--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So you know what we have to do is stop…" description: "\"So you know what we have to do is stop looking for leadership from the top, because the least among us make their way into those positions of power... ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc6/terence-mckenna-287_citizens_so-you-know-what-we-have-to-do-is-stop-l_1056111.png" --- # So you know what we have to do is stop looking for… ![“So you know what we have to do is stop looking for leadership from the top, because the least among us make their way into those positions of power... So what we have to do is knock off this fantasy of being citizens inside a democratic state, I mean, what we are, are the propagandized masses…” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc6/terence-mckenna-287_citizens_so-you-know-what-we-have-to-do-is-stop-l_1056111.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc6/terence-mckenna-287_citizens_so-you-know-what-we-have-to-do-is-stop-l_1056111.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc6/terence-mckenna-287_citizens_so-you-know-what-we-have-to-do-is-stop-l_1056111.png) > “So you know what we have to do is stop looking for leadership from the top, because the least among us make their way into those positions of power... So what we have to do is knock off this fantasy of being citizens inside a democratic state, I mean, what we are, are the propagandized masses inside a fascist dictatorship.” [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We must stop seeking leadership from elites and recognize that ordinary people become rulers, revealing that citizens are manipulated by authoritarian propaganda. **In simple terms:** Reject elite leadership; see power in the masses; recognize manipulation. Key Takeaway Empower grassroots, question authority. Themes politics power media citizenship authority Mood critical defiant inquisitive Type advice political philosophical When to use this quote - activist movements - community organizing - media literacy - political education - public discourse Key Concepts democracy propaganda authoritarianism social control Questions to Reflect On - How can we identify genuine grassroots leadership? - What steps reveal counter propaganda? A Different Perspective Leaders can still emerge from the top, and not all structures are purely fascist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dictatorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictatorship/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Fascists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fascists/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Position of power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position-of-power/) ## Related quotes > [... I see the country going fascist. We have been going that route a long, long time. A lot of things the country has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-walker/i-see-the-country-going-fascist-we-have-been-going-that-route-a-long/) [Margaret Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-walker/) > [I have often thought that if a rational Fascist dictatorship were to exist, then it would choose the American system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-have-often-thought-that-if-a-rational-fascist-dictatorship-were-to/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [My gut feeling is that SF as we know it today is actually a heavily propagandized field that grew out of a specific set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/my-gut-feeling-is-that-sf-as-we-know-it-today-is-actually-a-heavily/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“Wait till Buzz takes charge of us. A real Fascist dictatorship!" "Nonsense! Nonsense!" snorted Tasbrough. "That couldn't happen here in America, not possibly! We're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/wait-till-buzz-takes-charge-of-us-a-real-fascist-dictatorship/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [The 'public' has no history, has no future, lives in a golden moment created by credit, which binds them ineluctably to a fascist system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-public-has-no-history-has-no-future-lives-in-a-golden-moment/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The position of power and having to make decisions that you don't necessarily want to make is always good conflict and good drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-moyer/the-position-of-power-and-having-to-make-decisions-that-you-don-t/) [Stephen Moyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-moyer/) > [“Most of them have made their way into a position of power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-runyan/most-of-them-have-made-their-way-into-a-position-of-power/) Scott Runyan > [For the victor peace means the preservation of the position of power which he has secured. For the vanquished it means resigning himself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-stresemann/for-the-victor-peace-means-the-preservation-of-the-position-of-power/) [Gustav Stresemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-stresemann/) > [What really worries me is that those who are in positions of power are not really affected by what we are writing. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/what-really-worries-me-is-that-those-who-are-in-positions-of-power/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [“Yamamoto was considered, both in Japan and the United States, as intelligent, capable, aggressive, and dangerous. Motivated by his skill as a poker player…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-a-jenkins/yamamoto-was-considered-both-in-japan-and-the-united-states-as/) [Dale A. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-a-jenkins/) > [Men, if you are in a position of power or authority, please respectfully continue to mentor and work with talented individuals and those with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-roth/men-if-you-are-in-a-position-of-power-or-authority-please/) [Carol Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-roth/) > [Religion is a very scary thing, because a pastor is in a position of power. And if you use that power badly, you ruin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/religion-is-a-very-scary-thing-because-a-pastor-is-in-a-position-of/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [If you're in such a position of power and your ego is such that this is not possible, then its essential to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/if-you-re-in-such-a-position-of-power-and-your-ego-is-such-that-this/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [I do honestly think that if women were running the world there would be more investment in peace, because basically as women we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-streep/i-do-honestly-think-that-if-women-were-running-the-world-there-would/) [Meryl Streep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-streep/) > [Having power and being in a position of power can really blur your judgement, and it's not always that clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/having-power-and-being-in-a-position-of-power-can-really-blur-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Terence McKenna > [History was an incredibly damaging experience, and now it's over . . . in a sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/history-was-an-incredibly-damaging-experience-and-now-it-s-over-in-a/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The history of man that you don't know is what your unconscious is made out of. Just as the history of yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-history-of-man-that-you-don-t-know-is-what-your-unconscious-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are consciousness. We may not always be monkeys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-consciousness-we-may-not-always-be-monkeys/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What is happening here is we are living past the age, by the millions, living past the age where cultural values make any sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-is-happening-here-is-we-are-living-past-the-age-by-the-millions/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What history is, essentially, is a careening, out-of-control effort to find our way back to this state of primordial balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-history-is-essentially-is-a-careening-out-of-control-effort-to/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [And what is the primary datum? It's the felt presence of immediate experience. In other words, being here now is the primary datum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-what-is-the-primary-datum-it-s-the-felt-presence-of-immediate/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our culture difinitely takes an egocentric dominator view. The fear of the psychedelic experience is quite literally the fear of losing control. Dominator types…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/our-culture-difinitely-takes-an-egocentric-dominator-view-the-fear-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Every step into freedom contains within it the potential for greater bondage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/every-step-into-freedom-contains-within-it-the-potential-for-greater/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is the message of your life and my life - it’s that nothing lasts. Heraclitus said it: Panta Rhei. All flows, nothing lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-message-of-your-life-and-my-life-it-s-that-nothing-lasts/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I often like to think that our map of the world is wrong, that where we have centered physics, we should actually place literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-often-like-to-think-that-our-map-of-the-world-is-wrong-that-where/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Knowledge, or verbal facility, is no proof that you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/knowledge-or-verbal-facility-is-no-proof-that-you-know-what-you-re/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [No culture on earth is as heavily narcotized as the industrial West in terms of being inured to the consequences of maladaptive behavior. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/no-culture-on-earth-is-as-heavily-narcotized-as-the-industrial-west/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Man was not put on this planet to toil in the mud. 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We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [“The police ultimately pay the price for poor customer service when citizens become fearful of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-police-ultimately-pay-the-price-for-poor-customer-service-when/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Worship isn't destructive, Martin. I know that. I don't. I only know it's the core of his life. What else has he got? He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-shaffer/worship-isn-t-destructive-martin-i-know-that-i-don-t-i-only-know-it-s/) [Peter Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-shaffer/) > [No greater victory can be won by citizens or soldiers than to transform temporary foes into permanent friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/no-greater-victory-can-be-won-by-citizens-or-soldiers-than-to/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell together in bonds of fraternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/let-us-at-all-times-remember-that-all-american-citizens-are-brothers/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [A free society depends upon a high degree of mutual trust. 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