--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In these days of widespread illiteracy…" description: "\"In these days of widespread illiteracy, functional illiteracy... anything that keeps people stupid is a felony.\" — Harlan Ellison" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/harlan-ellison-2133_illiteracy_in-these-days-of-widespread-illiteracy-f_527248.jpg" --- # In these days of widespread illiteracy, functional… ![“In these days of widespread illiteracy, functional illiteracy... anything that keeps people stupid is a felony.” quote by Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/harlan-ellison-2133_illiteracy_in-these-days-of-widespread-illiteracy-f_527248.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/harlan-ellison-2133_illiteracy_in-these-days-of-widespread-illiteracy-f_527248.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/harlan-ellison-2133_illiteracy_in-these-days-of-widespread-illiteracy-f_527248.jpg) > “In these days of widespread illiteracy, functional illiteracy... anything that keeps people stupid is a felony.” [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He condemns the spread of misinformation, equating it to a serious crime because it keeps people uninformed. **In simple terms:** Misinformation is a serious offense. Key Takeaway Combat falsehoods actively. Themes education misinformation responsibility Mood concerned determined Type political ethical When to use this quote - school curricula - media literacy - public policy - online platforms Key Concepts civic duty critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance free speech and truth? - What responsibilities do we have to stay informed? A Different Perspective Freedom of speech complicates labeling ideas as felonies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Illiteracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illiteracy/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [“In an alleged democracy, the image of the public sphere with its appeal to dialogue and shared responsibility has given way to the spectacle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-giroux/in-an-alleged-democracy-the-image-of-the-public-sphere-with-its/) [Henry A. Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-giroux/) > [As part of the National Strategy, the Government should commit itself to the virtual elimination of functional illiteracy and innumeracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-britt-moser/as-part-of-the-national-strategy-the-government-should-commit-itself/) [May-Britt Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-britt-moser/) > [One of the things that amazes me is the amount of functional illiteracy in this country... people can't read to get around, or people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albert/one-of-the-things-that-amazes-me-is-the-amount-of-functional/) [Edward Albert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albert/) > [Sure the people are stupid: the human race is stupid. Sure Congress is an inefficient instrument of government. But the people are not stupid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-devoto/sure-the-people-are-stupid-the-human-race-is-stupid-sure-congress-is/) [Bernard DeVoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-devoto/) > [“People’s heads are full of knowledge, facts, and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet they think it all true. People are stupid;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/people-s-heads-are-full-of-knowledge-facts-and-beliefs-and-most-of-it/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [What's the use? The people are too stupid. They do not understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winslow-homer/what-s-the-use-the-people-are-too-stupid-they-do-not-understand/) [Winslow Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winslow-homer/) > [“He wrote about how stupid the people there could be. I never imagines white people could be stupid. He met people who had never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tendai-huchu/he-wrote-about-how-stupid-the-people-there-could-be-i-never-imagines/) [Tendai Huchu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tendai-huchu/) > [I've always believed that a person is smart. It's people that are stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/i-ve-always-believed-that-a-person-is-smart-it-s-people-that-are/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [“People loved this religious stuff because it actually made no sense. Just like the war made no sense. And she knew now for certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-loved-this-religious-stuff-because-it-actually-made-no-sense/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“That other people can often see things about you that you yourself cannot see, even if those people are stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/that-other-people-can-often-see-things-about-you-that-you-yourself/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [But people turn on their televisions. They turn on their televisions and they see what's happening in Iraq. The American people are not stupid.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/but-people-turn-on-their-televisions-they-turn-on-their-televisions/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [Lots of white people think black people are stupid. They are stupid themselves for thinking so, but regulation will not make them smarter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-l-carter/lots-of-white-people-think-black-people-are-stupid-they-are-stupid/) [Stephen L. Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-l-carter/) > [“THOSE WHO THINK PEOPLE ARE STUPID ARE THE ONES THAT ARE STUPID.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-stuck/those-who-think-people-are-stupid-are-the-ones-that-are-stupid/) DAWN STUCK > [Being drunk leads smart people to do stupid things, which is what is so interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-williamson/being-drunk-leads-smart-people-to-do-stupid-things-which-is-what-is/) [Kit Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-williamson/) > [You can never understand why people do stupid things for love, Unless you, yourself experience how it is to be in LOVE...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-never-understand-why-people-do-stupid-things-for-love-unless/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Harlan Ellison > [Posing the question: does the god of love use underarm deodorant, vaginal spray and fluoride toothpaste?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/posing-the-question-does-the-god-of-love-use-underarm-deodorant/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [They change scapegoats at the networks more regularly than some people change socks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/they-change-scapegoats-at-the-networks-more-regularly-than-some/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [They minute people fall in love they become liars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/they-minute-people-fall-in-love-they-become-liars/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [Repent, Harlequin," said the Ticktock Man. "Get stuffed," the Harlequin replied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/repent-harlequin-said-the-ticktock-man-get-stuffed-the-harlequin/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [“Living under the land, under the sea, in the belly of AM, whom we created...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/living-under-the-land-under-the-sea-in-the-belly-of-am-whom-we-created/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [I have no mouth. And I must scream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/i-have-no-mouth-and-i-must-scream/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [There in the midst of the Amazon Jungle, Simon Haskell has cobbled up for himself a replica of an Art Deco salon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/there-in-the-midst-of-the-amazon-jungle-simon-haskell-has-cobbled-up/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [For the first time we have a weapon that nobody has used for thirty years. This gives me great hope for the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/for-the-first-time-we-have-a-weapon-that-nobody-has-used-for-thirty/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [“There are forces in the world today, Mr. Winsocki, that are invisibly working to make us all carbon copies of one another. Forces that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/there-are-forces-in-the-world-today-mr-winsocki-that-are-invisibly/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [“Men rarely (if ever) manage to dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/men-rarely-if-ever-manage-to-dream-up-a-god-superior-to-themselves/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [I write a kind of surreal fantasy, but they can't put 'surreal fantasy' on a paperback.