--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's kind of interesting and sick that…" description: "\"It's kind of interesting and sick that the intellectual culture called the 1960s, \"time of troubles,\" a dangerous period in which a lot of harm was don..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/noam-chomsky-42_1960s_it-s-kind-of-interesting-and-sick-that-t_623813.jpg" --- # It's kind of interesting and sick that the intellectual… ![“It's kind of interesting and sick that the intellectual culture called the 1960s, "time of troubles," a dangerous period in which a lot of harm was done to the society. And the reason is because we were civilized and that's dangerous. That increased the commitment to democracy, to rights and so…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/noam-chomsky-42_1960s_it-s-kind-of-interesting-and-sick-that-t_623813.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/noam-chomsky-42_1960s_it-s-kind-of-interesting-and-sick-that-t_623813.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/noam-chomsky-42_1960s_it-s-kind-of-interesting-and-sick-that-t_623813.jpg) > “It's kind of interesting and sick that the intellectual culture called the 1960s, "time of troubles," a dangerous period in which a lot of harm was done to the society. And the reason is because we were civilized and that's dangerous. That increased the commitment to democracy, to rights and so on, and this left people much less obedient.” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The 1960s' critical stance threatened established order, fostering democratic commitment and reduced obedience. **In simple terms:** Critical thinking can destabilize complacent societies. Key Takeaway Embrace questioning to strengthen democracy. Themes democracy critical thinking social change Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - academic discourse - activism - policy reform - education - media analysis Key Concepts political philosophy civil disobedience Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance dissent with unity? - What safeguards protect democratic values amid unrest? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on dissent can fragment social cohesion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1960s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1960s-426/) [1960S Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/1960s-time-661420/) [Called 1960S](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-1960s-5041938/) [Civilized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilized/) [Commitment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commitment/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Dangerous Period](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous-period-2082170/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Intellectual Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual-culture-2345591/) [Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Obedient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obedient/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Periods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/periods/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Sick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sick/) [Sixties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sixties/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Times of trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/times-of-trouble/) [Trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trouble/) ## Related quotes > [The late 1960s was another time and another world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/the-late-1960s-was-another-time-and-another-world/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The 1960s were a time of cultural revolution in Poland. And I was a part of that revolution. For me, those years - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krzysztof-penderecki/the-1960s-were-a-time-of-cultural-revolution-in-poland-and-i-was-a/) [Krzysztof Penderecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krzysztof-penderecki/) > [The easiest period in a crisis situation is actually the battle itself. The most difficult is the period of indecision - whether to fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/the-easiest-period-in-a-crisis-situation-is-actually-the-battle/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [In the modern era, our nation experienced constant hardship and difficulties. The Chinese nation reached the most dangerous period. Since then, countless people with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xi-jinping/in-the-modern-era-our-nation-experienced-constant-hardship-and/) [Xi Jinping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xi-jinping/) > [We are entering an increasingly dangerous period of our history. But I'm an optimist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/we-are-entering-an-increasingly-dangerous-period-of-our-history-but-i/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [I think that a failure of statistical thinking is the major intellectual shortcoming of our universities, journalism and intellectual culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/i-think-that-a-failure-of-statistical-thinking-is-the-major/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“Also, a large swath of our intellectual culture is loath to admit that there could be anything good about civilization, modernity, and Western society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/also-a-large-swath-of-our-intellectual-culture-is-loath-to-admit-that/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Intellectual culture has no necessary relation to purity or excellency of character...