--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: General Motors, General Mills, General…" description: "\"General Motors, General Mills, General Foods, general ignorance, general apathy, and general cussedness elect presidents and Congressmen and maintain t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/herbert-m-shelton-18472_apathy_general-motors-general-mills-general-foo_1965797.png" --- # General Motors, General Mills, General Foods, general… ![“General Motors, General Mills, General Foods, general ignorance, general apathy, and general cussedness elect presidents and Congressmen and maintain them in power.” quote by Herbert M. Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/herbert-m-shelton-18472_apathy_general-motors-general-mills-general-foo_1965797.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/herbert-m-shelton-18472_apathy_general-motors-general-mills-general-foo_1965797.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/herbert-m-shelton-18472_apathy_general-motors-general-mills-general-foo_1965797.png) > “General Motors, General Mills, General Foods, general ignorance, general apathy, and general cussedness elect presidents and Congressmen and maintain them in power.” [Herbert M. Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-m-shelton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He cynically lists “general” terms to suggest that ignorance and apathy keep leaders in power. **In simple terms:** Ignorance and apathy sustain political leaders. Key Takeaway Promote critical thinking and civic engagement. Themes politics media public opinion power Mood skeptical critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - voter education - media literacy campaigns - public debates - community organizing Key Concepts cynicism social critique mass manipulation Questions to Reflect On - Why do people accept ineffective leaders? - How can societies reduce apathy? A Different Perspective Overgeneralizing may overlook nuanced causes of political dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apathy/) [Congressman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congressman/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) ## Related quotes > [In general, presidents and congressmen have very limited power to do good for the economy and awesome power to do bad. The best good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/in-general-presidents-and-congressmen-have-very-limited-power-to-do/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [We elect our Presidents, be they Republican or Democrat, then start daring 'em to make good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/we-elect-our-presidents-be-they-republican-or-democrat-then-start/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Our presidency is a cut above, we all want the president to be the absolutely finest person and best person that we could elect,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/our-presidency-is-a-cut-above-we-all-want-the-president-to-be-the/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The people don't elect U.S. presidents, God does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/the-people-don-t-elect-u-s-presidents-god-does/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [Although the reasons for Michigan's malaise are varied, one big reason is our state's almost uniquely uncompetitive tax structure, which one General Motors official…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-bouchard/although-the-reasons-for-michigan-s-malaise-are-varied-one-big-reason/) Mike Bouchard > [We knew we had to act for the middle class. We immediately went out and rescued General Motors. We went ahead and made sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/we-knew-we-had-to-act-for-the-middle-class-we-immediately-went-out/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“To make good decisions, CEOs need the courage to seek out disagreement. Alfred Sloan, the longtime CEO and chairman of General Motors, once interrupted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/to-make-good-decisions-ceos-need-the-courage-to-seek-out-disagreement/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [Investing is the greatest business in the world because you never have to swing. You stand at the plate; the pitcher throws you General…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/investing-is-the-greatest-business-in-the-world-because-you-never/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Sadly, at Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler sales continually trend downward, manufacturing costs rise, and employment declines. As the result of the decrease in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-o-toole/sadly-at-ford-general-motors-and-chrysler-sales-continually-trend/) [James O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-o-toole/) > [“It is a fact that today steel can be made more cheaply outside America. This is also true of many other products: shoes, shirts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/it-is-a-fact-that-today-steel-can-be-made-more-cheaply-outside/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [Instead of mindlessly tossing billions at or taking billions from the Net as such, investors should be spending their time making sure that it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/instead-of-mindlessly-tossing-billions-at-or-taking-billions-from-the/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [The power of branding, particularly when it comes to automobiles, is overwhelming. You go back to the seventies and eighties with the General Motor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-power-of-branding-particularly-when-it-comes-to-automobiles-is/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [People are in denial all the time, hiding things. If I tell you a racist or dirty joke and you laugh, you're telling me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-landau/people-are-in-denial-all-the-time-hiding-things-if-i-tell-you-a/) [Martin Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-landau/) > [I don't hurt the industry. The industry hurts itself, by making so many lousy movies - as if General Motors deliberately put out a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphrey-bogart/i-don-t-hurt-the-industry-the-industry-hurts-itself-by-making-so-many/) [Humphrey Bogart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphrey-bogart/) > [Well, as you know, General Motors does not make hybrids. Ford only made 4,000 hybrids last year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-markey/well-as-you-know-general-motors-does-not-make-hybrids-ford-only-made/) [Ed Markey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-markey/) ## More by Herbert M. Shelton > [It is always a much easier task to educate uneducated people than to re-educate the mis-educated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-m-shelton/it-is-always-a-much-easier-task-to-educate-uneducated-people-than-to/) [Herbert M. Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-m-shelton/) > [Surgeons can cut out everything except cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-m-shelton/surgeons-can-cut-out-everything-except-cause/) [Herbert M. Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-m-shelton/) > [An intelligent person may be wrong sometimes, but a fool is never wrong. The medical profession is never wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-m-shelton/an-intelligent-person-may-be-wrong-sometimes-but-a-fool-is-never/) [Herbert M. Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-m-shelton/) > [Although man has included meat in his diet for thousands of years, his anatomy and physiology, and the chemistry of his digestive juices, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-m-shelton/although-man-has-included-meat-in-his-diet-for-thousands-of-years-his/) [Herbert M. Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-m-shelton/) > [In a fast, the body tears down its defective parts and then builds anew when eating is resumed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-m-shelton/in-a-fast-the-body-tears-down-its-defective-parts-and-then-builds/) [Herbert M. Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-m-shelton/) > [We cannot be damaged into health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-m-shelton/we-cannot-be-damaged-into-health/) [Herbert M. Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-m-shelton/) > [“There are no healing agents.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-m-shelton/there-are-no-healing-agents/) [Herbert M. Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-m-shelton/) > [You don't need treatment. The fever, inflammation, coughing, etc., constitute the healing process. Just get out of their way and permit them to complete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-m-shelton/you-don-t-need-treatment-the-fever-inflammation-coughing-etc/) [Herbert M. Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-m-shelton/) > [Old age is not a time of life. It is a condition of the body. It is not time that ages the body, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-m-shelton/old-age-is-not-a-time-of-life-it-is-a-condition-of-the-body-it-is-not/) [Herbert M. Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-m-shelton/) > [A modern hospital is like Grand Central Station—all noise and hubbub, and is filled with smoking physicians, nurses, orderlies, patients and visitors. Soft drinks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-m-shelton/a-modern-hospital-is-like-grand-central-station-all-noise-and-hubbub/) [Herbert M. Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-m-shelton/) > [Life should be built on the conservation of energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-m-shelton/life-should-be-built-on-the-conservation-of-energy/) [Herbert M. Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-m-shelton/) > [“You are free to choose your own way of life, but you are not free to choose the results. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-m-shelton/you-are-free-to-choose-your-own-way-of-life-but-you-are-not-free-to/) [Herbert M. Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-m-shelton/) > [Health and disease are the same thing—vital action intended to preserve, maintain, and protect the body. There is no more reason for treating disease…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-m-shelton/health-and-disease-are-the-same-thing-vital-action-intended-to/) [Herbert M. Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-m-shelton/) > [If you desire truly to live you will cease trying to find magic tricks and short-cuts to life and learn the simple laws of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-m-shelton/if-you-desire-truly-to-live-you-will-cease-trying-to-find-magic/) [Herbert M. Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-m-shelton/) > [Moderation is the only rule of a healthful life. This means moderation in all things wholesome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-m-shelton/moderation-is-the-only-rule-of-a-healthful-life-this-means-moderation/) [Herbert M. Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-m-shelton/) [Explore all 34 Herbert M. Shelton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-m-shelton/) ## More Apathy quotes > [If possible, I want to hear POLITICS defined without either sympathy or apathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/if-possible-i-want-to-hear-politics-defined-without-either-sympathy/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [One response was given by the innkeeper when Mary and Joseph wanted to find a room where the Child could be born. The innkeeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/one-response-was-given-by-the-innkeeper-when-mary-and-joseph-wanted/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Try to greet troubles with apathy. Hello's are never what they used to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-swellers/try-to-greet-troubles-with-apathy-hello-s-are-never-what-they-used-to/) [The Swellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-swellers/) > [Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/apathy-can-be-overcome-by-enthusiasm/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [Indifference must be a crime in us, to be ranked but one degree below treachery; for deserting the commonwealth is next to betraying it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/indifference-must-be-a-crime-in-us-to-be-ranked-but-one-degree-below/) [Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/) > [Insect politics, indifferent universe. Bang your head against the wall, but apathy is worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-henley/insect-politics-indifferent-universe-bang-your-head-against-the-wall/) [Don Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-henley/) > [“And there's a freedom in apathy, a wild, dizzying liberation on which you can almost get drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/and-there-s-a-freedom-in-apathy-a-wild-dizzying-liberation-on-which/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [For he who is not deaf, half a silence is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/for-he-who-is-not-deaf-half-a-silence-is-enough/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [“Just because a person is silent doesn’t mean there’s no message.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/just-because-a-person-is-silent-doesn-t-mean-there-s-no-message/) [Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/) > [“If someone with a high level of authority were to ask me, "Suzy, how can we make people so incredibly stupid and apathetic, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/if-someone-with-a-high-level-of-authority-were-to-ask-me-suzy-how-can/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“It takes more than one kick in the pants to reverse a lifetime of unplanned apathy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-neilan/it-takes-more-than-one-kick-in-the-pants-to-reverse-a-lifetime-of/) [Paul Neilan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-neilan/) > [“Use the apathy of your logic to solve your problems and then the passion of your soul to enjoy life after that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelos-michalopoulos/use-the-apathy-of-your-logic-to-solve-your-problems-and-then-the/) [Angelos Michalopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelos-michalopoulos/) > [“The fundamental basis by which the court’s decision might be made is, in itself, imperfect and subject to contradictions. There is very little consideration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/the-fundamental-basis-by-which-the-court-s-decision-might-be-made-is/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [“The young woman had read a good many novels, and she had seen a good many films; this education by newspaper, serial and film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-renard/the-young-woman-had-read-a-good-many-novels-and-she-had-seen-a-good/) [Maurice Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-renard/) > [Mourn not the dead that in the cool earth lie... But rather mourn the apathetic throng - The cowed and the meek - Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-chaplin/mourn-not-the-dead-that-in-the-cool-earth-lie-but-rather-mourn-the/) [Ralph Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-chaplin/) [Browse all 619 Apathy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apathy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "General Motors, General Mills, General Foods, general ignorance, general apathy, and general cussedness elect presidents and Congressmen and maintain them in power.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Herbert M. 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