--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Looking at Great-Great Grandpa Baldwin's…" description: "\"“Looking at Great-Great Grandpa Baldwin's photograph, I think to myself: You've finally done it. It took four generations, but you've finally goddamned..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/joe-bageant-25954_belief_looking-at-great-great-grandpa-baldwin-s_3118635.jpg" --- # Looking at Great-Great Grandpa Baldwin's photograph, I… ![“Looking at Great-Great Grandpa Baldwin's photograph, I think to myself: You've finally done it. It took four generations, but you've finally goddamned done it. Gotten that war against reason and uppity secularists you always wanted. Gotten even for the Scopes trial, which they say was one of many…” quote by Joe Bageant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/joe-bageant-25954_belief_looking-at-great-great-grandpa-baldwin-s_3118635.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/joe-bageant-25954_belief_looking-at-great-great-grandpa-baldwin-s_3118635.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/joe-bageant-25954_belief_looking-at-great-great-grandpa-baldwin-s_3118635.jpg) > ““Looking at Great-Great Grandpa Baldwin's photograph, I think to myself: You've finally done it. It took four generations, but you've finally goddamned done it. Gotten that war against reason and uppity secularists you always wanted. Gotten even for the Scopes trial, which they say was one of many burrs under your saddle until your last breath. Well, rejoice, old man, because your tribes have gathered around America's oldest magical hairball of ignorance and superstition, Christian fundamentalism, and their numbers have enabled them to suck so much oxygen out of the political atmosphere that they are now acknowledged as a mainstream force in politics. Episcopalians, Jews, and affluent suburban Methodists and Catholics, they are all now scratching their heads, sweating, and swearing loudly that this pack of lower-class zealots cannot possibly represent the mainstream--not the mainstream they learned about in their fancy sociology classes or were so comfortably reassured about by media commentators who were people like themselves. Goodnight, Grandpa Baldwin. I'll toast you from hell.”” [Joe Bageant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bageant/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fundamentalist Christianity has become a powerful political force, shaping mainstream discourse despite its roots in ignorance. **In simple terms:** Religious fundamentalism now heavily influences politics, despite its irrational basis. Key Takeaway Recognize and critically evaluate the impact of extreme ideologies. Themes politics religion culture media Mood critical concerned Type analytical political When to use this quote - election campaigns - policy debates - media analysis - community activism Key Concepts sociology mass persuasion Questions to Reflect On - How does fundamentalism affect your community? - What can be done to promote rational discourse? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on one group may ignore other influential factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Extremism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremism/) [Four generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four-generations/) [Fundamentalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fundamentalism/) [Great grandpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-grandpa/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Last breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-breath/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Scopes trial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scopes-trial/) [Secular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secular/) [Superstition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstition/) ## Related quotes > [“Then why didn’t humans abandon farming when the plan backfired? 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Shapiro has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-balmer/building-on-exhaustive-research-and-probing-into-such-diverse/) Randall Balmer > [“Q: But what do you think that the Bible, itself, says? Don't you know how it was arrived at? A: I never made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scopes-trial/q-but-what-do-you-think-that-the-bible-itself-says-don-t-you-know-how/) Scopes Trial > [“Today the earth speaks with resonance and clearness and every ear in every civilized country of the world is attuned to its wonderful message…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fairfield-osborn/today-the-earth-speaks-with-resonance-and-clearness-and-every-ear-in/) [Henry Fairfield Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fairfield-osborn/) > [What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-giuliani/what-children-need-most-are-the-essentials-that-grandparents-provide/) [Rudy Giuliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-giuliani/) ## More by Joe Bageant > [“Remember when welfare mothers were robbing us all blind and driving Cadillacs? ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bageant/remember-when-welfare-mothers-were-robbing-us-all-blind-and-driving/) [Joe Bageant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bageant/) > [If middle-class Americans do not feel threatened by the slow encroachment of the police state or the Patriot Act, it is because they live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bageant/if-middle-class-americans-do-not-feel-threatened-by-the-slow/) [Joe Bageant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bageant/) > [The four cornerstones of the American political psyche are 1) emotion substituted for thought, 2) fear, 3) ignorance and 4) propaganda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bageant/the-four-cornerstones-of-the-american-political-psyche-are-1-emotion/) [Joe Bageant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bageant/) > [ They \[Christian rednecks\] were so stupid that they couldn't pour piss out of a boot even if the instructions were printed on the bottom. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bageant/they-christian-rednecks-were-so-stupid-that-they-couldn-t-pour-piss/) [Joe Bageant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bageant/) > [“Somewhere in between are the rest of us natives, in whom such change revives long-buried anger at those faraway people who seem to govern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bageant/somewhere-in-between-are-the-rest-of-us-natives-in-whom-such-change/) [Joe Bageant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bageant/) > [“Republican or Democrat, this nation's affluent urban and suburban classes understand their bread is buttered on the corporate side. 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We don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bageant/the-reality-is-that-our-economy-now-consists-of-driving-250-million/) [Joe Bageant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bageant/) > [You never know you are in a prison unless you try the door](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bageant/you-never-know-you-are-in-a-prison-unless-you-try-the-door/) [Joe Bageant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bageant/) > [“This book is written from a changing town in Virginia, but this class of mine, these people--the ones who smell like an ashtray in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bageant/this-book-is-written-from-a-changing-town-in-virginia-but-this-class/) [Joe Bageant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bageant/) > [Cultural stupidity accounts for virtually every aspect of Sarah Palin, both as a person and a political icon. 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It's now burnt to a crisp.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bageant/somebody-left-the-american-dream-in-the-toaster-too-long-it-s-now/) [Joe Bageant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bageant/) > [“Nearly all of these successful folks have made it in the business world by sticking with the free market ideal of survival of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bageant/nearly-all-of-these-successful-folks-have-made-it-in-the-business/) [Joe Bageant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bageant/) [Explore all 22 Joe Bageant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bageant/) ## More Belief quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? 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Gotten even for the Scopes trial, which they say was one of many burrs under your saddle until your last breath. Well, rejoice, old man, because your tribes have gathered around America's oldest magical hairball of ignorance and superstition, Christian fundamentalism, and their numbers have enabled them to suck so much oxygen out of the political atmosphere that they are now acknowledged as a mainstream force in politics. Episcopalians, Jews, and affluent suburban Methodists and Catholics, they are all now scratching their heads, sweating, and swearing loudly that this pack of lower-class zealots cannot possibly represent the mainstream--not the mainstream they learned about in their fancy sociology classes or were so comfortably reassured about by media commentators who were people like themselves. Goodnight, Grandpa Baldwin. 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