--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are in the process of creating what…" description: "\"We are in the process of creating what deserves to be called the idiot culture. Not an idiot sub-culture, which every society has bubbling beneath the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/carl-bernstein-10988_becoming_we-are-in-the-process-of-creating-what-d_2339162.jpg" --- # We are in the process of creating what deserves to be… ![“We are in the process of creating what deserves to be called the idiot culture. Not an idiot sub-culture, which every society has bubbling beneath the surface and which can provide harmless fun; but the culture itself. For the first time, the weird and the stupid and the coarse are becoming our…” quote by Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/carl-bernstein-10988_becoming_we-are-in-the-process-of-creating-what-d_2339162.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/carl-bernstein-10988_becoming_we-are-in-the-process-of-creating-what-d_2339162.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/carl-bernstein-10988_becoming_we-are-in-the-process-of-creating-what-d_2339162.jpg) > “We are in the process of creating what deserves to be called the idiot culture. Not an idiot sub-culture, which every society has bubbling beneath the surface and which can provide harmless fun; but the culture itself. For the first time, the weird and the stupid and the coarse are becoming our cultural norm, even our cultural ideal.” [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that society is elevating superficial, crass behavior to a cultural ideal, eroding depth and quality. **In simple terms:** Society is glorifying lowbrow culture as the norm. Key Takeaway Resist normalizing shallow values. Themes culture values media societal trends superficiality Mood concerned critical Type observational critical When to use this quote - online discourse - advertising - pop culture - education - political rhetoric Key Concepts cultural critique social commentary Questions to Reflect On - How does media shape what we consider cultural ideals? - What can individuals do to promote depth over superficiality? A Different Perspective It may overstate the prevalence of "idiot culture" without data. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beneath the surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beneath-the-surface/) [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Fun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fun/) [Idiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiot/) [Insanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insanity/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) ## Related quotes > [ The reality is that the media are probably the most powerful of all our institutions today and they, or rather we \[journalists\], too often… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-reality-is-that-the-media-are-probably-the-most-powerful-of-all/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“It has become a cultural norm in Jewish families for parents to bring up their children to value wealth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-charles/it-has-become-a-cultural-norm-in-jewish-families-for-parents-to-bring/) [H.W. Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-charles/) > [“Each cultural norm motivated me to fit in while judging others who didn’t.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debby-irving/each-cultural-norm-motivated-me-to-fit-in-while-judging-others-who/) [Debby Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debby-irving/) > [“Requiring women to cover their faces in public, at least with paint, is now an Ameriacan cultural norm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-bloom/requiring-women-to-cover-their-faces-in-public-at-least-with-paint-is/) [Lisa Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-bloom/) > [“the prevalent cultural norm of sleep deprivation as essential to achievement and success.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-huffington/the-prevalent-cultural-norm-of-sleep-deprivation-as-essential-to/) [Arianna Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-huffington/) > [Games are considered to be in the sub-culture category, coming under movies, coming under manga or comics or animation, especially in Japan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nobuo-uematsu/games-are-considered-to-be-in-the-sub-culture-category-coming-under/) [Nobuo Uematsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nobuo-uematsu/) > [Professional wrestling in Europe is more of a sub-culture. It is not as popular as it is here in the United States. The people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-black/professional-wrestling-in-europe-is-more-of-a-sub-culture-it-is-not/) Aleister Black > [I read some, and then visited with people involved in this curious, exciting and somewhat misunderstood sub-culture. I met with a fang maker, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/i-read-some-and-then-visited-with-people-involved-in-this-curious/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [Joining a sub-culture, any sub-culture, for whatever reason, is as I see it never a legitimate self-expression. It is always a result of sheep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/varg-vikernes/joining-a-sub-culture-any-sub-culture-for-whatever-reason-is-as-i-see/) [Varg Vikernes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/varg-vikernes/) > [Punk is just like any other sub culture or music. Straight rock music has those elements. I grew up in a place where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-sane/punk-is-just-like-any-other-sub-culture-or-music-straight-rock-music/) [Justin Sane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-sane/) > [For the first time, the weird and the stupid and the coarse are becoming our cultural norms, even our cultural ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/for-the-first-time-the-weird-and-the-stupid-and-the-coarse-are/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [I have always considered The Merry Wives one of the worst plays, if not altogether the worst, that Shakespeare has left us. The wit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/i-have-always-considered-the-merry-wives-one-of-the-worst-plays-if/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [Of what use is it to please the herd? They are simply coarse animals - for