--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Barry Goldwater movement excited the…" description: "\"The Barry Goldwater movement excited the depths because the apocalypse was brought more near, and like millions of other whites, I had been leading a l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/norman-mailer-839_apocalypse_the-barry-goldwater-movement-excited-the_2392750.jpg" --- # The Barry Goldwater movement excited the depths because… ![“The Barry Goldwater movement excited the depths because the apocalypse was brought more near, and like millions of other whites, I had been leading a life which was a trifle too pointless and a trifle too full of guilt and my gullet was close to nausea with the empty promises of an empty liberal…” quote by Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/norman-mailer-839_apocalypse_the-barry-goldwater-movement-excited-the_2392750.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/norman-mailer-839_apocalypse_the-barry-goldwater-movement-excited-the_2392750.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00a/norman-mailer-839_apocalypse_the-barry-goldwater-movement-excited-the_2392750.jpg) > “The Barry Goldwater movement excited the depths because the apocalypse was brought more near, and like millions of other whites, I had been leading a life which was a trifle too pointless and a trifle too full of guilt and my gullet was close to nausea with the empty promises of an empty liberal center.” [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote expresses deep disillusionment with mainstream liberal politics, feeling existential dread and personal guilt amid perceived societal decay. **In simple terms:** Feeling lost and guilty about liberal politics and personal purpose. Key Takeaway Question personal values and seek authentic purpose. Themes disillusionment politics existential angst guilt societal decay Mood cynical reflective melancholic Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political activism - personal therapy - community engagement - writing - public speaking Key Concepts midcentury mala cultural critique personal crisis Questions to Reflect On - What personal actions can counteract feelings of emptiness? - How can one find meaning beyond political disappointment? A Different Perspective The perspective may overlook constructive aspects of liberalism and alternative solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apocalypse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apocalypse/) [Apocalypse Brought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apocalypse-brought-5965361/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barry-goldwater/) [Conservatism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatism/) [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Depths Apocalypse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depths-apocalypse-5965360/) [Empty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) [Empty promises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty-promises/) [Excited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excited/) [Goldwater Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goldwater-movement-5965358/) [Guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Millions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/millions/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Nausea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nausea/) [Pointless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pointless/) [Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise/) [Promises Liberal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promises-liberal-5965364/) [Trifle Guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trifle-guilt-5965362/) [Trifles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trifles/) ## Related quotes > [I'm a liberal to a degree, I want everybody to be free. But if you think that I'll let Barry Goldwater move in next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-m-a-liberal-to-a-degree-i-want-everybody-to-be-free-but-if-you/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Bill Rehnquist makes Barry Goldwater look like a liberal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dean/bill-rehnquist-makes-barry-goldwater-look-like-a-liberal/) [John Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dean/) > [Barry Goldwater has definitely decided to be a candidate in '64. He will campaign in all thirteen states.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/barry-goldwater-has-definitely-decided-to-be-a-candidate-in-64-he/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Once the religious right got their beachhead in the Republican Party in 1980, they expanded it. Even Barry Goldwater was extremely hostile to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-painter/once-the-religious-right-got-their-beachhead-in-the-republican-party/) [Richard Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-painter/) > [ Republicans think that \[Ted\] Cruz would be like Barry Goldwater. He'd lose in a landslide and pull the party down with him. They'd lose… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-liasson/republicans-think-that-ted-cruz-would-be-like-barry-goldwater-he-d/) [Mara Liasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-liasson/) > [Toward the end of the 1964 presidential campaign, Reagan gives a speech on behalf of Barry Goldwater. It was like a screen test for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/toward-the-end-of-the-1964-presidential-campaign-reagan-gives-a/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [In 1964, I tried to convince my grandfather, who was active in the New York City firefighters union, to vote for Barry Goldwater over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lhota/in-1964-i-tried-to-convince-my-grandfather-who-was-active-in-the-new/) [Joe Lhota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lhota/) > [Liberals and leftists have been dismissing inconvenient facts by attacking motives for generations. In the 1930s, '40s, and '50s, Soviet spies and abettors attacked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/liberals-and-leftists-have-been-dismissing-inconvenient-facts-by/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [My favorite politician was Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, who reminded me of Tom Mix, and there wasn't any way to explain that to anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/my-favorite-politician-was-arizona-senator-barry-goldwater-who/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan had tremendous influence on generations of American because, even if people disagreed with them, they admired them because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crane/barry-goldwater-and-ronald-reagan-had-tremendous-influence-on/) [Phil Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crane/) > [The ur-conservatives of the 1950s - William F. Buckley Jr., Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan and all the rest - were revolting not against a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-boot/the-ur-conservatives-of-the-1950s-william-f-buckley-jr-barry/) [Max Boot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-boot/) > [“... in an airport in '64, Goldwater said, 'Well, keep punching, Hubert' during a chance meeting there. By the end of 1977, it became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/in-an-airport-in-64-goldwater-said-well-keep-punching-hubert-during-a/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“Truth be told, the party was moving in entirely the wrong direction. Ever since 1964, when Barry Goldwater championed “states’ rights”—understood to signify his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/truth-be-told-the-party-was-moving-in-entirely-the-wrong-direction/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [“While David runs the financial end of the Rockefeller dynasty, Nelson runs the political. Nelson would like to be President of the United States.