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/i-write-a-kind-of-surreal-fantasy-but-they-can-t-put-surreal-fantasy/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [Don't start an argument with somebody who has a microphone when you don't. They'll make you look like chopped liver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/don-t-start-an-argument-with-somebody-who-has-a-microphone-when-you/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [“I intend to keep writing stories that piss people off, that tell the particular kind of truth I think is valid, that will make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/i-intend-to-keep-writing-stories-that-piss-people-off-that-tell-the/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [“Who Needs the Taj Mahal when it's a drag to live at all?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/who-needs-the-taj-mahal-when-it-s-a-drag-to-live-at-all/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [Like a wind crying endlessly through the universe, Time carries away the names and the deeds of conquerors and commoners alike. And all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/like-a-wind-crying-endlessly-through-the-universe-time-carries-away/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) [Explore all 165 Harlan Ellison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) ## More Illiteracy quotes > [Our real illiteracy is our inability to create](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedensreich-hundertwasser/our-real-illiteracy-is-our-inability-to-create/) [Friedensreich Hundertwasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedensreich-hundertwasser/) > [Illiteracy does not impede the practice of democracy, as witnessed by the success of democracy in India despite the high illiteracy rate. One doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/illiteracy-does-not-impede-the-practice-of-democracy-as-witnessed-by/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [We live in a world in which we are able to communicate very quickly in many different ways, and yet we find communicating more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cruise/we-live-in-a-world-in-which-we-are-able-to-communicate-very-quickly/) [Tom Cruise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-cruise/) > [Ignorance and illiteracy are obviously not synonymous; even illiterate masses can cast their ballots with intelligence, once they are informed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-orville-douglas/ignorance-and-illiteracy-are-obviously-not-synonymous-even-illiterate/) William Orville Douglas > [Immigration along with nonwhite birthrates will make white people a minority totally vulnerable to the political, social, and economic will of blacks, Mexicans, Puerto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duke/immigration-along-with-nonwhite-birthrates-will-make-white-people-a/) [David Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duke/) > [Hatred, intolerance, poor hygienic conditions and violence all have roots in illiteracy, so we're trying to do something to help the poor and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdul-qadeer-khan/hatred-intolerance-poor-hygienic-conditions-and-violence-all-have/) [Abdul Qadeer Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdul-qadeer-khan/) > [“Any philosopher, any international economist may talk to me about the methods I have introduced and the thoughts behind them. Illiteracy is a disability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdul-sattar-edhi/any-philosopher-any-international-economist-may-talk-to-me-about-the/) [Abdul Sattar Edhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdul-sattar-edhi/) > [The brown toxic cloud strangling Los Angeles never lifts and grows thicker with every immigrant added. One can't help appreciate the streets of Paris…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frosty-wooldridge/the-brown-toxic-cloud-strangling-los-angeles-never-lifts-and-grows/) [Frosty Wooldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frosty-wooldridge/) > [People are the common denominator of progress. So... no improvement is possible with unimproved people, and advance is certain when people are liberated and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/people-are-the-common-denominator-of-progress-so-no-improvement-is/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Building a godly life on the sand of scriptural illiteracy is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-louis-cole/building-a-godly-life-on-the-sand-of-scriptural-illiteracy-is/) [Edwin Louis Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-louis-cole/) > [Illiteracy at the poverty level (mainly a matter of bad grammar) does not alarm me nearly as much as the illiteracy of the well-to-do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/illiteracy-at-the-poverty-level-mainly-a-matter-of-bad-grammar-does/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [“Illiteracy is simply the inability to read and write.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/illiteracy-is-simply-the-inability-to-read-and-write/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Prisons do not disappear social problems, they disappear human beings. Homelessness, unemployment, drug addiction, mental illness, and illiteracy are only a few of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-davis/prisons-do-not-disappear-social-problems-they-disappear-human-beings/) [Angela Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-davis/) > [“But Christian illiteracy is only the first part of the crisis. Even more seriously, even for those who think they speak “Christian” fluently, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-j-borg/but-christian-illiteracy-is-only-the-first-part-of-the-crisis-even/) [Marcus J. Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) > [“The era of illiteracy is not only a historical stage before Islam, but it is the nature of Middle Eastern minds. We live ignorantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amany-al-hallaq/the-era-of-illiteracy-is-not-only-a-historical-stage-before-islam-but/) [Amany Al-Hallaq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amany-al-hallaq/) [Browse all 172 Illiteracy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illiteracy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In these days of widespread illiteracy, functional illiteracy... anything that keeps people stupid is a felony.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harlan Ellison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/in-these-days-of-widespread-illiteracy-functional-illiteracy-anything/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Illiteracy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/in-these-days-of-widespread-illiteracy-functional-illiteracy-anything/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/harlan-ellison-2133_illiteracy_in-these-days-of-widespread-illiteracy-f_527248.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/harlan-ellison-2133_illiteracy_in-these-days-of-widespread-illiteracy-f_527248.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/harlan-ellison-2133_illiteracy_in-these-days-of-widespread-illiteracy-f_527248.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In these days of widespread illiteracy, functional illiteracy... anything that keeps people stupid is a…” — Harlan Ellison", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Harlan Ellison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In these days of widespread illiteracy,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/in-these-days-of-widespread-illiteracy-functional-illiteracy-anything/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/in-these-days-of-widespread-illiteracy-functional-illiteracy-anything/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```