--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Real happiness, in politics, is a…" description: "\"“Real happiness, in politics, is a wide-open hammer shot on some poor bastard who knows he's been trapped, but can't flee.”\" — Hunter S. Thompson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/041/hunter-s-thompson-278_happiness_real-happiness-in-politics-is-a-wide-ope_2182991.jpg" --- # Real happiness, in politics, is a wide-open hammer shot on… ![“Real happiness, in politics, is a wide-open hammer shot on some poor bastard who knows he's been trapped, but can't flee.” quote by Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/041/hunter-s-thompson-278_happiness_real-happiness-in-politics-is-a-wide-ope_2182991.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/041/hunter-s-thompson-278_happiness_real-happiness-in-politics-is-a-wide-ope_2182991.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/041/hunter-s-thompson-278_happiness_real-happiness-in-politics-is-a-wide-ope_2182991.jpg) > ““Real happiness, in politics, is a wide-open hammer shot on some poor bastard who knows he's been trapped, but can't flee.”” [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political happiness is a violent act against the oppressed. **In simple terms:** Politics can be cruel. Key Takeaway Recognize political violence. Themes politics violence power morality Mood cynical provocative Type political philosophical When to use this quote - elections - policy decisions - social movements Key Concepts authoritarianism ethical critique Questions to Reflect On - How does power affect happiness? - What ethical limits exist in politics? A Different Perspective Such views may oversimplify complex issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Real happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-happiness/) ## Related quotes > [I don't know any more about America than one knows being trapped in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padgett-powell/i-don-t-know-any-more-about-america-than-one-knows-being-trapped-in-it/) [Padgett Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padgett-powell/) > [ “\[John\] Adams saw clearly that politics is the indispensable foundation for things elegant and beautiful. First and above all else, you must secure life,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/john-adams-saw-clearly-that-politics-is-the-indispensable-foundation/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Here we are the way politics ought to be in America; the politics of happiness, the politics of purpose and the politics of joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/here-we-are-the-way-politics-ought-to-be-in-america-the-politics-of/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [I believe there is a relationship between having an interest in the arts and the behaviour of society as a whole. Some politicians find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-eyre/i-believe-there-is-a-relationship-between-having-an-interest-in-the/) [Richard Eyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-eyre/) > [I would feel real trapped in this life if I didn't know I could commit suicide at any time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/i-would-feel-real-trapped-in-this-life-if-i-didn-t-know-i-could/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“Real happiness comes into your life when you accept yourself as you are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nitin-namdeo/real-happiness-comes-into-your-life-when-you-accept-yourself-as-you/) [Nitin Namdeo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nitin-namdeo/) > [“As a friend of mine told me about Real Happiness: you wrote this one in American.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/as-a-friend-of-mine-told-me-about-real-happiness-you-wrote-this-one/) [Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/) > [“I don’t know whether it is that I am built wrong, but I never did seem to hanker after tombstones myself. I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/i-don-t-know-whether-it-is-that-i-am-built-wrong-but-i-never-did-seem/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [Real happiness is when you are happy for no reason at all; you are simply being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/real-happiness-is-when-you-are-happy-for-no-reason-at-all-you-are/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“Life’s too short to waste time living it any other way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-carmack/life-s-too-short-to-waste-time-living-it-any-other-way/) [Cora Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-carmack/) > [I learned that real happiness doesn’t come from getting but from giving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-bernstein/i-learned-that-real-happiness-doesn-t-come-from-getting-but-from/) [Gabrielle Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-bernstein/) > [Real happiness is so simple that most people do not recognize it. They think it comes from doing something on a big scale, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-s-marden/real-happiness-is-so-simple-that-most-people-do-not-recognize-it-they/) [Orison S. Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-s-marden/) > [For real happiness, for real lasting stable happiness, one has to make a journey deep within oneself and see that one gets rid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-n-goenka/for-real-happiness-for-real-lasting-stable-happiness-one-has-to-make/) [S. N. Goenka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-n-goenka/) > [“Real happiness comes from a deeper place, not from anything external. The freshest and best water flows from the deepest, darkest chasms of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-schuller/real-happiness-comes-from-a-deeper-place-not-from-anything-external/) Bobby Schuller > [The most difficult thing for us seems to be to give of ourselves, to do away with selfishness. If we really love someone, nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-eldon-tanner/the-most-difficult-thing-for-us-seems-to-be-to-give-of-ourselves-to/) [Nathan Eldon Tanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-eldon-tanner/) ## More by Hunter S. Thompson > [“There was also the fact that sending a penniless writer to get $135 worth of beer was — as Khrushchev said of Nixon —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-was-also-the-fact-that-sending-a-penniless-writer-to-get-135/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“Cases of champagne and scotch lay broken in the street, and everyone I saw had a bottle. They were screaming and dancing, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/cases-of-champagne-and-scotch-lay-broken-in-the-street-and-everyone-i/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [No music + Bad TV = Bad mood & no pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-music-bad-tv-bad-mood-no-pages/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [By disgracing and degrading the presidency of the United States, by fleeing the White House like a diseased cur, Richard Nixon broke the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/by-disgracing-and-degrading-the-presidency-of-the-united-states-by/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [No one holds command over me. No man. No god. No Prince. What is a claim of age for ones who are immortal? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-one-holds-command-over-me-no-man-no-god-no-prince-what-is-a-claim/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“The person who doesn't scatter the morning dew will not comb grey hairs”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/the-person-who-doesn-t-scatter-the-morning-dew-will-not-comb-grey/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Hope rises and dreams flicker and die. Love plans for tomorrow and loneliness thinks of yesterday. Life is beautiful and living is pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/hope-rises-and-dreams-flicker-and-die-love-plans-for-tomorrow-and/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [If we get chased out of Iraq with our tail between our legs, that will be the fifth consecutive Third-world country with no hint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/if-we-get-chased-out-of-iraq-with-our-tail-between-our-legs-that-will/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [At age 22 I set what I insist is an all-time record for distance hitchhiking in Bermuda shorts: 3,700 miles in three weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/at-age-22-i-set-what-i-insist-is-an-all-time-record-for-distance/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Paranoia is just another mask for ignorance. The truth, when you finally chase it down is almost always far worse than your darkest visions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/paranoia-is-just-another-mask-for-ignorance-the-truth-when-you/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“No doubt they all Got What Was Coming To Them. All those pathetically eager acid freaks who thought they could buy Peace and Understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-doubt-they-all-got-what-was-coming-to-them-all-those-pathetically/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“For several months they'd been drifting toward political involvement, but the picture was hazy and one of the most confusing elements was their geographical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/for-several-months-they-d-been-drifting-toward-political-involvement/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [He wandered into the Newsroom and asked for a job the same way he’d walk into a barbershop and ask for a haircut, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/he-wandered-into-the-newsroom-and-asked-for-a-job-the-same-way-he-d/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [There's no point in getting into politics at all unless you plan to lash things around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-s-no-point-in-getting-into-politics-at-all-unless-you-plan-to/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [There’s a lot of things wrong with this country, but one of the few things still right with it is that a man can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-s-a-lot-of-things-wrong-with-this-country-but-one-of-the-few/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) [Explore all 765 Hunter S. Thompson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) ## More Happiness quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-thinking-evokes-more-energy-more-initiative-more-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes [Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Real happiness, in politics, is a wide-open hammer shot on some poor bastard who knows he's been trapped, but can't flee.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hunter S. 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