--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have too many intellectuals who are…" description: "\"We have too many intellectuals who are afraid to use the pistol of common sense\" — Samuel Fuller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/samuel-fuller-21894_afraid_we-have-too-many-intellectuals-who-are-a_652289.png" --- # We have too many intellectuals who are afraid to use the… ![“We have too many intellectuals who are afraid to use the pistol of common sense” quote by Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/samuel-fuller-21894_afraid_we-have-too-many-intellectuals-who-are-a_652289.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/samuel-fuller-21894_afraid_we-have-too-many-intellectuals-who-are-a_652289.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/samuel-fuller-21894_afraid_we-have-too-many-intellectuals-who-are-a_652289.png) > “We have too many intellectuals who are afraid to use the pistol of common sense” [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intellectuals often avoid practical reasoning, fearing it may seem crude. **In simple terms:** People fear using common sense. Key Takeaway Embrace practical thinking. Themes intellectualism common sense fear Mood cautious thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - education - daily decisions - leadership Key Concepts pragmatism critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - When is common sense insufficient? - How to blend intellect with practicality? A Different Perspective Overlooks value of expertise; balance needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) [Intellectuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectuals/) [Pistols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pistols/) ## Related quotes > [I've got a Marine and I'm not afraid to use him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-a-marine-and-i-m-not-afraid-to-use-him/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So many athletes are afraid to use their platform to do the right thing and speak what they feel, and that's very depressing. Sure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martina-navratilova/so-many-athletes-are-afraid-to-use-their-platform-to-do-the-right/) [Martina Navratilova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martina-navratilova/) > [A lot of people are afraid to use their platforms because they don't want to lose anything they have - and that's OK. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indya-moore/a-lot-of-people-are-afraid-to-use-their-platforms-because-they-don-t/) [Indya Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indya-moore/) > [He who is afraid to use an "I" in his writing will never make a good writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/he-who-is-afraid-to-use-an-i-in-his-writing-will-never-make-a-good/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [“For all my love of words, I am afraid to use them at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-longshore/for-all-my-love-of-words-i-am-afraid-to-use-them-at-all/) [Katherine Longshore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-longshore/) > [“I got claws and I am not afraid to use them...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/i-got-claws-and-i-am-not-afraid-to-use-them/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) > [I have a mouth and I'm not afraid to use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/i-have-a-mouth-and-i-m-not-afraid-to-use-it/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [I have a big mouth. And I'm not afraid to use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominique-crenn/i-have-a-big-mouth-and-i-m-not-afraid-to-use-it/) [Dominique Crenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominique-crenn/) > [I have a mustard seed; and I am not afraid to use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/i-have-a-mustard-seed-and-i-am-not-afraid-to-use-it/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [“Muses have bullwhips and aren't afraid to use them, just sayin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-t-malinowski/muses-have-bullwhips-and-aren-t-afraid-to-use-them-just-sayin/) E.T. Malinowski > [When do you think people die? When they're shot through the heart with a pistol? ...No. When they have an uncurable disease? ...No. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiichiro-oda/when-do-you-think-people-die-when-they-re-shot-through-the-heart-with/) [Eiichiro Oda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiichiro-oda/) > [It is not the office of art to spotlight alternatives, but to resist by its form alone the course of the world, which permanently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/it-is-not-the-office-of-art-to-spotlight-alternatives-but-to-resist/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [If you held a pistol at my head, I couldn't tell you who they're going to vote for Best Actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/if-you-held-a-pistol-at-my-head-i-couldn-t-tell-you-who-they-re-going/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [I'm still secretly a bit of a punk. Love The Clash and a bit of the Pistols. I guess as I've got older I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iwan-rheon/i-m-still-secretly-a-bit-of-a-punk-love-the-clash-and-a-bit-of-the/) [Iwan Rheon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iwan-rheon/) > [I've tried to stay true, in my own fashion, to the ideas of The Sex Pistols, even while I was working with bands like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-temple/i-ve-tried-to-stay-true-in-my-own-fashion-to-the-ideas-of-the-sex/) [Julien Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-temple/) ## More by Samuel Fuller > [If a story doesn't give you a hard-on in the first couple of scenes, throw it in the goddamned garbage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/if-a-story-doesn-t-give-you-a-hard-on-in-the-first-couple-of-scenes/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [Mark Twain didn't psychoanalyze Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer. Dickens didn't put Oliver Twist on the couch because he was hungry! Good copy comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/mark-twain-didn-t-psychoanalyze-huck-finn-or-tom-sawyer-dickens-didn/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [Live, you son of a bitch. You're gonna live if I have to blow your brains out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/live-you-son-of-a-bitch-you-re-gonna-live-if-i-have-to-blow-your/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [When you're in the battlefield, survival is all there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/when-you-re-in-the-battlefield-survival-is-all-there-is/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [A woman is just a script, but a cigar is a motion picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/a-woman-is-just-a-script-but-a-cigar-is-a-motion-picture/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [When you're at the end of your rope, all you have to do is make one foot move out in front of the other.