--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Americans are genuinely and profoundly…" description: "\"Americans are genuinely and profoundly anti-intellectual. They are especially so in their pleasure-seeking, which is epically banal.\" — Jesse Ball" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/jesse-ball-10640_americans_americans-are-genuinely-and-profoundly-a_402504.jpg" --- # Americans are genuinely and profoundly anti-intellectual… ![“Americans are genuinely and profoundly anti-intellectual. They are especially so in their pleasure-seeking, which is epically banal.” quote by Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/jesse-ball-10640_americans_americans-are-genuinely-and-profoundly-a_402504.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/jesse-ball-10640_americans_americans-are-genuinely-and-profoundly-a_402504.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f3/jesse-ball-10640_americans_americans-are-genuinely-and-profoundly-a_402504.jpg) > “Americans are genuinely and profoundly anti-intellectual. They are especially so in their pleasure-seeking, which is epically banal.” [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critiques a cultural trend that devalues deep thought in favor of shallow entertainment. **In simple terms:** People often choose easy fun over serious ideas. Key Takeaway Seek depth over distraction. Themes anti-intellectualism culture entertainment values Mood critical reflective Type observational critical When to use this quote - social media scrolling - casual conversations - pop culture consumption Key Concepts cognitive laziness media influence Questions to Reflect On - How does anti-intellectualism affect personal growth? - What can you do to value intellect more? A Different Perspective Depth can be rewarding but may feel uncomfortable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Pleasure seeking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure-seeking/) ## Related quotes > [George Bush ran a campaign where he bragged about being an anti-intellectual, dismissing his Harvard and Yale pedigree, pretending he was an American every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/george-bush-ran-a-campaign-where-he-bragged-about-being-an-anti/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [Abortion is profoundly anti-women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/abortion-is-profoundly-anti-women/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [The real pleasure-seeking is the combination of luxury and austerity in such a way that the luxury can really be felt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-pleasure-seeking-is-the-combination-of-luxury-and-austerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Robbing ourselves of the great pleasures in life only makes us perform worse. We need to be happy, and do things we like doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torron-lee-dewar/robbing-ourselves-of-the-great-pleasures-in-life-only-makes-us/) [Torron-Lee Dewar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torron-lee-dewar/) > [The child begins life as a pleasure-seeking animal; his infantile personality is organized around his own appetites and his own body. In the course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selma-fraiberg/the-child-begins-life-as-a-pleasure-seeking-animal-his-infantile/) [Selma Fraiberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selma-fraiberg/) > [“When my animal instincts desire the forbidden, I feel pleasure in seeking them without constrictions placed by laws, worldly or religious”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rochelle-magee/when-my-animal-instincts-desire-the-forbidden-i-feel-pleasure-in/) Rochelle Magee > [“For two thousand years or more man has been subjected to a systematic effort to transform him into an ascetic animal. He remains a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/for-two-thousand-years-or-more-man-has-been-subjected-to-a-systematic/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [There is a haphazard sort of doing good, which is nothing but temperamental pleasure-seeking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-lewald/there-is-a-haphazard-sort-of-doing-good-which-is-nothing-but/) Fanny Lewald > [A madhouse of frenzied moneymaking and frenzied pleasure-seeking, with none of the corners chipped off. It is beautifully situatedand the air reminds one curiously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/a-madhouse-of-frenzied-moneymaking-and-frenzied-pleasure-seeking-with/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [When a person's primary objective is to maximize material pleasures while minimizing discomforts, then life becomes a constant process of "pushing" (trying to push…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-elgin/when-a-person-s-primary-objective-is-to-maximize-material-pleasures/) [Duane Elgin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-elgin/) > [I was only one woman alone, and had no power to move to action full-fed, sleek- coated, ease-loving, pleasure-seeking, well-paid,and well-placed countrymen in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-barton/i-was-only-one-woman-alone-and-had-no-power-to-move-to-action-full/) [Clara Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-barton/) > [Epicurus recommends bread and cheese as the staple, and his emphasis is more on avoiding pain than on seeking pleasure, insofar as pleasure-seeking tends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-wilson/epicurus-recommends-bread-and-cheese-as-the-staple-and-his-emphasis/) [Catherine Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-wilson/) > [The time to fulfill your destiny is now, stop the pleasure seeking, commit to a worthwhile purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ore-abayomi/the-time-to-fulfill-your-destiny-is-now-stop-the-pleasure-seeking/) [Ore Abayomi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ore-abayomi/) > [We live in what may be the most anti-intellectual period in the history of Western civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-live-in-what-may-be-the-most-anti-intellectual-period-in-the/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [It only takes a day to change someone from an anti-intellectual to an intellectual by persuading him that he might be one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/it-only-takes-a-day-to-change-someone-from-an-anti-intellectual-to-an/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) ## More by Jesse Ball > [“-Lara is a weasel. I've always hated her. The only happy week I had as a child was when she fell from the roof…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/lara-is-a-weasel-i-ve-always-hated-her-the-only-happy-week-i-had-as-a/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [I'd say writing is easier for me now than it once was, but I do less of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/i-d-say-writing-is-easier-for-me-now-than-it-once-was-but-i-do-less/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [“Our knowledge about ourselves is our least reliable knowledge. Yet, so thoroughly do we ordinarily champion our own cause that it is acknowledged effective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/our-knowledge-about-ourselves-is-our-least-reliable-knowledge-yet-so/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [Not that believing such things has anything to do with whether they are true. You see that, don't