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derick/intellectual-culture-has-no-necessary-relation-to-purity-or/) [Derick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derick/) > [Intellectual culture seems to separate high art from low art. Low art is horror or pornography or anything that has a physical component to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/intellectual-culture-seems-to-separate-high-art-from-low-art-low-art/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Western scientists built an intellectual culture based on the premise that it was worse to fool oneself into believing in something that did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-oreskes/western-scientists-built-an-intellectual-culture-based-on-the-premise/) [Naomi Oreskes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-oreskes/) > [Latin America was the most obedient follower of the neoliberal regime that was instituted by the United States, its allies and the international financial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/latin-america-was-the-most-obedient-follower-of-the-neoliberal-regime/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Policy is largely set by economic elites and organized groups representing business interests with little concern for public attitudes or public safety, as long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/policy-is-largely-set-by-economic-elites-and-organized-groups/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [In the 1960s, various parts of the population became energized and began to enter the public arena to call for the rights of women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/in-the-1960s-various-parts-of-the-population-became-energized-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help us in times of trouble. So we will not be afraid, even if the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/god-is-our-shelter-and-strength-always-ready-to-help-us-in-times-of/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [Stay in your seat come times of trouble. Its only people who jump off the roller coaster who get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harvey/stay-in-your-seat-come-times-of-trouble-its-only-people-who-jump-off/) [Paul Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harvey/) ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's plenty to criticize about the mass media, but they are the source of regular information about a wide range of topics. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Explore all 2,129 Noam Chomsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More 1960s quotes > [We do need different types of propulsion to get to Mars. I wrote one of the first Ph.D. theses on that in the 1960s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-do-need-different-types-of-propulsion-to-get-to-mars-i-wrote-one/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Each year more than 100,000 high school graduates, with proved ability, do not enter college because they cannot afford it. And if we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/each-year-more-than-100-000-high-school-graduates-with-proved-ability/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Sometimes a party must sail against the wind. We cannot heed the call of those who say it is time to furl the sail.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kennedy/sometimes-a-party-must-sail-against-the-wind-we-cannot-heed-the-call/) [Edward Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kennedy/) > [ \[In the 1960s\]...you could take LSD but you couldn't wear a pantsuit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsey-johnson/in-the-1960s-you-could-take-lsd-but-you-couldn-t-wear-a-pantsuit/) [Betsey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsey-johnson/) > [Is it a coincidence that stories from the private life became more popular just as the grand hope for public redemption through revolution was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/is-it-a-coincidence-that-stories-from-the-private-life-became-more/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [I think the general anxiety of the 1960s - '70s spawned our interest in the living dead. When people worry about the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/i-think-the-general-anxiety-of-the-1960s-70s-spawned-our-interest-in/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“A friend once told me a story about a former Black Panther leader in a Midwest community who in the 1960s had his phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-j-rodr-guez/a-friend-once-told-me-a-story-about-a-former-black-panther-leader-in/) [Luis J. Rodríguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-j-rodr-guez/) > [I was never bothered about my position in the industry. If I had believed in it, I wouldn't have allowed anyone to get ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharmendra/i-was-never-bothered-about-my-position-in-the-industry-if-i-had/) [Dharmendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dharmendra/) > [Under the system that we now have to nominate presidential candidates, for instance, I would prefer that we have a system that is closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beschloss/under-the-system-that-we-now-have-to-nominate-presidential-candidates/) [Michael Beschloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beschloss/) > [My son Bill, who came to me in 1960-he was 14 then, quoted the old parable to me: "It is not by their words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/my-son-bill-who-came-to-me-in-1960-he-was-14-then-quoted-the-old/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [There is a book called San Francisco Tape Music Centre:1960s Counterculture and the Avant-Garde and this book describes everything that you want to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/there-is-a-book-called-san-francisco-tape-music-centre-1960s/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [Much of the art of the 1960s, from body art to video and direct performance, was concerned with similar issues. And then there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valie-export/much-of-the-art-of-the-1960s-from-body-art-to-video-and-direct/) [Valie Export](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valie-export/) > [I went through college in the 1960s without having any idea that I was going to have to make a living. When I graduated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/i-went-through-college-in-the-1960s-without-having-any-idea-that-i/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > [“At the beginning of a decade when everything was beginning to seem possible, nothing seemed impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-lee-shetterly/at-the-beginning-of-a-decade-when-everything-was-beginning-to-seem/) [Margot Lee Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-lee-shetterly/) [Browse all 486 1960s quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1960s-426/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's kind of interesting and sick that the intellectual culture called the 1960s, \"time of troubles,\" a dangerous period in which a lot of harm was done to the society. And the reason is because we were civilized and that's dangerous. 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