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/when-you-re-at-the-end-of-your-rope-all-you-have-to-do-is-make-one/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [Film is a battleground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/film-is-a-battleground/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [Surviving is the only glory in war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/surviving-is-the-only-glory-in-war/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [I don't care if it's a mystery story, a Western, or the story of Julius Caesar. To me it's the emotion, the lies, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/i-don-t-care-if-it-s-a-mystery-story-a-western-or-the-story-of-julius/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [Ninety-five per cent of films are born of frustration, of self despair, of ambition for survival, for money, for fattening bank accounts. Five per…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/ninety-five-per-cent-of-films-are-born-of-frustration-of-self-despair/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [Heroes? Don't believe in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/heroes-don-t-believe-in-them/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [When you're in the battlefield, survival is all there is. Death is the only great emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/when-you-re-in-the-battlefield-survival-is-all-there-is-death-is-the/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [There's a difference between a Nazi and a German.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/there-s-a-difference-between-a-nazi-and-a-german/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [You know how you smoke out a sniper? You send a guy out in the open, and you see if he gets shot. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/you-know-how-you-smoke-out-a-sniper-you-send-a-guy-out-in-the-open/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [A film is like a battleground. It's love, hate, action, violence, death—In one word, emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/a-film-is-like-a-battleground-it-s-love-hate-action-violence-death-in/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) [Explore all 28 Samuel Fuller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) ## More Afraid quotes > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [I used to be afraid of my temper, but it turns out I don't really have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-bell/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-my-temper-but-it-turns-out-i-don-t-really-have/) [Zoe Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-bell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm a pretty fearless person. I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. But I'm not afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-totah/i-m-a-pretty-fearless-person-i-m-afraid-of-like-creepy-men-in-white/) [Josie Totah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-totah/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) Darlene Senger > [Why am I so afraid to loose you,when you're not even mine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-am-i-so-afraid-to-loose-you-when-you-re-not-even-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to tell you, but I cant, becuase I'm afraid if I do you'll never treat me same the again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-orante/i-want-to-tell-you-but-i-cant-becuase-i-m-afraid-if-i-do-you-ll-never/) [Cristina Orante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-orante/) > [Mistakes I've made in the past make me afraid to try new things in the future. I want to be perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/mistakes-i-ve-made-in-the-past-make-me-afraid-to-try-new-things-in/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [“Humans are naturally scared and confused beings. They not only fear the unknown, as they live fearing themselves... ☥”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-marques/humans-are-naturally-scared-and-confused-beings-they-not-only-fear/) [Luis Marques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-marques/) > [If you are too afraid of failure, you cant possibly do what needs to be done to succeed in living a fulfilling life. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/if-you-are-too-afraid-of-failure-you-cant-possibly-do-what-needs-to/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [We cannot be afraid of the dark that they live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burnie-burns/we-cannot-be-afraid-of-the-dark-that-they-live-in/) [Burnie Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burnie-burns/) > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I'm still with that feeling that I am afraid of doing the wrong thing, because somebody is going to punish me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-m-still-with-that-feeling-that-i-am-afraid-of-doing-the-wrong-thing/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) Browse all 5,519 Afraid quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have too many intellectuals who are afraid to use the pistol of common sense", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Fuller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/we-have-too-many-intellectuals-who-are-afraid-to-use-the-pistol-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afraid" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/we-have-too-many-intellectuals-who-are-afraid-to-use-the-pistol-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/samuel-fuller-21894_afraid_we-have-too-many-intellectuals-who-are-a_652289.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/samuel-fuller-21894_afraid_we-have-too-many-intellectuals-who-are-a_652289.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/samuel-fuller-21894_afraid_we-have-too-many-intellectuals-who-are-a_652289.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have too many intellectuals who are afraid to use the pistol of common sense” — Samuel Fuller", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Samuel Fuller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We have too many intellectuals who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/we-have-too-many-intellectuals-who-are-afraid-to-use-the-pistol-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/we-have-too-many-intellectuals-who-are-afraid-to-use-the-pistol-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```