--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I say should always be prefaced with…" description: "\"What I say should always be prefaced with this: I'm not really politically articulate. I just try to be like Thomas Paine: what is common sense? So whe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db3/patti-smith-394_common_what-i-say-should-always-be-prefaced-wit_2108502.jpg" --- # What I say should always be prefaced with this: I'm not… ![“What I say should always be prefaced with this: I'm not really politically articulate. I just try to be like Thomas Paine: what is common sense? So when I say these things to you, I am speaking from a humanist point of view. I just look around and see what's wrong.” quote by Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db3/patti-smith-394_common_what-i-say-should-always-be-prefaced-wit_2108502.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db3/patti-smith-394_common_what-i-say-should-always-be-prefaced-wit_2108502.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db3/patti-smith-394_common_what-i-say-should-always-be-prefaced-wit_2108502.jpg) > “What I say should always be prefaced with this: I'm not really politically articulate. I just try to be like Thomas Paine: what is common sense? So when I say these things to you, I am speaking from a humanist point of view. I just look around and see what's wrong.” [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author admits limited political eloquence, preferring common‑sense humanism over partisan rhetoric. **In simple terms:** Not a political expert, but speaks from humanist common sense. Key Takeaway Speak from personal values, not political jargon. Themes humanism politics humility Mood thoughtful humble Type philosophical personal When to use this quote - activism - writing - public speaking Key Concepts common sense authenticity public discourse Questions to Reflect On - How can you stay informed while remaining humble? - When does common sense conflict with expertise? A Different Perspective Humanist perspective may overlook complex policy nuances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Articulate Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/articulate-just-4245868/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) [Humanist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanist/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paine/) [Point of view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-of-view/) [Politically Articulate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politically-articulate-4245867/) [Say Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-things/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Speaking Humanist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speaking-humanist-4245866/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) ## Related quotes > [As a citizen, hopefully I'm humanist. As an artist, I'm free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/as-a-citizen-hopefully-i-m-humanist-as-an-artist-i-m-free/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I still don't want to be put in the feminist bag. I'm a humanist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-still-don-t-want-to-be-put-in-the-feminist-bag-i-m-a-humanist/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [The crime of ingratitude has not yet stained, and I trust never will stain, our national character. You are considered by them as not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-monroe/the-crime-of-ingratitude-has-not-yet-stained-and-i-trust-never-will/) [James Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-monroe/) > [Well, if they will not march with Paine, they shall march under him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lick/well-if-they-will-not-march-with-paine-they-shall-march-under-him/) [James Lick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lick/) > [“I have always been interested in this man . My father had a set of Tom Paine 's books on the shelf at home.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/i-have-always-been-interested-in-this-man-my-father-had-a-set-of-tom/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [I think Tom Paine is one of the greatest men that's ever lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-attenborough/i-think-tom-paine-is-one-of-the-greatest-men-that-s-ever-lived/) [Richard Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-attenborough/) > [“All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/all-national-institutions-of-churches-whether-jewish-christian-or/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [There are no words to express the extraordinary strength and character of this breed of people we call American. They are the kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/there-are-no-words-to-express-the-extraordinary-strength-and/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [In 'Common Sense' Paine flared forth with a document so powerful that the Revolution became inevitable. Washington recognized the difference, and in his calm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/in-common-sense-paine-flared-forth-with-a-document-so-powerful-that/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Paines to get, care to keep, feare to lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/paines-to-get-care-to-keep-feare-to-lose/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Thomas Paine needs no monument made with hands; he has erected a monument in the hearts of all lovers of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/thomas-paine-needs-no-monument-made-with-hands-he-has-erected-a/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) > [This is the thing to bomb. This is the beginning—from "I" to "we". If you who own the things people must have could understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/this-is-the-thing-to-bomb-this-is-the-beginning-from-i-to-we-if-you/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [ \[Dalton\] Trumbo wrote this incredible pamphlet, almost on the level of Tom Paine's 'Common Sense,' called 'The Time of the Toad.' It's an exquisitely… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/dalton-trumbo-wrote-this-incredible-pamphlet-almost-on-the-level-of/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [But you know, where did the Brontes go to college? Where did George Eliot go to college? Where did Thomas Paine or Thomas Jefferson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/but-you-know-where-did-the-brontes-go-to-college-where-did-george/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [I never tire of reading Tom Paine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-never-tire-of-reading-tom-paine/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## More by Patti Smith > [I had a really happy childhood - my siblings were great, my mother was very fanciful, and I loved to read. But there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-had-a-really-happy-childhood-my-siblings-were-great-my-mother-was/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [As a citizen, hopefully I'm humanist. As an artist, I'm free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/as-a-citizen-hopefully-i-m-humanist-as-an-artist-i-m-free/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [ Sometimes \[people\] seem to think I came out of the womb, you know, cursing, with an electric guitar. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/sometimes-people-seem-to-think-i-came-out-of-the-womb-you-know/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“Inside it he inscribed a few lines of poetry, portraying us as the gypsy and the fool, one creating silence; one listening closely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/inside-it-he-inscribed-a-few-lines-of-poetry-portraying-us-as-the/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Who can know the heart of youth but youth itself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/who-can-know-the-heart-of-youth-but-youth-itself/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“I clawed through a thick web of the culture’s consciousness that I hadn’t known existed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-clawed-through-a-thick-web-of-the-culture-s-consciousness-that-i/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Ultimately, we are not seeking others to bow to, but to reinforce our individual natures, to help us suffer our own choices, to guide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/ultimately-we-are-not-seeking-others-to-bow-to-but-to-reinforce-our/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [If I'm taking a picture of Brancusi's grave, I know that there's something of him, of his mortal remains, beneath my feet, and there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/if-i-m-taking-a-picture-of-brancusi-s-grave-i-know-that-there-s/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I'm certain, as we filled down the great staircase, that I appeared the same as ever, a moping twelve years-old, all arms and legs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-m-certain-as-we-filled-down-the-great-staircase-that-i-appeared-the/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/in-art-and-dream-may-you-proceed-with-abandon-in-life-may-you-proceed/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [New York is the thing that seduced me. New York is the thing that formed me. New York is the thing that deformed me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/new-york-is-the-thing-that-seduced-me-new-york-is-the-thing-that/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I don't wanna be equal with anybody. I wanna be above equal. I don't think most people are equal to me. I'd like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-don-t-wanna-be-equal-with-anybody-i-wanna-be-above-equal-i-don-t/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I think I'm constantly in a state of adjustment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-think-i-m-constantly-in-a-state-of-adjustment/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Somehow I started introducing writing into my drawings, and after a time, the language took over and I started getting very involved with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/somehow-i-started-introducing-writing-into-my-drawings-and-after-a/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I'm okay with roaming around the world in my bunk for days on end. Maybe every third day I'll get a shower or stumble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-m-okay-with-roaming-around-the-world-in-my-bunk-for-days-on-end/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) [Explore all 595 Patti Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) ## More Common quotes > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [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 can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) [Browse all 7,866 Common quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What I say should always be prefaced with this: I'm not really politically articulate. 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