--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A long memory is the most subversive idea…" description: "\"A long memory is the most subversive idea in America. A tautology is a thing which is tautological. A witty saying proves nothing, but saying something..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/dave-barry-222_america_a-long-memory-is-the-most-subversive-ide_1816498.jpg" --- # A long memory is the most subversive idea in America. A… ![“A long memory is the most subversive idea in America. A tautology is a thing which is tautological. A witty saying proves nothing, but saying something pointless gets people's attention. If your kids look like you, it's hereditory. If they look like the neighbor, it's the environment. Although…” quote by Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/dave-barry-222_america_a-long-memory-is-the-most-subversive-ide_1816498.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/dave-barry-222_america_a-long-memory-is-the-most-subversive-ide_1816498.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a49/dave-barry-222_america_a-long-memory-is-the-most-subversive-ide_1816498.jpg) > “A long memory is the most subversive idea in America. A tautology is a thing which is tautological. A witty saying proves nothing, but saying something pointless gets people's attention. If your kids look like you, it's hereditory. If they look like the neighbor, it's the environment. Although golf was originally restricted to wealthy, overweight Protestants, today it's open to anybody who owns hideous clothing.” [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) ## 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 juxtaposes absurd observations to critique how ideas, genetics, and social symbols are perceived as subversive or trivial in American culture. **In simple terms:** Absurd statements expose cultural contradictions. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about influence and value. Themes culture humor social critique identity class Mood satirical critical playful Type aphorical observational When to use this quote - political commentary - family dynamics - sports culture - media analysis Key Concepts irony subversion genetics environment fashion Questions to Reflect On - How do jokes shape our view of social issues? - What does “subversive” truly mean in everyday life? A Different Perspective The humor may obscure deeper truths about systemic bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Golf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golf/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Protestants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protestants/) [Subversive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subversive/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Witty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witty/) ## Related quotes > [Matter can be conveniently divided for descriptive purposes into space , time , mass, and energy . 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It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/there-are-three-estates-in-parliament-but-in-the-reporters-gallery/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“A WORD OF KINDNESS IS SELDOM SPOKEN IN VAIN, WHILE WITTY SAYINGS ARE AS EASILY LOST AS THE PEARLS SLIPPING FROM A BROKEN STRING.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-m-forni-2/a-word-of-kindness-is-seldom-spoken-in-vain-while-witty-sayings-are/) [P.M. Forni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-m-forni-2/) > [A witty saying proves nothing, but saying something pointless gets people's attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/a-witty-saying-proves-nothing-but-saying-something-pointless-gets/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Old Madame du Deffand and her friends talked for fifty years without stopping. And of it all, what remains? Perhaps three witty sayings. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/old-madame-du-deffand-and-her-friends-talked-for-fifty-years-without/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Once the last trace of emotion has been eradicated, nothing remains of thought but absolute tautology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/once-the-last-trace-of-emotion-has-been-eradicated-nothing-remains-of/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [A good poem is a tautology. It expands one word by adding a number which clarify it, thus making a new word which has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alasdair-gray/a-good-poem-is-a-tautology-it-expands-one-word-by-adding-a-number/) [Alasdair Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alasdair-gray/) > [I don't think in terms of that bizarre tautology 'value for money' in my literary and journalistic work - and nor will I in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-don-t-think-in-terms-of-that-bizarre-tautology-value-for-money-in/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [All mathematics is tautology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/all-mathematics-is-tautology/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Phrases like Worship Service or Service of Worship are tautologies. To worship God means to serve him. Basically there are two ways to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/phrases-like-worship-service-or-service-of-worship-are-tautologies-to/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The positivists have a simple solution: the world must be divided into that which we can say clearly and the rest, which we had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/the-positivists-have-a-simple-solution-the-world-must-be-divided-into/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) ## More by Dave Barry > [This is true; virtually all edible substances, and many automotive products, are now marketed as being low-fat or fat-free. 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Contrary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/entire-new-continent-can-emerge-from-the-ocean-in-the-time-it-takes/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [He was distracted by a giggle, and turned to see a rare sight: a girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/he-was-distracted-by-a-giggle-and-turned-to-see-a-rare-sight-a-girl/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [The major parties could conduct live human sacrifices on their podiums during prime time, and I doubt that anybody would notice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/the-major-parties-could-conduct-live-human-sacrifices-on-their/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [If you look at any list of great modern writers such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, you'll notice two things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/if-you-look-at-any-list-of-great-modern-writers-such-as-ernest/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Don't you wish you had a job like mine? All you have to do is think up a certain number of words! 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People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. 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