--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The last thing I ever wanted was to be…" description: "\"“The last thing I ever wanted was to be alive when the three most powerful people on the whole planet would be named Bush, Dick and Colon. Our governme..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/kurt-vonnegut-41_addiction_the-last-thing-i-ever-wanted-was-to-be-a_529950.jpg" --- # The last thing I ever wanted was to be alive when the… ![“The last thing I ever wanted was to be alive when the three most powerful people on the whole planet would be named Bush, Dick and Colon. Our government's got a war on drugs…But get this: The two most widely abused and addictive and destructive of all substances are both perfectly legal. One, of…” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/kurt-vonnegut-41_addiction_the-last-thing-i-ever-wanted-was-to-be-a_529950.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/kurt-vonnegut-41_addiction_the-last-thing-i-ever-wanted-was-to-be-a_529950.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/kurt-vonnegut-41_addiction_the-last-thing-i-ever-wanted-was-to-be-a_529950.jpg) > ““The last thing I ever wanted was to be alive when the three most powerful people on the whole planet would be named Bush, Dick and Colon. Our government's got a war on drugs…But get this: The two most widely abused and addictive and destructive of all substances are both perfectly legal. One, of course, is ethyl alcohol. And President George W. Bush, no less, and by his own admission, was smashed, or tiddley-poo, or four sheets to the wind a good deal of time from when he was sixteen until he was forty. When he was forty-one, he says, Jesus appeared to him and made him knock off the sauce, stop gargling nose paint. Other drunks have seen pink elephants.”” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker criticizes how legal substances like alcohol cause more harm than illegal drugs, highlighting hypocrisy in leadership and addiction. **In simple terms:** Legal drugs cause big problems, even for powerful people. Key Takeaway Recognize and address hidden addictions. Themes addiction hypocrisy politics health society Mood cynical critical reflective Type satirical social commentary When to use this quote - personal health - public policy - leadership accountability - media commentary Key Concepts substance abuse leadership failure social critique Questions to Reflect On - How does society normalize harmful legal substances? - What responsibility do leaders have to model healthy behavior? A Different Perspective Legal substances are socially accepted despite severe consequences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Addiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addiction/) [Powerful people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful-people/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War on drugs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-on-drugs/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) ## Related quotes > [“Thanks a lot, you dirty rats. 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Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. 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