all that is admirable in man is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/of-what-use-is-it-to-please-the-herd-they-are-simply-coarse-animals/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [No man receives the full culture of a man in whom the sensibility to the beautiful is not cherished; and there is no condition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/no-man-receives-the-full-culture-of-a-man-in-whom-the-sensibility-to/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [It scored right away with me by being the smooth, fine-grained sort, not the coarse flaky, dry-on-the-outside rubbish full of chunds of gut and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/it-scored-right-away-with-me-by-being-the-smooth-fine-grained-sort/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) ## More by Carl Bernstein > [I think all good reporting is the same thing - the best attainable version of the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/i-think-all-good-reporting-is-the-same-thing-the-best-attainable/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [ The reality is that the media are probably the most powerful of all our institutions today and they, or rather we \[journalists\], too often… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-reality-is-that-the-media-are-probably-the-most-powerful-of-all/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [If you are a great news organization, you can't have the best obtainable version of the truth if your vision and your scale is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/if-you-are-a-great-news-organization-you-can-t-have-the-best/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“The people of the United States are entitled to assume that their President is telling the truth. The pattern of misrepresentation and half-truths that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-people-of-the-united-states-are-entitled-to-assume-that-their/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“The August 1 story had carried their joint byline; the day afterward, Woodward asked Sussman if Bernstein's name could appear with his on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-august-1-story-had-carried-their-joint-byline-the-day-afterward/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [The failures of the press have contributed immensely to the emergence of a talk-show nation, in which public discourse is reduced to ranting and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-failures-of-the-press-have-contributed-immensely-to-the-emergence/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [The most important ethical issues and the most difficult ones are the human ones because a reporter has enormous power to hurt people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-most-important-ethical-issues-and-the-most-difficult-ones-are-the/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [There had always been black people in and out of our house, and from the outset I had been taught that for them life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/there-had-always-been-black-people-in-and-out-of-our-house-and-from/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“The managing editor shared Bernstein's fondness for doping things out on the basis of sketchy information. At the same time, he was cautious about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-managing-editor-shared-bernstein-s-fondness-for-doping-things-out/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [Donald Trump is american neo-fascist. The word "neo" meaning "new", has a lot to do with it, a new kind of fascist in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/donald-trump-is-american-neo-fascist-the-word-neo-meaning-new-has-a/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [For the first time, the weird and the stupid and the coarse are becoming our cultural norms, even our cultural ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/for-the-first-time-the-weird-and-the-stupid-and-the-coarse-are/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [The Congress is a dysfunctional institution; it's broken. One of our three branches of government is broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-congress-is-a-dysfunctional-institution-it-s-broken-one-of-our/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“They walked across 15th Street to the Madison Hotel's Montpelier Room, an opulent French restaurant. Bradlee asked for a corner table, and began the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/they-walked-across-15th-street-to-the-madison-hotel-s-montpelier-room/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“Rosenfeld runs the metropolitan staff, the Post's largest, like a football coach. He prods his players, letting them know that he has promised the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/rosenfeld-runs-the-metropolitan-staff-the-post-s-largest-like-a/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [“The story was solid. Howard Simons ordered the front page remade for the second edition. Bernstein was more shaken by all this than by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/the-story-was-solid-howard-simons-ordered-the-front-page-remade-for/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) [Explore all 62 Carl Bernstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) ## More Becoming quotes > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [The path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being--one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-path-i-choose-through-the-maze-makes-me-what-i-am-i-am-not-only-a/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-other-boys-dreamt-of-going-to-the-moon-or-becoming-doctors-i/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [I'm getting to a point where everything is becoming streamlined in my life. I'm learning how to stand onstage for two hours and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-m-getting-to-a-point-where-everything-is-becoming-streamlined-in-my/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [The term 'Pre-Raphaelite' is in danger of becoming one of the most misused tags in art history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wood/the-term-pre-raphaelite-is-in-danger-of-becoming-one-of-the-most/) Christopher Wood > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. 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