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-allen/while-david-runs-the-financial-end-of-the-rockefeller-dynasty-nelson/) [Gary Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-allen/) > [During my life, I have had a few nightmares which happened to me while I was wide awake. One of them was the National…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-robinson/during-my-life-i-have-had-a-few-nightmares-which-happened-to-me-while/) [Jackie Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-robinson/) ## More by Norman Mailer > [Conservatives are people who look at a tree and feel instinctively that it is more beautiful than anything they can name. But when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/conservatives-are-people-who-look-at-a-tree-and-feel-instinctively/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [There's a subterranean impetus towards pornography so powerful that half the business world is juiced by the sort of half sex that one finds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/there-s-a-subterranean-impetus-towards-pornography-so-powerful-that/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [So the blind will lead the blind, and the deaf shout warnings to one another until their voices are lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/so-the-blind-will-lead-the-blind-and-the-deaf-shout-warnings-to-one/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Writing for a newspaper is like running a revolutionary war. You go to battle not when you are ready, but when action offers itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/writing-for-a-newspaper-is-like-running-a-revolutionary-war-you-go-to/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I would introduce myself if it were not useless. The name I had last night will not be the same as the name I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-would-introduce-myself-if-it-were-not-useless-the-name-i-had-last/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“City Point is so beautiful, she says. In the night they cannot see the garbage that litters the beach, the seaweed and driftwood, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/city-point-is-so-beautiful-she-says-in-the-night-they-cannot-see-the/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“I find it’s more fun to write about something that you don’t know completely and that you will discover on route. A dear friend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-find-it-s-more-fun-to-write-about-something-that-you-don-t-know/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Short-term amnesia is not the worst affliction if you have an Irish flair for the sauce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/short-term-amnesia-is-not-the-worst-affliction-if-you-have-an-irish/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Part of the oncoming demise (of New York during its terrible fiscal crisis) is that none of us can simply believe it. We were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/part-of-the-oncoming-demise-of-new-york-during-its-terrible-fiscal/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I have always had this very strong, call it a feeling, call it a prejudice, call it a conviction ... that the mysteries are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-have-always-had-this-very-strong-call-it-a-feeling-call-it-a/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I do believe that America's deepest political sickness is that it is a self-righteous nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-do-believe-that-america-s-deepest-political-sickness-is-that-it-is/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [America is a hurricane, and the only people who do not hear the sound are those fortunate if incredibly stupid and smug White Protestants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/america-is-a-hurricane-and-the-only-people-who-do-not-hear-the-sound/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Armstrong, sitting in the commander's seat, spacesuit on, helmet on, plugged into electrical and environmental umbilical's, is a man who is not only a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/armstrong-sitting-in-the-commander-s-seat-spacesuit-on-helmet-on/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I was thinking that surgeons had to be the happiest people on earth. To cut people up and get paid for it-that's happiness, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-was-thinking-that-surgeons-had-to-be-the-happiest-people-on-earth/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Movies are more likely than literature to reach deep feelings in people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/movies-are-more-likely-than-literature-to-reach-deep-feelings-in/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) [Explore all 355 Norman Mailer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## More Apocalypse quotes > [People always wonder when the world is going to end. I believe that the world will end when everyone stops loving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nichole-fickes/people-always-wonder-when-the-world-is-going-to-end-i-believe-that/) [Nichole Fickes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nichole-fickes/) > [A South Korean inventor has finally created the robot that mankind has been waiting for. Scientists who have been worried about the robot apocalypse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pesca/a-south-korean-inventor-has-finally-created-the-robot-that-mankind/) [Mike Pesca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pesca/) > [The end of the world begins the moment you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-end-of-the-world-begins-the-moment-you-die/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [If it makes you feel any better, this isn't my first apocalypse. There is hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/if-it-makes-you-feel-any-better-this-isn-t-my-first-apocalypse-there/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Funerals and weddings were commonplace, and nothing could have been so interesting to them as the coming of the end of the world ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-eggleston/funerals-and-weddings-were-commonplace-and-nothing-could-have-been-so/) [Edward Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-eggleston/) > [“The world did not end with a bang, nor did it end with a whimper. It was more of a chomp. And a slurp.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rudolph/the-world-did-not-end-with-a-bang-nor-did-it-end-with-a-whimper-it/) [J. Rudolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rudolph/) > [Nuclear apocalypse-who do you need? Actors are probably not top of the list. What can I do for you? I can pretend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-bale/nuclear-apocalypse-who-do-you-need-actors-are-probably-not-top-of-the/) [Christian Bale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-bale/) > [“It was a comfortable, familiar apocalypse,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-barnes/it-was-a-comfortable-familiar-apocalypse/) [Adrian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-barnes/) > [In the New Testament alone there are Gospels, acts, epistles, and an apocalypse. Gospels contain literary forms like miracles, parables, pronouncements, proverbs, farewell discourses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-blomberg/in-the-new-testament-alone-there-are-gospels-acts-epistles-and-an/) [Craig Blomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-blomberg/) > [The day came. The wrath descended. Sin, guilt, and retribution? The manic psychoses of those entities we referred to as states, institutions, systems -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-day-came-the-wrath-descended-sin-guilt-and-retribution-the-manic/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“People have always been good at imagining the end of the world, which is much easier to picture than the strange sidelong paths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/people-have-always-been-good-at-imagining-the-end-of-the-world-which/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [The awkward moment when you predict the end of the world and nothing happens :P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-awkward-moment-when-you-predict-the-end-of-the-world-and-nothing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I once fed a dog-fight operator to the dogs he had abused for so long, and do you want to know something? 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