--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was aggressively nonpolitical. I…" description: "\"I was aggressively nonpolitical. I believed that people who make a fuss about politics do so because their heads are too empty to think about more impo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/colin-wilson-8331_contempt_i-was-aggressively-nonpolitical-i-believ_238598.jpg" --- # I was aggressively nonpolitical. I believed that people… ![“I was aggressively nonpolitical. I believed that people who make a fuss about politics do so because their heads are too empty to think about more important things. So I felt nothing but impatient contempt for Osborne's Jimmy Porter and the rest of the heroes of social protest.” quote by Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/colin-wilson-8331_contempt_i-was-aggressively-nonpolitical-i-believ_238598.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/colin-wilson-8331_contempt_i-was-aggressively-nonpolitical-i-believ_238598.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/colin-wilson-8331_contempt_i-was-aggressively-nonpolitical-i-believ_238598.jpg) > “I was aggressively nonpolitical. I believed that people who make a fuss about politics do so because their heads are too empty to think about more important things. So I felt nothing but impatient contempt for Osborne's Jimmy Porter and the rest of the heroes of social protest.” [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author dismisses political activism as trivial, prioritizing personal intellectual pursuits over social protest. **In simple terms:** He sees politics as a distraction for the unthinking. Key Takeaway Focus on personal growth, not empty political drama. Themes individualism intellectualism politics contempt Mood cynical detached Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - personal study - creative work - philosophical reflection Key Concepts existentialism elitism Questions to Reflect On - Is disengagement truly intellectual freedom? - Can personal growth coexist with social responsibility? A Different Perspective Political engagement can address systemic issues despite personal disdain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contempt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contempt/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Important things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-things/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Protest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protest/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I really wanted to make a nonpolitical political film. I wanted something that folks in red states and blue states could look at and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-haggis/i-really-wanted-to-make-a-nonpolitical-political-film-i-wanted/) [Paul Haggis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-haggis/) > [To be nonpartisan doesn't mean we're nonpolitical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/to-be-nonpartisan-doesn-t-mean-we-re-nonpolitical/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [For much of my career I had no authentic political voice. I had been campaigning all over the country not to change the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bradley/for-much-of-my-career-i-had-no-authentic-political-voice-i-had-been/) [Bill Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bradley/) > [There is no such thing as a nonpolitical speech by a politician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-nonpolitical-speech-by-a-politician/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [I don't make that hard and fast distinction between political and nonpolitical writing. I write about what bothers me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/i-don-t-make-that-hard-and-fast-distinction-between-political-and/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [I will deal with the politicians in a political way and with the nonpoliticians in a nonpolitical way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muqtada-al-sadr/i-will-deal-with-the-politicians-in-a-political-way-and-with-the/) [Muqtada al Sadr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muqtada-al-sadr/) > [Being president of a major public university is the most political nonpolitical office around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-gee/being-president-of-a-major-public-university-is-the-most-political/) [Gordon Gee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-gee/) > [Ever since I was a little kid and first heard Jimmy Reed's 'Honey, Don't Let Me Go,' the blues has been in my blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-gibbons/ever-since-i-was-a-little-kid-and-first-heard-jimmy-reed-s-honey-don/) [Billy Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-gibbons/) > [Listen, the story of the United States is this: One kid, without anything, walks out of his house, down the road, with nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-bone-burnett/listen-the-story-of-the-united-states-is-this-one-kid-without/) [T Bone Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-bone-burnett/) > [In college, my friend Melanie and I used to have weekly Jimmy Stewart viewings, and 'Harvey' seemed to make its way into the rotation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-sommer/in-college-my-friend-melanie-and-i-used-to-have-weekly-jimmy-stewart/) [Rich Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-sommer/) > [People know I'm smart. And people know that, whether it's SNL or Jimmy Kimmel, it's a trend to take the piss out of celebrity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/people-know-i-m-smart-and-people-know-that-whether-it-s-snl-or-jimmy/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [Lots of people think it was Jimmy Page who had the first fuzzbox. It wasn't, No! it wasn't me either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-sullivan/lots-of-people-think-it-was-jimmy-page-who-had-the-first-fuzzbox-it/) [Jim Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-sullivan/) > [“No!" Jimmy protested. - Louis Tomlinson”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/one-direction/no-jimmy-protested-louis-tomlinson/) [One Direction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/one-direction/) > [I am somewhat influenced by the years that I've spent trying to actually get things done, whether it was reforming education in Arkansas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-somewhat-influenced-by-the-years-that-i-ve-spent-trying-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I knew Jimmy Dean. He tested for 'Battle Cry'. Paul Newman tested for 'Battle Cry'. I did nine tests to finally get that role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tab-hunter/i-knew-jimmy-dean-he-tested-for-battle-cry-paul-newman-tested-for/) [Tab Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tab-hunter/) ## More by Colin Wilson > [“Man is not a 'fixed and limited animal whose nature is absolutely constant'. He changed drastically when he developed 'divided consciousness' to cope with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/man-is-not-a-fixed-and-limited-animal-whose-nature-is-absolutely/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [“As to Gurdjieff's power to renew his own energies, its essence had been understood by psychologists of the nineteenth century, decades before the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/as-to-gurdjieff-s-power-to-renew-his-own-energies-its-essence-had/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [The mystical impulse in