--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One hundred years ago, if someone said…" description: "\"One hundred years ago, if someone said, 'damn,' people would take notice. Now, you can say almost anything. Secrets are the same way. Once upon a time ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/paul-levinson-51545_amount_one-hundred-years-ago-if-someone-said-da_2564797.jpg" --- # One hundred years ago, if someone said, 'damn,' people… ![“One hundred years ago, if someone said, 'damn,' people would take notice. Now, you can say almost anything. Secrets are the same way. Once upon a time when a secret was revealed, people paid an enormous amount of attention to it.” quote by Paul Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/paul-levinson-51545_amount_one-hundred-years-ago-if-someone-said-da_2564797.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/paul-levinson-51545_amount_one-hundred-years-ago-if-someone-said-da_2564797.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/paul-levinson-51545_amount_one-hundred-years-ago-if-someone-said-da_2564797.jpg) > “One hundred years ago, if someone said, 'damn,' people would take notice. Now, you can say almost anything. Secrets are the same way. Once upon a time when a secret was revealed, people paid an enormous amount of attention to it.” [Paul Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-levinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Words lose impact as they become ubiquitous; secrets lose power when they are frequently disclosed. **In simple terms:** Overused words and exposed secrets lose their effect. Key Takeaway Value rarity and discretion. Themes communication privacy culture language attention Mood reflective critical Type observational analytical When to use this quote - online discourse - personal relationships - marketing - political messaging Key Concepts information overload social dynamics digital media Questions to Reflect On - How does constant exposure change the meaning of a word? - What strategies protect a secret’s impact? A Different Perspective Too much openness can erode trust and significance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amount/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Damn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damn/) [Enormous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enormous/) [Hundred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Once upon a time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/once-upon-a-time/) [Paid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paid/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Revealed People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revealed-people-1637962/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Say Secrets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-secrets-343232/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Secret Revealed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret-revealed-250707/) [Secrets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secrets/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-secret-1637963/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-ago/) ## Related quotes > [Earth is ancient now, but all knowledge is stored up in her. 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This is the secret that is being revealed...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/llewellyn-vaughan-lee/oneness-is-very-simple-everything-is-included-and-allowed-to-live/) [Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/llewellyn-vaughan-lee/) > [If a secret is revealed, the person who has confided it to another is to be blamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/if-a-secret-is-revealed-the-person-who-has-confided-it-to-another-is/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [So here is my story, may it bring Some smiles and a tear or so, It happened once upon a time, Far away, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-jacques/so-here-is-my-story-may-it-bring-some-smiles-and-a-tear-or-so-it/) [Brian Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-jacques/) > [Once upon a time we were just plain people. But that was before we began having relationships with mechanical systems. 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Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Paul Levinson > [I firmly believe that we who are alive and can think today-in the closing years of the 20th century-have a commitment to our species…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-levinson/i-firmly-believe-that-we-who-are-alive-and-can-think-today-in-the/) [Paul Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-levinson/) > [Online learning can be a lifeline to those who have obstacles, such as geographical distances or physical disabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-levinson/online-learning-can-be-a-lifeline-to-those-who-have-obstacles-such-as/) [Paul Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-levinson/) > [We of course have our problems, to say the least, in comportment towards ourselves and our environment, but admittance to the cosmos and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-levinson/we-of-course-have-our-problems-to-say-the-least-in-comportment/) [Paul Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-levinson/) > [If two or three hundred years from now an earthbound civilization is dying ... and they look back at the opportunity that we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-levinson/if-two-or-three-hundred-years-from-now-an-earthbound-civilization-is/) [Paul Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-levinson/) > [“what I call the “first love syndrome,” found not only in what we most like in online systems but in movies, television shows, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-levinson/what-i-call-the-first-love-syndrome-found-not-only-in-what-we-most/) [Paul Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-levinson/) > [Now, more than ever, we need people in space... 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