--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There won't be any revolution in America…" description: "\"There won't be any revolution in America ... the people are too clean. They spend all their time changing their shirts and washing themselves. You can'..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/eric-linklater-54525_america_there-won-t-be-any-revolution-in-america_3213175.jpg" --- # There won't be any revolution in America ... the people… ![“There won't be any revolution in America ... the people are too clean. They spend all their time changing their shirts and washing themselves. You can't feel fierce and revolutionary in a bathroom.” quote by Eric Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/eric-linklater-54525_america_there-won-t-be-any-revolution-in-america_3213175.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/eric-linklater-54525_america_there-won-t-be-any-revolution-in-america_3213175.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/eric-linklater-54525_america_there-won-t-be-any-revolution-in-america_3213175.jpg) > “There won't be any revolution in America ... the people are too clean. They spend all their time changing their shirts and washing themselves. You can't feel fierce and revolutionary in a bathroom.” [Eric Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-linklater/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He satirically claims Americans are too preoccupied with personal cleanliness to foster revolutionary spirit. **In simple terms:** Critique of superficiality hindering deep change. Key Takeaway Recognize deeper motivations beyond surface habits. Themes culture politics critique Mood sarcastic critical Type political commentary social critique When to use this quote - political activism - social movements - public discourse Key Concepts consumerism revolutionary zeal Questions to Reflect On - What deeper values drive true change? - How can personal habits reflect broader societal issues? A Different Perspective Might overlook genuine grassroots activism that exists despite superficial habits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Revolutionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutionary/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I never like other people to clean for me. I don't want them to invade my own privacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bess-myerson/i-never-like-other-people-to-clean-for-me-i-don-t-want-them-to-invade/) [Bess Myerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bess-myerson/) > [“Why can't unemployed people clean toilets, remove graffiti from vandalised war memorials, clear wasteland or derelict areas, or even decorate public buildings such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wiggins/why-can-t-unemployed-people-clean-toilets-remove-graffiti-from/) [Karl Wiggins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wiggins/) > [People will go to clean theaters; they don't like to go to dirty theaters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/people-will-go-to-clean-theaters-they-don-t-like-to-go-to-dirty/) [Oliver Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-stone/) > [“There are people on whom even clean linen looks indecent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/there-are-people-on-whom-even-clean-linen-looks-indecent/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [I want players to look neat and responsible. Maybe it's old school, but it's kind of neat when people are always clean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-girardi/i-want-players-to-look-neat-and-responsible-maybe-it-s-old-school-but/) [Joe Girardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-girardi/) > [“Honesty is not just keeping your ass away from people but also clean.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/honesty-is-not-just-keeping-your-ass-away-from-people-but-also-clean/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Revolution in America begins in books and music, then waits for political operatives to 'implement changes after the fact.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/revolution-in-america-begins-in-books-and-music-then-waits-for/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“Perhaps no two events ever united so intimately and forceably to combat and expel prejudice, as the Revolution of America, and the Alliance with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/perhaps-no-two-events-ever-united-so-intimately-and-forceably-to/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [From leading the world into the age of democracy to spearheading the technological revolution, America has always been at the forefront of greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-b-rangel/from-leading-the-world-into-the-age-of-democracy-to-spearheading-the/) [Charles B. 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Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) ## More by Eric Linklater > [All I've got against golf is it takes you so far from the clubhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-linklater/all-i-ve-got-against-golf-is-it-takes-you-so-far-from-the-clubhouse/) [Eric Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-linklater/) > [For the scientific acquisition of knowledge is almost as tedious as the routine acquisition of wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-linklater/for-the-scientific-acquisition-of-knowledge-is-almost-as-tedious-as/) [Eric Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-linklater/) > [“...but the air's flat and stale and the people half-hearted. There's nothing to do there. You can make love without trouble or meaning, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-linklater/but-the-air-s-flat-and-stale-and-the-people-half-hearted-there-s/) [Eric Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-linklater/) > [It is notorious that we speak no more than half-truths in our ordinary conversation, and even a soliloquy is likely to be affected by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-linklater/it-is-notorious-that-we-speak-no-more-than-half-truths-in-our/) [Eric Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-linklater/) > [“But I find it difficult to recognize people. Human beings are so much alike.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-linklater/but-i-find-it-difficult-to-recognize-people-human-beings-are-so-much/) [Eric Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-linklater/) [Explore all 6 Eric Linklater quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-linklater/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There won't be any revolution in America ... the people are too clean. They spend all their time changing their shirts and washing themselves. 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