--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is, especially in the American…" description: "\"“There is, especially in the American media, a deep belief that insincerity is better than no sincerity at all.”\" — Christopher Hitchens" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/christopher-hitchens-117_faith_there-is-especially-in-the-american-medi_3022876.jpg" --- # There is, especially in the American media, a deep belief… ![“There is, especially in the American media, a deep belief that insincerity is better than no sincerity at all.” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/christopher-hitchens-117_faith_there-is-especially-in-the-american-medi_3022876.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/christopher-hitchens-117_faith_there-is-especially-in-the-american-medi_3022876.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/christopher-hitchens-117_faith_there-is-especially-in-the-american-medi_3022876.jpg) > ““There is, especially in the American media, a deep belief that insincerity is better than no sincerity at all.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Claims that American media often prefers insincere statements over honest ones, suggesting a cultural bias toward superficiality **In simple terms:** Media sometimes values false sincerity over genuine honesty Key Takeaway Critically evaluate media messages for authenticity Themes media authenticity culture communication critical thinking Mood skeptical analytical critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - news consumption - media literacy courses - political debates - social media analysis Key Concepts media bias superficiality truthfulness public discourse Questions to Reflect On - What drives media preference for insincerity? - How can audiences demand more authentic discourse? A Different Perspective May overlook sincere voices that are less sensational; not all insincerity is intentional ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief Insincerity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief-insincerity-4902430/) [Better Sincerity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-sincerity-4902431/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Insincerity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insincerity/) [Insincerity Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insincerity-better-1460536/) [Sincerity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sincerity/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [There are people who balk at small civilities on account of their manifest insincerity. ... It is better and more logical to accept all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/there-are-people-who-balk-at-small-civilities-on-account-of-their/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [There's nothing that can move a person's heart better than sincerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hui-bin-jang/there-s-nothing-that-can-move-a-person-s-heart-better-than-sincerity/) [Hui-bin Jang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hui-bin-jang/) > [No one can write a best-seller by taking thought. The slightest touch of insincerity blurs its appeal. The writer who keeps his tongue in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/no-one-can-write-a-best-seller-by-taking-thought-the-slightest-touch/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Of all the evil spirits abroad at this hour in the world, insincerity is the most dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/of-all-the-evil-spirits-abroad-at-this-hour-in-the-world-insincerity/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [The Great Man's sincerity is of the kind he cannot speak of, is not conscious of: nay, I suppose, he is conscious rather of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-great-man-s-sincerity-is-of-the-kind-he-cannot-speak-of-is-not/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [If you do something good, a question box will open for its authenticity, but people will believe something bad about you without giving a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anil-sinha/if-you-do-something-good-a-question-box-will-open-for-its/) [Anil Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anil-sinha/) > [ One of my pet theories is that readers have built-in BS detectors that enable them to recognize insincerity in writers. David \[Halberstam\] was sincerity… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-yardley/one-of-my-pet-theories-is-that-readers-have-built-in-bs-detectors/) [Jonathan Yardley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-yardley/) > [A great emotion is too selfish ; it takes into itself all the blood of the spirit, and the congestion leaves the hands too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/a-great-emotion-is-too-selfish-it-takes-into-itself-all-the-blood-of/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [What matters in Politics is what men actually do - sincerity is no excuse for acting unpolitically, and insincerity may be channelled by politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-crick/what-matters-in-politics-is-what-men-actually-do-sincerity-is-no/) [Bernard Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-crick/) > [Never say sorry to anyone if you don't really mean it, and don't commit about anything that you know you don't really mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/never-say-sorry-to-anyone-if-you-don-t-really-mean-it-and-don-t/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [Once you can fake sincerity, you can fake anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-jo-putney/once-you-can-fake-sincerity-you-can-fake-anything/) [Mary Jo Putney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-jo-putney/) > [“Normally, anything done in the name of 'the kids' strikes me as either slightly sentimental or faintly sinister—that redolence of moral blackmail that adheres…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/normally-anything-done-in-the-name-of-the-kids-strikes-me-as-either/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-real-loneliness-is-living-among-all-these-kind-people-who-only/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [What people call insincerity is simply a method by which we can multiply our personalities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/what-people-call-insincerity-is-simply-a-method-by-which-we-can/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The basis of insincerity is the idealized image we hold of ourselves and wish to impose on others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-basis-of-insincerity-is-the-idealized-image-we-hold-of-ourselves/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. 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Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Faith quotes > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. 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