--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You know, I've been around the ruling…" description: "\"You know, I've been around the ruling class all my life, and I've been quite aware of their total contempt for the people of the country.\" — Gore Vidal" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/gore-vidal-466_class_you-know-i-ve-been-around-the-ruling-cla_2435944.jpg" --- # You know, I've been around the ruling class all my life… ![“You know, I've been around the ruling class all my life, and I've been quite aware of their total contempt for the people of the country.” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/gore-vidal-466_class_you-know-i-ve-been-around-the-ruling-cla_2435944.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/gore-vidal-466_class_you-know-i-ve-been-around-the-ruling-cla_2435944.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/137/gore-vidal-466_class_you-know-i-ve-been-around-the-ruling-cla_2435944.jpg) > “You know, I've been around the ruling class all my life, and I've been quite aware of their total contempt for the people of the country.” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The ruling elite often disregard common people's needs and feelings. **In simple terms:** Leaders can be contemptuous toward ordinary citizens. Key Takeaway Question authority and advocate for the people. Themes politics class empathy Mood critical concerned Type political analytical When to use this quote - activism - policy reform - public discourse Key Concepts elitism social injustice Questions to Reflect On - Do you see evidence of contempt today? - How can citizens influence leaders? A Different Perspective Some leaders may genuinely care; not all are contemptuous. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Contempt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contempt/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Ruling class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruling-class/) ## Related quotes > [The genius of our ruling class is that it has kept a majority of the people from ever questioning the inequity of a system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-genius-of-our-ruling-class-is-that-it-has-kept-a-majority-of-the/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [No reform ever came from the bottom, and it was always people who understood how the ruling class worked who turned out to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/no-reform-ever-came-from-the-bottom-and-it-was-always-people-who/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [How to get people to vote against their interests and to really think against their interests is very clever. It's the cleverest ruling class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/how-to-get-people-to-vote-against-their-interests-and-to-really-think/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As Brooks Adams put it, the sole problem of our ruling class is whether to coerce or to bribe the powerless majority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-brooks-adams-put-it-the-sole-problem-of-our-ruling-class-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I have been brought up and trained to have the utmost contempt for people who get drunk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-have-been-brought-up-and-trained-to-have-the-utmost-contempt-for/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [The media has contempt for people that voted for Trump. They have no desire to understand who they are. 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They sit on their mountains and lecture the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ziegler/the-structure-of-the-swiss-ruling-class-is-rock-hard-and-unchanged/) [Jean Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ziegler/) ## More by Gore Vidal > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/style-is-knowing-who-you-are-what-you-want-to-say-and-not-giving-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. 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The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. 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