you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/not-that-believing-such-things-has-anything-to-do-with-whether-they/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [“We are born in this cemetery, but must not despair. -Piet Soron, 1847”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/we-are-born-in-this-cemetery-but-must-not-despair-piet-soron-1847/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [I have a different purpose in writing each novel. Some of them seem more similar than others, but the purposes are always different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/i-have-a-different-purpose-in-writing-each-novel-some-of-them-seem/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [Sunday was always the best of days for being the self you had intended to be, but were not, for one reason or another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/sunday-was-always-the-best-of-days-for-being-the-self-you-had/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [I don't think anything needs to happen in a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/i-don-t-think-anything-needs-to-happen-in-a-book/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [“Can you imagine? That you can say something, offhand, and it can matter, it can really matter to someone else? Can you imagine what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/can-you-imagine-that-you-can-say-something-offhand-and-it-can-matter/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [One can't say how one behaved or why, really. Such situations, they are far more complex than any either/or proposition. It is simplistic to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/one-can-t-say-how-one-behaved-or-why-really-such-situations-they-are/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [“One cultivates one's life, one's friends, one's means, one's hopes. One goes from place to place, from triumph to triumph, in search of ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/one-cultivates-one-s-life-one-s-friends-one-s-means-one-s-hopes-one/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [“The whole thing about people living on in memory is a crock of shit. The best you can do is try to remember what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/the-whole-thing-about-people-living-on-in-memory-is-a-crock-of-shit/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [That would be the death of anyone - to recognize false hopes with a certainty. One mustn't know that. If it is offered, refuse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/that-would-be-the-death-of-anyone-to-recognize-false-hopes-with-a/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [I believe in discovering the love that exists and then trying to understand it. Not to invent a love and try to make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/i-believe-in-discovering-the-love-that-exists-and-then-trying-to/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [Much of my work has been done in first person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/much-of-my-work-has-been-done-in-first-person/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) [Explore all 63 Jesse Ball quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) ## More Americans quotes > [“People – Americans, mostly – realise how attached they are to material comforts when they arrive in India.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-william-roberts/people-americans-mostly-realise-how-attached-they-are-to-material/) Paul William Roberts > [Music has an intrinsic value that touches Americans - they love their music, and want more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-rosen/music-has-an-intrinsic-value-that-touches-americans-they-love-their/) [Hilary Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-rosen/) > [Americans are very friendly and very suspicious, that is what Americans are and that is what always upsets the foreigner, who deals with them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/americans-are-very-friendly-and-very-suspicious-that-is-what/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [Just because the Americans are so good at rattling out accessible and cheap junk food, nobody looks twice when it comes to their food.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-oliver/just-because-the-americans-are-so-good-at-rattling-out-accessible-and/) [Jamie Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-oliver/) > [My parents don't care what Americans think of us; we just care what the other Indian people in our community think of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/himanshu-suri/my-parents-don-t-care-what-americans-think-of-us-we-just-care-what/) [Himanshu Suri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/himanshu-suri/) > [When Americans, who have no idea who I am, laugh at my jokes, it's exactly the same if someone loves you even if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gad-elmaleh/when-americans-who-have-no-idea-who-i-am-laugh-at-my-jokes-it-s/) [Gad Elmaleh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gad-elmaleh/) > [So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-americans-understand-the-costs-of-war-yet-as-a-country-we-will/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We Americans tend to be a prodigal lot. We are as careless with our personal resources as we are with the resources of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/we-americans-tend-to-be-a-prodigal-lot-we-are-as-careless-with-our/) [Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/) > [Americans will put up with anything provided it doesn't block traffic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/americans-will-put-up-with-anything-provided-it-doesn-t-block-traffic/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) > [Most Americans believe in fairness; we believe that people should work hard but there should be a safety net. We believe in saving the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-maclean/most-americans-believe-in-fairness-we-believe-that-people-should-work/) [Nancy MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-maclean/) > [“Using a wide variety of media, we could demonstrate for our fellow Americans their anxieties, desires, insufficiencies, and frustrations--and how to assuage them all.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/using-a-wide-variety-of-media-we-could-demonstrate-for-our-fellow/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [The Americans say that we are ungrateful-but I ask them for heaven's sake, what should we be grateful to them for-for murdering our fathers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walker/the-americans-say-that-we-are-ungrateful-but-i-ask-them-for-heaven-s/) [David Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walker/) > [So many Korean Americans like me came to this country with the hope of achieving their own American Dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-steel/so-many-korean-americans-like-me-came-to-this-country-with-the-hope/) [Michelle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-steel/) > [You are Americans. You love this country. Together we are entrusted with the principles that represent mankind's greatest political and social achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/you-are-americans-you-love-this-country-together-we-are-entrusted/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) [Browse all 1,536 Americans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Americans are genuinely and profoundly anti-intellectual. 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