men is somehow a desire to possess the universe. In women, it's a desire to be possessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/the-mystical-impulse-in-men-is-somehow-a-desire-to-possess-the/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [The exploration of oneself is usually also an exploration of the world at large, of other writers, a process of comparison with oneself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/the-exploration-of-oneself-is-usually-also-an-exploration-of-the/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [“There is in Shaw, as in Gurdjieff and Nietzsche, a recognition of the immense effort of Will that is necessary to express even a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/there-is-in-shaw-as-in-gurdjieff-and-nietzsche-a-recognition-of-the/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [Christianity was an epidemic rather than a religion. It appealed to fear, hysteria and ignorance. It spread across the Western world, not because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/christianity-was-an-epidemic-rather-than-a-religion-it-appealed-to/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [When I open my eyes in the morning, I am not confronted by a world, but by a million possible worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/when-i-open-my-eyes-in-the-morning-i-am-not-confronted-by-a-world-but/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [Religion, mysticism and magic all spring from the same basic 'feeling' about the universe: a sudden feeling of meaning, which human beings sometimes 'pick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/religion-mysticism-and-magic-all-spring-from-the-same-basic-feeling/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [Man is brilliant at solving problems; but solving them only makes him the victim of his own childishness and laziness. It is this recognition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/man-is-brilliant-at-solving-problems-but-solving-them-only-makes-him/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [It was Rousseau who was largely responsible for the problem by giving currency to the idea that freedom can exist without responsibility and discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/it-was-rousseau-who-was-largely-responsible-for-the-problem-by-giving/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [If I'd stayed on in London and carried on going to literary parties, it would have wrecked me as a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/if-i-d-stayed-on-in-london-and-carried-on-going-to-literary-parties/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [Imagination should be used, not to escape reality but to create it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/imagination-should-be-used-not-to-escape-reality-but-to-create-it/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [If you asked me what is the basis of all my work, it's the feeling there's something basically wrong with human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/if-you-asked-me-what-is-the-basis-of-all-my-work-it-s-the-feeling/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [The sheer volume of evidence for survival after death is so immense that to ignore it is like standing at the foot of Mount…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/the-sheer-volume-of-evidence-for-survival-after-death-is-so-immense/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [Could it be that sexual perversion and romanticism sprang from the same longing for distant horizons?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/could-it-be-that-sexual-perversion-and-romanticism-sprang-from-the/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) [Explore all 81 Colin Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) ## More Contempt quotes > [Too much familiarity breeds contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/too-much-familiarity-breeds-contempt/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Our security depends on having good relationships with our allies. Donald Trump mainly shows contempt for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wolfowitz/our-security-depends-on-having-good-relationships-with-our-allies/) [Paul Wolfowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wolfowitz/) > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [There is no real elevation of mind in a contempt of little things; it is, on the contrary, from too narrow views that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-fenelon/there-is-no-real-elevation-of-mind-in-a-contempt-of-little-things-it/) [Francois Fenelon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-fenelon/) > [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [Somebody once told me that if you laugh at a George Bush joke, or you send an email cartoon to your friends that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-ramis/somebody-once-told-me-that-if-you-laugh-at-a-george-bush-joke-or-you/) [Harold Ramis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-ramis/) > [Unless a man gives himself entirely to the Cross, in a spirit of humility and self-abasement; unless he casts himself down to be trampled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-the-evangelist/unless-a-man-gives-himself-entirely-to-the-cross-in-a-spirit-of/) [Mark the Evangelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-the-evangelist/) > [Much of the same sort of degraded and filthy talk can still be heard among the orc-minded; dreary and repetitive with hatred and contempt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/much-of-the-same-sort-of-degraded-and-filthy-talk-can-still-be-heard/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [Contempt for an assailant is best shown by bravery in action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/contempt-for-an-assailant-is-best-shown-by-bravery-in-action/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [Statuettes of drunken sailors, velvet pictures of island maidens, plastic seashell lamps made in Taiwan. What contempt the people who think up souvenirs have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/statuettes-of-drunken-sailors-velvet-pictures-of-island-maidens/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [Every person of any rank in the left, from voter on up to cabinet member to elected official in the Democrat Party, has contempt.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/every-person-of-any-rank-in-the-left-from-voter-on-up-to-cabinet/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Those with a gift for action, for their part, often express contempt for those whose gifts are more reflective. Men of action like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/those-with-a-gift-for-action-for-their-part-often-express-contempt/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [“opprobrious term, employed to impose contempt upon”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jabari-asim/opprobrious-term-employed-to-impose-contempt-upon/) [Jabari Asim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jabari-asim/) > [Heterosexual intercourse is the pure, formalized expression of contempt for women's bodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/heterosexual-intercourse-is-the-pure-formalized-expression-of/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) [Browse all 1,034 Contempt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contempt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was aggressively nonpolitical. 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