat Buchanan, 4-F. Newt Gingrich, grad school deferment. Karl Rove, did not serve. Bill O'Reilly, did not serve. John Ashcroft, did not serve. Bush, AWOL from the Air National Guard, with a check mark in the "do not volunteer" box as to service overseas. "You see where I'm going with this?' "Well, yeah." "I'm just saying, those people want a war so bad, they can fight it themselves. Billy Lynn's done his part.”” [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage satirically lists political figures' draft exemptions to argue that war enthusiasm can be driven by personal ambition rather than genuine patriotism. **In simple terms:** War support can stem from self‑interest. Key Takeaway Question motives behind war advocacy. Themes politics war hypocrisy motivation Mood skeptical ironic Type satire political commentary When to use this quote - political debates - media analysis - civic education Key Concepts moral inconsistency public persuasion Practical Applications - critically evaluate leaders' war rhetoric - promote transparent service records Questions to Reflect On - What evidence is needed to assess a leader’s true stance on war? - How does selective reporting affect public trust? A Different Perspective The anecdotal list may oversimplify complex personal histories, risking unfair character judgments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hypocrisy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypocrisy/) [National guard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national-guard/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) ## Related quotes > [You have to be easily scared to know what it's like to be scared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-downing-hahn/you-have-to-be-easily-scared-to-know-what-it-s-like-to-be-scared/) [Mary Downing Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-downing-hahn/) > [I'm a big fan of being scared I like being scared. I like being involved in a film that will make audiences scared, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-caulfield/i-m-a-big-fan-of-being-scared-i-like-being-scared-i-like-being/) [Emma Caulfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-caulfield/) > [Whatever any boxer does in the ring, I don't think any reporter should call him a coward. Anyone who does that I lose complete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/whatever-any-boxer-does-in-the-ring-i-don-t-think-any-reporter-should/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [Hitting a woman doesn't make you a man with control, it makes you a coward scared of woman putting you in your place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/hitting-a-woman-doesn-t-make-you-a-man-with-control-it-makes-you-a/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Its a Stupid feeling when you want to ask a simple question and yet your heart is damn too scared to know the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nix/its-a-stupid-feeling-when-you-want-to-ask-a-simple-question-and-yet/) [Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nix/) > [I'm an actor, so I am always scared. You never know if you are on vacation or that you have been retired and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-danson/i-m-an-actor-so-i-am-always-scared-you-never-know-if-you-are-on/) [Ted Danson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-danson/) > [Why do people judge, because they think there better? to make there self feel better? I really don't know but I do know one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-do-people-judge-because-they-think-there-better-to-make-there/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm never scared, so I don't watch horror movies. Back in the day, I was. I was scared of 'It' - you know, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-thomas/i-m-never-scared-so-i-don-t-watch-horror-movies-back-in-the-day-i-was/) [Ashley Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-thomas/) > [It's a stupid feeling when you want to ask a simple question and yet your heart is damn too scared to know the answer .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yashar-ibra/it-s-a-stupid-feeling-when-you-want-to-ask-a-simple-question-and-yet/) [Yashar Ibra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yashar-ibra/) > [It's a stupid feeling when you ask a simple question and yet your heart is damn too scared to know the answer..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-a-stupid-feeling-when-you-ask-a-simple-question-and-yet-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I try not to be scared, you know. But I still ruin everything. I still fuck up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-try-not-to-be-scared-you-know-but-i-still-ruin-everything-i-still/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Kevin Muscat scared me. You know, people would say 'I'm going to break your legs' - when he would say it, you genuinely believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-crouch/kevin-muscat-scared-me-you-know-people-would-say-i-m-going-to-break/) [Peter Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-crouch/) > [Sometimes men are scared of me. You know, you become kind of an icon on television, and people are a little bit unsure, careful.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mischa-barton/sometimes-men-are-scared-of-me-you-know-you-become-kind-of-an-icon-on/) [Mischa Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mischa-barton/) > [I'm scared of what I won't become, you're scared of what I will become. I know what is within me, even if you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendall-fithian/i-m-scared-of-what-i-won-t-become-you-re-scared-of-what-i-will-become/) [Kendall Fithian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendall-fithian/) > [I was scared. Do you know what it's like to hold someone else's life in your hands? It's like playing God. Can you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-sheldon/i-was-scared-do-you-know-what-it-s-like-to-hold-someone-else-s-life/) [Sidney Sheldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-sheldon/) ## More by Ben Fountain > [“The singing triggers a soft detonation at his core, molten parts of him are flying everywhere and his ears ring to the tune of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/the-singing-triggers-a-soft-detonation-at-his-core-molten-parts-of/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“Even harder was describing his sense that Shroom’s death might have ruined him for anything else, because when he died? when I felt his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/even-harder-was-describing-his-sense-that-shroom-s-death-might-have/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“Without ever exactly putting his mind to it, he's come to believe that loss is standard trajectory. Something new appears in the world—a baby,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/without-ever-exactly-putting-his-mind-to-it-he-s-come-to-believe-that/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“God knows the war sucks, but he sees no great appeal in these tepid peacetime lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/god-knows-the-war-sucks-but-he-sees-no-great-appeal-in-these-tepid/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“What he'd like to say is that he's lived it, if not the entire breadth and depth of the Christian faith then certainly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/what-he-d-like-to-say-is-that-he-s-lived-it-if-not-the-entire-breadth/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [By the end of the first decade of writing, I considered myself a confirmed failure in the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/by-the-end-of-the-first-decade-of-writing-i-considered-myself-a/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [I started publishing stories in small magazines early on, but after seven or eight or nine years you feel like you need