--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Call yourself \"Colonel\" and declare that…" description: "\"Call yourself \"Colonel\" and declare that your fortune was left to you by Dutch burghers from the seventeenth century. Now you're a solid citizen, the e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/luc-sante-25406_caught_call-yourself-colonel-and-declare-that-y_1903361.jpg" --- # Call yourself "Colonel" and declare that your fortune was… ![“Call yourself "Colonel" and declare that your fortune was left to you by Dutch burghers from the seventeenth century. Now you're a solid citizen, the embodiment of hard work and rugged individualism. You're no criminal. The criminal is the guy who comes up short, who gets caught, who fails to…” quote by Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/luc-sante-25406_caught_call-yourself-colonel-and-declare-that-y_1903361.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/luc-sante-25406_caught_call-yourself-colonel-and-declare-that-y_1903361.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a13/luc-sante-25406_caught_call-yourself-colonel-and-declare-that-y_1903361.jpg) > “Call yourself "Colonel" and declare that your fortune was left to you by Dutch burghers from the seventeenth century. Now you're a solid citizen, the embodiment of hard work and rugged individualism. You're no criminal. The criminal is the guy who comes up short, who gets caught, who fails to adopt a respectable cover.” [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adopting a respectable façade can mask criminality, while true criminals hide behind failure. **In simple terms:** Respectable appearance hides true intent. Key Takeaway Question appearances critically. Themes identity social class crime Mood critical analytical Type sociological philosophical When to use this quote - business - politics - personal branding Key Concepts Respectability social mobility Questions to Reflect On - What defines a 'criminal' in society? - How does self‑presentation affect perception? A Different Perspective Societal pressure may force false identities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Criminals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminals/) [Dutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dutch/) [Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Individualism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individualism/) [Rugged individualism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rugged-individualism/) ## Related quotes > [Does it say 'Colonel' anywhere on my uniform?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-o-neill/does-it-say-colonel-anywhere-on-my-uniform/) [Jack O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-o-neill/) > [Yes. I was the first female colonel. I enjoyed being that kind of role model for young women watching the show. A woman can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-gray/yes-i-was-the-first-female-colonel-i-enjoyed-being-that-kind-of-role/) [Erin Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-gray/) > [Oh, go in anywhere Colonel, go in anywhere. You'll find lovely fighting all along the line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kearny/oh-go-in-anywhere-colonel-go-in-anywhere-you-ll-find-lovely-fighting/) [Philip Kearny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kearny/) > [Hey, is that you Elvis? I wanna speak to the Colonel. Jump to it, you mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hey-is-that-you-elvis-i-wanna-speak-to-the-colonel-jump-to-it-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The Colonel led all the cheers. Cornbread!" he screamed. CHICKEN!" the crowd responded. Rice!" PEAS!" And then, all together: "WE GOT HIGHER SATs." Hip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-colonel-led-all-the-cheers-cornbread-he-screamed-chicken-the/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [You were wrong. She really is the new general in town." I smiled back, hoping he wasn't aware of my body's reaction to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/you-were-wrong-she-really-is-the-new-general-in-town-i-smiled-back/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [We're the perfect combination. Colonel's an old carny, and me, I'm off the wall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/we-re-the-perfect-combination-colonel-s-an-old-carny-and-me-i-m-off/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [I saw you in the library. With—” “ Colonel Mustard?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-saw-you-in-the-library-with-colonel-mustard/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The notion that the colonel need be a better man than the private is as confused as the notion that the keystone need be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-notion-that-the-colonel-need-be-a-better-man-than-the-private-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Business is not a spiritual matter, and my business decisions are not based on spiritual considerations. When I founded the Essence of Life, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shari-arison/business-is-not-a-spiritual-matter-and-my-business-decisions-are-not/) [Shari Arison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shari-arison/) > [You had to hate the Colonel a whole lot to keep from loving him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-s-cobb/you-had-to-hate-the-colonel-a-whole-lot-to-keep-from-loving-him/) [Irvin S. Cobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-s-cobb/) > [Great God of the Ants, thou hast granted victory to thy servants. I appoint thee honorary Colonel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-capek/great-god-of-the-ants-thou-hast-granted-victory-to-thy-servants-i/) [Karel Capek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-capek/) > [Tell him,' the colonel said, smiling, 'that a person doesn’t die when he should but when he can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/tell-him-the-colonel-said-smiling-that-a-person-doesn-t-die-when-he/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“I celebrate ideals of individual excellence, self-reliance, and personal responsibility… But rugged individualism alone did not get us to the moon. It did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/i-celebrate-ideals-of-individual-excellence-self-reliance-and/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [“Anarchism alone stresses the importance of the individual, his possibilities and needs in a free society. Instead of telling him that he must fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/anarchism-alone-stresses-the-importance-of-the-individual-his/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) ## More by Luc Sante > [All I know about 1970s New York City is that it's where I grew up, and you always have an umbilical connection to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/all-i-know-about-1970s-new-york-city-is-that-it-s-where-i-grew-up-and/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [Like a four-sided porch I'm open to all winds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/like-a-four-sided-porch-i-m-open-to-all-winds/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [Many