--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When [ Paul Johnson] got to me he was in…" description: "\"When [ Paul Johnson] got to me he was in trouble, because I'm an old-fashioned conservative: married when I was 21, stayed married, 3 kids, live in the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/noam-chomsky-42_claims_when-paul-johnson-got-to-me-he-was-in-tr_1427228.jpg" --- # When \[ Paul Johnson\] got to me he was in trouble, because… ![“When [ Paul Johnson] got to me he was in trouble, because I'm an old-fashioned conservative: married when I was 21, stayed married, 3 kids, live in the suburbs, no scandals, so nothing to write about. So what he did is concoct one of the nuttiest claims I've ever seen.” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/noam-chomsky-42_claims_when-paul-johnson-got-to-me-he-was-in-tr_1427228.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/noam-chomsky-42_claims_when-paul-johnson-got-to-me-he-was-in-tr_1427228.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/noam-chomsky-42_claims_when-paul-johnson-got-to-me-he-was-in-tr_1427228.jpg) > “When \[ Paul Johnson\] got to me he was in trouble, because I'm an old-fashioned conservative: married when I was 21, stayed married, 3 kids, live in the suburbs, no scandals, so nothing to write about. So what he did is concoct one of the nuttiest claims I've ever seen.” [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 speaker feels out of place among sensationalist narratives, emphasizing a conventional, scandal‑free life as uninteresting material. **In simple terms:** A conventional life seems boring to sensationalists. Key Takeaway Embrace authenticity over sensationalism. Themes conservatism media authenticity Mood reflective critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - political commentary - media analysis - personal storytelling Key Concepts cultural critique personal narrative Questions to Reflect On - How can ordinary stories be made compelling? - What value lies in everyday authenticity? A Different Perspective Sensationalism can overlook depth of ordinary experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Claims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/) [Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative/) [Conservative Married](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative-married-5071091/) [Fashioned Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashioned-conservative-5071092/) [Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/johnson/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Married](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/married/) [Nuttiest Claims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuttiest-claims-5071093/) [Old fashioned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-fashioned/) [Scandal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scandal/) [Suburbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suburbs/) [Suburbs Scandals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suburbs-scandals-5071094/) [Trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trouble/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [If you could take a subway from the suburbs in Boston, where I live, to downtown in 10 minutes, that improves your life over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-could-take-a-subway-from-the-suburbs-in-boston-where-i-live-to/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [My memory - faded, as I say - is that Paul Johnson was trying to vilify all intellectuals who were at all critical of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/my-memory-faded-as-i-say-is-that-paul-johnson-was-trying-to-vilify/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Since Jimmy Carter, religious fundamentalists play a major role in elections. He was the first president who made a point of exhibiting himself as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/since-jimmy-carter-religious-fundamentalists-play-a-major-role-in/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ Another recollection is that \[ Paul Johnson\] mostly kept away from ideas and dedicated activism, and concentrated on sex lives and other gossip. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/another-recollection-is-that-paul-johnson-mostly-kept-away-from-ideas/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The state of New Jersey is really two places - terrible cities and wonderful suburbs. I live in the suburbs, the final battleground of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/the-state-of-new-jersey-is-really-two-places-terrible-cities-and/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [If mass media, social isolation in the suburbs, alienating workplaces and long car commutes create a bunker mentality, the Internet does the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/if-mass-media-social-isolation-in-the-suburbs-alienating-workplaces/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) > [If you grow up in the suburbs, you hear of people dying of old age, car wrecks, cancer. In the city, it's always people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suge-knight/if-you-grow-up-in-the-suburbs-you-hear-of-people-dying-of-old-age-car/) [Suge Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suge-knight/) > [I see no reason why I should not live on indefinitely just as I have done, and on the whole I am more comfortable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-borden/i-see-no-reason-why-i-should-not-live-on-indefinitely-just-as-i-have/) [Mary Borden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-borden/) > [“If you want to see how far we have not come from the cave and the woods, from the lonely and dangerous days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/if-you-want-to-see-how-far-we-have-not-come-from-the-cave-and-the/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [For people who live in the suburbs and must commute long distances to work, their wealth will sink as energy prices rise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/for-people-who-live-in-the-suburbs-and-must-commute-long-distances-to/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [“Upstairs Margaret said abruptly, 'I suppose it starts to happen first in the suburbs,' and when Brad said, 'What starts to happen?' she said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/upstairs-margaret-said-abruptly-i-suppose-it-starts-to-happen-first/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [I was born in Oslo, Norway, but now live in the suburbs of Southwest London, right near the River Thames. It's a lovely part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hanson/i-was-born-in-oslo-norway-but-now-live-in-the-suburbs-of-southwest/) [Alexander Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hanson/) > [I myself am consummately middle class. We grew up in upper-middle-class suburbs in Oklahoma City, and thats very much the same ethos as what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/i-myself-am-consummately-middle-class-we-grew-up-in-upper-middle/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [“In the 1954 Internal Revenue Code, a Republican Congress changed forty-year, straight-line depreciation for buildings to permit 'accelerated depreciation' of greenfield income-producing property in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolores-hayden/in-the-1954-internal-revenue-code-a-republican-congress-changed-forty/) [Dolores Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolores-hayden/) > [I stayed in L.A. long enough to get on my feet, and then I moved back to New York. The reason I moved here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-stayed-in-l-a-long-enough-to-get-on-my-feet-and-then-i-moved-back/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) ## 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. 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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 Claims quotes > [One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/one-of-the-worst-things-to-come-out-of-the-consumer-protection-board/) [Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [We do not claim that punning is legitimate wit. Wit consists in combination of ideas, punning in combination of words only. We wonder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-hosmer/we-do-not-claim-that-punning-is-legitimate-wit-wit-consists-in/) [Harriet Hosmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-hosmer/) > [It is popular to call it a crisis of the Western world. It is in fact a crisis of the whole world. Communism, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-is-popular-to-call-it-a-crisis-of-the-western-world-it-is-in-fact/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [One argument goes that recessions are good for female artists because when money flies out the window, women are allowed in the house. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/one-argument-goes-that-recessions-are-good-for-female-artists-because/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Atheist’s denial of God’s existence needs just as much substantiation as does the theist’s claim; the atheist must give plausible reasons for rejecting God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/atheist-s-denial-of-god-s-existence-needs-just-as-much-substantiation/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [In luggage claim at the Minneapolis airport, the guy came up to me and said, "Maybe you're wrong, maybe stories do matter." I wrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/in-luggage-claim-at-the-minneapolis-airport-the-guy-came-up-to-me-and/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [The rights essential to happiness. . . . 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I think it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/how-can-i-set-free-anyone-who-doesn-t-have-the-guts-to-stand-up-alone/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [The Chinese describe themselves as political refugees. Many base that claim on China's strict population laws, which allow them to have only one child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-koch/the-chinese-describe-themselves-as-political-refugees-many-base-that/) [Ed Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-koch/) > [Life is so full of meaning and of purpose, so full of beauty - beneath its covering - that you will find that earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-giocondo/life-is-so-full-of-meaning-and-of-purpose-so-full-of-beauty-beneath/) [Giovanni Giocondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-giocondo/) [Browse all 2,762 Claims quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When [ Paul Johnson] got to me he was in trouble, because I'm an old-fashioned conservative: married when I was 21, stayed married, 3 kids, live in the suburbs, no scandals, so nothing to write about. 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