--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Playing to resentment and using a lot of…" description: "\"Playing to resentment and using a lot of, you know, grand abstract phrases like make America great again is - it just doesn't have the answer. It's sim..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/976/george-packer-2917_abstract_playing-to-resentment-and-using-a-lot-of_1059584.png" --- # Playing to resentment and using a lot of, you know, grand… ![“Playing to resentment and using a lot of, you know, grand abstract phrases like make America great again is - it just doesn't have the answer. It's simply a way to whip up emotion and then leave people more bitter than you found them.” quote by George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/976/george-packer-2917_abstract_playing-to-resentment-and-using-a-lot-of_1059584.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/976/george-packer-2917_abstract_playing-to-resentment-and-using-a-lot-of_1059584.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/976/george-packer-2917_abstract_playing-to-resentment-and-using-a-lot-of_1059584.png) > “Playing to resentment and using a lot of, you know, grand abstract phrases like make America great again is - it just doesn't have the answer. It's simply a way to whip up emotion and then leave people more bitter than you found them.” [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Grand slogans stir emotion but often lack substance, leaving audiences more bitter than enlightened. **In simple terms:** Empty slogans breed bitterness. Key Takeaway Seek substance over flashy rhetoric. Themes politics communication emotion Mood critical skeptical Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - campaign speeches - advertising - political debates - social media posts Key Concepts rhetoric public discourse Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives to slogans could inspire constructive dialogue? - How can we encourage critical thinking in political messaging? A Different Perspective Overreliance on slogans can oversimplify complex issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) [Bitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Leave People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leave-people/) [Make America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-america/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Bitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-bitter-420610/) [Phrases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phrases/) [Playing Resentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playing-resentment-2579168/) [Resentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resentment/) [Resentment Using](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resentment-using-2579171/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Whips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whips/) ## Related quotes > [“There are so many empty people walking around on this little planet. 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It just happened that I always got more vocals than everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-coyle/it-was-fine-at-the-start-but-there-s-always-politics-in-any-band-it/) [Nadine Coyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-coyle/) > [Bitter people will get bitter reaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/bitter-people-will-get-bitter-reaction/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I believe alot people are bitter due too there relationship with there parents. Something could have occur that made them lash in a way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-believe-alot-people-are-bitter-due-too-there-relationship-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Why do people who already have so much get bitter about those who have a little more?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalya-moon/why-do-people-who-already-have-so-much-get-bitter-about-those-who/) [Dalya Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalya-moon/) > [Maybe people become bitter when they don't know what they are fighting for. But I keep my eyes open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-gabrielsson/maybe-people-become-bitter-when-they-don-t-know-what-they-are/) [Eva Gabrielsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-gabrielsson/) > [When Donald Trump says make America great again, we know whose America that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/when-donald-trump-says-make-america-great-again-we-know-whose-america/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [I want to do things that haven’t been done, including fixing and making our inner cities better for the African-American citizens that are so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-want-to-do-things-that-haven-t-been-done-including-fixing-and/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I want to make sure that we make America more competitive. And that we do those things that make America the most attractive place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-want-to-make-sure-that-we-make-america-more-competitive-and-that-we/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [I am going to make America great again, guaranteed. That I can tell you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-watters/i-am-going-to-make-america-great-again-guaranteed-that-i-can-tell-you/) [Tim Watters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-watters/) > [If you want real change, if you want a stronger America at home and abroad and an America that cherishes our highest ideals, head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/if-you-want-real-change-if-you-want-a-stronger-america-at-home-and/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [I intend to make America strong again. I'm going to be the champion of the middle class, where I came from. If you make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/i-intend-to-make-america-strong-again-i-m-going-to-be-the-champion-of/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [I'm going to make America great again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-going-to-make-america-great-again/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [We can make America a clean-energy super-power and create good-paying jobs in the process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-can-make-america-a-clean-energy-super-power-and-create-good-paying/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) ## More by George Packer > [I don't think they need to be nice to reporters, but the White House seems to imagine that releasing information is like a tap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/i-don-t-think-they-need-to-be-nice-to-reporters-but-the-white-house/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [So many writers grew up in tortured isolation, in revolt against their families. I and my sister were in a house where writing was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/so-many-writers-grew-up-in-tortured-isolation-in-revolt-against-their/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Afghanistan can't police its borders, and its neighbors give sanctuary and assistance to insurgents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/afghanistan-can-t-police-its-borders-and-its-neighbors-give-sanctuary/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Hillary Clinton's such a classic Democratic political figure and believes so much in institutions and in gradualism in the old way of reaching compromises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/hillary-clinton-s-such-a-classic-democratic-political-figure-and/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [“In other words, Foxx represented what Sarah Palin (speaking at a campaign fundraiser in Greensboro three weeks before the election) called “the real America,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/in-other-words-foxx-represented-what-sarah-palin-speaking-at-a/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [America's vast population of working poor can only get so poor before even Walmart is out of reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/america-s-vast-population-of-working-poor-can-only-get-so-poor-before/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [The Olympics are never just about sports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/the-olympics-are-never-just-about-sports/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > ['The Assassins' Gate' is a very tightly controlled story of the ideas that led to the war and the consequences of those ideas in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/the-assassins-gate-is-a-very-tightly-controlled-story-of-the-ideas/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Amazon's identity and goals are never clear and always fluid, which makes the company destabilizing and intimidating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/amazon-s-identity-and-goals-are-never-clear-and-always-fluid-which/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Ideology knows the answer before the question has been asked. Principles are something different: a set of values that have to be adapted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/ideology-knows-the-answer-before-the-question-has-been-asked/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Everything seems set up for success in digital journalism - money, eyeballs, software, brands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/everything-seems-set-up-for-success-in-digital-journalism-money/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Climate change joined immigration, job creation, food safety, pilot training, veterans' care, campaign finance, transportation security, labor law, mine safety, wildfire management, and scores…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/climate-change-joined-immigration-job-creation-food-safety-pilot/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Much of the international unease with the Sochi Games has focused on the threat of terrorism, Putin's domestic repressiveness, and the Russian campaign of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/much-of-the-international-unease-with-the-sochi-games-has-focused-on/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [I've been interested in American politics since I was eight. That was in 1968. It was an interesting year. I was a huge Eugene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/i-ve-been-interested-in-american-politics-since-i-was-eight-that-was/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [When I interviewed Paul Bremer in his office, he had almost no books on his shelves. He had a couple of management books, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/when-i-interviewed-paul-bremer-in-his-office-he-had-almost-no-books/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) [Explore all 144 George Packer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) ## More Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. 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It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) [Anthony W. Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-w-ivins/) > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. 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