writers and artists portrayed the poor sympathetically, and even fought on their behalf, but they themselves were not of that class. Gay life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/many-writers-and-artists-portrayed-the-poor-sympathetically-and-even/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [My method is the magpie's: I look for shiny things. That is, I look for concrete material details of daily life, and I look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/my-method-is-the-magpie-s-i-look-for-shiny-things-that-is-i-look-for/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [Neoliberalism seems to ramp up every day, making it ever more difficult for anyone but corporations to own and run things and define the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/neoliberalism-seems-to-ramp-up-every-day-making-it-ever-more/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [When I was a child I did engage in an arduous struggle to pass: learning English, getting rid of my accent, becoming conversant with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/when-i-was-a-child-i-did-engage-in-an-arduous-struggle-to-pass/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [The con is a kind of jiu-jitsu that turns the sucker's own greed into its principal weapon. The greedier you are the more likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/the-con-is-a-kind-of-jiu-jitsu-that-turns-the-sucker-s-own-greed-into/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [The US remains an object of fascination for me, and the subject of much study, but while many of my friends etc. are American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/the-us-remains-an-object-of-fascination-for-me-and-the-subject-of/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [I try to take pictures on their own terms, considering the historical and social context from which they emerge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/i-try-to-take-pictures-on-their-own-terms-considering-the-historical/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [I've always assumed it to be an absolute requirement for being a writer: to find all emotions and the sources of all behaviors somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/i-ve-always-assumed-it-to-be-an-absolute-requirement-for-being-a/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [Self-reinvention is an essential trope of the American project, closely linked to another such trope: going on the lam. Both are regularly featured in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/self-reinvention-is-an-essential-trope-of-the-american-project/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [I confess I prefer to engage with pictures which I've chosen myself out of the welter of unidentified pictures, without the intrusion of too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/i-confess-i-prefer-to-engage-with-pictures-which-i-ve-chosen-myself/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [I thought of New York as a free city, like one of those prewar nests of intrigue and licentiousness where exiles and lamsters and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/i-thought-of-new-york-as-a-free-city-like-one-of-those-prewar-nests/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [Paris had more sex than most church-laden places, and more church than most sex-laden places. Parisians crowed about Travail-Famille-Patrie while frequenting brothels. They enjoyed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/paris-had-more-sex-than-most-church-laden-places-and-more-church-than/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [My ideal city is more like the city (New York and Paris come to mind, but it sort of applies to all) that existed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/my-ideal-city-is-more-like-the-city-new-york-and-paris-come-to-mind/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) [Explore all 23 Luc Sante quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) ## More Caught quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [Hollywood is very much an industry town. Your life becomes caught up in all of the parties and this list and that list. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-johnson/hollywood-is-very-much-an-industry-town-your-life-becomes-caught-up/) [Don Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-johnson/) > [I'd always have grease in at least two places, in case the umpires would ask me to wipe one off. I never wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaylord-perry/i-d-always-have-grease-in-at-least-two-places-in-case-the-umpires/) [Gaylord Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaylord-perry/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Sam reached his hand toward mine and I automatically put my fingers in his. With a guilty little smile he pulled my hand toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/sam-reached-his-hand-toward-mine-and-i-automatically-put-my-fingers/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [I never caught on to being a bully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/i-never-caught-on-to-being-a-bully/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [“I caught you!" he beamed. "See, girls really do throw themselves at me. Hey, guys!" His voice echoed off the carved stone and marble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-kirk/i-caught-you-he-beamed-see-girls-really-do-throw-themselves-at-me-hey/) A&E Kirk > [In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/in-the-olden-days-in-england-you-could-be-hung-for-stealing-a-sheep/) [Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/) > [Everybody here is so caught up in the game of life they don't see death. They don't see beyond their deaths. They are on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everybody-here-is-so-caught-up-in-the-game-of-life-they-don-t-see/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [America today is a confused society, caught up in a terror war, a culture war, and a media war, where honesty and professional standards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/america-today-is-a-confused-society-caught-up-in-a-terror-war-a/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [My phone rings, they call me up and say, 'Chael, your testosterone level is too high.' I say, 'Well, how high was it?' They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/my-phone-rings-they-call-me-up-and-say-chael-your-testosterone-level/) [Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/) > [Do not be caught up in materialism, one of the real plagues of our generation-that is, acquiring things, fast-paced living, and securing career success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/do-not-be-caught-up-in-materialism-one-of-the-real-plagues-of-our/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) Browse all 2,627 Caught quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Call yourself \"Colonel\" and declare that your fortune was left to you by Dutch burghers from the seventeenth century. Now you're a solid citizen, the embodiment of hard work and rugged individualism. You're no criminal. 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