---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a gentle absurdity about…"
description: "\"There is a gentle absurdity about Washington, D.C., and it is easy to develop affection for the place, if you can forget that the consequences of what ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff6/linda-ellerbee-13669_absurdity_there-is-a-gentle-absurdity-about-washin_2721757.png"
---

#  There is a gentle absurdity about Washington, D.C., and it…

![“There is a gentle absurdity about Washington, D.C., and it is easy to develop affection for the place, if you can forget that the consequences of what goes on there are real, whereas what goes on there may not be.” quote by Linda Ellerbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff6/linda-ellerbee-13669_absurdity_there-is-a-gentle-absurdity-about-washin_2721757.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff6/linda-ellerbee-13669_absurdity_there-is-a-gentle-absurdity-about-washin_2721757.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff6/linda-ellerbee-13669_absurdity_there-is-a-gentle-absurdity-about-washin_2721757.png)

> “There is a gentle absurdity about Washington, D.C., and it is easy to develop affection for the place, if you can forget that the consequences of what goes on there are real, whereas what goes on there may not be.”

[Linda Ellerbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ellerbee/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The city feels charming but its policies have real consequences that are often ignored.

**In simple terms:** Washington feels nice but its actions matter.

Key Takeaway

Remember the impact behind the charm.

Themes

politics city life illusion

Mood

reflective critical

Type

analytical observational

When to use this quote

- travel
- policy analysis
- urban journalism
- public awareness

Key Concepts

cognitive dissonance affection

Questions to Reflect On

- How does affection affect judgment?
- What responsibilities arise from ignoring consequences?

A Different Perspective

Charm can mask serious outcomes.

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## Related quotes

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> [I've always felt that comedy doesn't just come from misery. It comes from an absurdity around that misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-amstell/i-ve-always-felt-that-comedy-doesn-t-just-come-from-misery-it-comes/)

[Simon Amstell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-amstell/)

> [Desire is this absurdity that holds open the infinity of possibility. Ever optimistic, ever resourceful, desire tells us what it sees as it speeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-farley/desire-is-this-absurdity-that-holds-open-the-infinity-of-possibility/)

[Wendy Farley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-farley/)

> [We all live inside the terrible engine of authority, and it grinds and shrieks and burns so that no one will say: lines on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-live-inside-the-terrible-engine-of-authority-and-it-grinds-and/)

[Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/)

> [Thought of the incomprehensible sequence of changes and chances that make up a life, all the beauties and horrors and absurdities whose conjunctions create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/thought-of-the-incomprehensible-sequence-of-changes-and-chances-that/)

[Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/)

> [Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/such-squeamish-youths-as-cannot-bear-to-be-connected-with-a-little/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [One would think that a system loaded with such gross and vulgar absurdities as Scripture religion is could never have obtained credit; yet we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/one-would-think-that-a-system-loaded-with-such-gross-and-vulgar/)

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> [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/)

[Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/)

## More by Linda Ellerbee

> [I have always felt that laughter in the face of reality is probably the finest sound there is and will last until the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ellerbee/i-have-always-felt-that-laughter-in-the-face-of-reality-is-probably/)

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[Linda Ellerbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ellerbee/)

> [I've heard it said that the first law of journalism is to confirm existing prejudice, rather than contradict it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ellerbee/i-ve-heard-it-said-that-the-first-law-of-journalism-is-to-confirm/)

[Linda Ellerbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ellerbee/)

> [If somebody stretches out a helping hand, don't look to see if it's old, young, male, female, or green, just take the hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ellerbee/if-somebody-stretches-out-a-helping-hand-don-t-look-to-see-if-it-s/)

[Linda Ellerbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ellerbee/)

> [People are pretty much alike. It's only that our differences are more susceptible to definition than our similarities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ellerbee/people-are-pretty-much-alike-it-s-only-that-our-differences-are-more/)

[Linda Ellerbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ellerbee/)

> [Co-dependence...taking someone else's temperature to see how you feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ellerbee/co-dependence-taking-someone-else-s-temperature-to-see-how-you-feel/)

[Linda Ellerbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ellerbee/)

> [Presumably a movement is more polite than a revolution, and a lot slower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ellerbee/presumably-a-movement-is-more-polite-than-a-revolution-and-a-lot/)

[Linda Ellerbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ellerbee/)

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[Linda Ellerbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ellerbee/)

> [Styles, like everything else, change. Style doesn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ellerbee/styles-like-everything-else-change-style-doesn-t/)

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> [Just because it's a rat race doesn't mean it's okay to be a rat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ellerbee/just-because-it-s-a-rat-race-doesn-t-mean-it-s-okay-to-be-a-rat/)

[Linda Ellerbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ellerbee/)

[Explore all 49 Linda Ellerbee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ellerbee/)

## More Absurdity quotes

> [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/)

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> [Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/such-squeamish-youths-as-cannot-bear-to-be-connected-with-a-little/)

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> [Desire is this absurdity that holds open the infinity of possibility. Ever optimistic, ever resourceful, desire tells us what it sees as it speeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-farley/desire-is-this-absurdity-that-holds-open-the-infinity-of-possibility/)

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> [I've always felt that comedy doesn't just come from misery. It comes from an absurdity around that misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-amstell/i-ve-always-felt-that-comedy-doesn-t-just-come-from-misery-it-comes/)

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[A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/)

> [The tales of our exploits will survive as long as the human voice itself,' he said. 'And even after that, when the robots recall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-tales-of-our-exploits-will-survive-as-long-as-the-human-voice/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [Life packed a clever one-two punch: cruelty and absurdity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/life-packed-a-clever-one-two-punch-cruelty-and-absurdity/)

[Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/)

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