a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/i-started-publishing-stories-in-small-magazines-early-on-but-after/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“I think sometimes nothing is better than something. I mean, I’d rather have nothing than let this guy use me like his bitch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/i-think-sometimes-nothing-is-better-than-something-i-mean-i-d-rather/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“No it was my choice. It's what I wanted to do. And I knew they'd probably send me to Iraq. It's not like anybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/no-it-was-my-choice-it-s-what-i-wanted-to-do-and-i-knew-they-d/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [It's amazing what happens when you stick yourself in a place and let things take their more or less natural course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/it-s-amazing-what-happens-when-you-stick-yourself-in-a-place-and-let/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“As if sorrow is the true reality? Without ever putting his mind to it, he's come to believe that loss is the standard trajectory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/as-if-sorrow-is-the-true-reality-without-ever-putting-his-mind-to-it/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [If you want to see a bunch of happy Americans, go out to opening day at any baseball stadium in the land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/if-you-want-to-see-a-bunch-of-happy-americans-go-out-to-opening-day/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [There was no such thing as perfection in this world, only moments of such extreme transparency that you forgot yourself, a holy mercy if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/there-was-no-such-thing-as-perfection-in-this-world-only-moments-of/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“He decides he wants both more and less. He’d like to hang out with Beyonce in a nice way, get to know her by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/he-decides-he-wants-both-more-and-less-he-d-like-to-hang-out-with/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [Late bloomer' is another way of saying 'slow learner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/late-bloomer-is-another-way-of-saying-slow-learner/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) [Explore all 127 Ben Fountain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) ## More Hypocrisy quotes > [Everybody should read 'Slaughterhouse-Five' by Kurt Vonnegut. This book is about the hypocrisy of war, told in satire, and is hard-hitting and truthful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalki-koechlin/everybody-should-read-slaughterhouse-five-by-kurt-vonnegut-this-book/) [Kalki Koechlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalki-koechlin/) > [Honesty in politics is the result of strength; hypocrisy is the result of weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/honesty-in-politics-is-the-result-of-strength-hypocrisy-is-the-result/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [ “In all, the future secretary of defense and wartime vice president\[, Dick Cheney,\] would receive five deferments during the Vietnam War, protecting him from… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-savage/in-all-the-future-secretary-of-defense-and-wartime-vice-president/) Charlie Savage > [“If men could see us as we really are, they would be a little amazed; but the cleverest, the acutest men are often under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-men-could-see-us-as-we-really-are-they-would-be-a-little-amazed/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Bigoted people are just scholars who lack any sort of legitimate credentials to answer why they're bigoted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doctavius/bigoted-people-are-just-scholars-who-lack-any-sort-of-legitimate/) Doctavius > [The hypocrisy and false piety of the deniers aside, the relationships of gays have no effect on heteros. Especially all the heteros who've done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/the-hypocrisy-and-false-piety-of-the-deniers-aside-the-relationships/) [John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/) > [Hypocrisy is a detriment to progress. There's always a hidden agenda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/hypocrisy-is-a-detriment-to-progress-there-s-always-a-hidden-agenda/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) > [Want of principle is power. Truth and honesty set a limit to our efforts, which impudence and hypocrisy easily overleap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/want-of-principle-is-power-truth-and-honesty-set-a-limit-to-our/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Mayor De Blasio's appointment of Bill Bratton as police commissioner is the height of hypocrisy. Asking Bratton to stop racial profiling and stop and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-barron/mayor-de-blasio-s-appointment-of-bill-bratton-as-police-commissioner/) Charles Barron > [It's about time Hypocrisy should be adopted as a religion, considering it's got more followers than any other religion on this planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashutosh-cheulkar/it-s-about-time-hypocrisy-should-be-adopted-as-a-religion-considering/) [Ashutosh Cheulkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashutosh-cheulkar/) > [I hate a woman who offers herself because she ought to do so, and cold and dry thinks of her sewing when making love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/i-hate-a-woman-who-offers-herself-because-she-ought-to-do-so-and-cold/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [One can imagine the look the two lovers exchanged; it was like a flame, for virtuous lovers have not a shred of hypocrisy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/one-can-imagine-the-look-the-two-lovers-exchanged-it-was-like-a-flame/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [A wicked mortal is not the idea of God. He is little else than the expression of error. To suppose that sin, lust, hatred,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-baker-eddy/a-wicked-mortal-is-not-the-idea-of-god-he-is-little-else-than-the/) [Mary Baker Eddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-baker-eddy/) > [“even the worst men wanted to be perceived as better than they were. How else could hypocrisy have risen to such delirious levels?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/even-the-worst-men-wanted-to-be-perceived-as-better-than-they-were/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [What I object to in Mother is that she wants me to think her thoughts. Apart from the question of hypocrisy, I prefer my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-deland/what-i-object-to-in-mother-is-that-she-wants-me-to-think-her-thoughts/) [Margaret Deland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-deland/) [Browse all 1,238 Hypocrisy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypocrisy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But I am scared. Everybody's scared.\" \"You know what I mean, like scared scared. Like coward scared, like if you never went to begin with. But with everything you've done nobody's going to doubt you.\" Then she made a somewhat frantic speech about a website she found that listed how certain people had avoided Vietnam. Cheney, Four education deferments, then a hardship 3-A. Limbaugh,4-F thanks to a cyst on his ass. Pat Buchanan, 4-F. Newt Gingrich, grad school deferment. Karl Rove, did not serve. Bill O'Reilly, did not serve. John Ashcroft, did not serve. Bush, AWOL from the Air National Guard, with a check mark in the \"do not volunteer\" box as to service overseas. \"You see where I'm going with this?' \"Well, yeah.\" \"I'm just saying, those people want a war so bad, they can fight it themselves. 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