--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are told 'no', we're unimportant…" description: "\"We are told 'no', we're unimportant, we're peripheral. 'Get a degree, get a job, get a this, get a that.' And then you're a player, you don't want to e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/terence-mckenna-287_bones_we-are-told-no-we-re-unimportant-we-re-p_219861.jpg" --- # We are told 'no', we're unimportant, we're peripheral… ![“We are told 'no', we're unimportant, we're peripheral. 'Get a degree, get a job, get a this, get a that.' And then you're a player, you don't want to even play in that game. You want to reclaim your mind and get it out of the hands of the cultural engineers who want to turn you into a half-baked…” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/terence-mckenna-287_bones_we-are-told-no-we-re-unimportant-we-re-p_219861.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/terence-mckenna-287_bones_we-are-told-no-we-re-unimportant-we-re-p_219861.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93b/terence-mckenna-287_bones_we-are-told-no-we-re-unimportant-we-re-p_219861.jpg) > “We are told 'no', we're unimportant, we're peripheral. 'Get a degree, get a job, get a this, get a that.' And then you're a player, you don't want to even play in that game. You want to reclaim your mind and get it out of the hands of the cultural engineers who want to turn you into a half-baked moron consuming all this trash that's being manufactured out of the bones of a dying world.” -” [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. Society pushes conformity, urging you to reclaim mental independence from cultural conditioning. **In simple terms:** Resist cultural conditioning. Key Takeaway Seek mental freedom. Themes conformity mindfulness rebellion Mood inquisitive defiant Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - personal development - creative work - activism Key Concepts philosophy media influence Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to free your mind? - How do you identify cultural manipulation? A Different Perspective Changing deep-rooted habits is difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bones/) [Chaos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaos/) [Consuming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consuming/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Don Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-want/) [Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying/) [Engineers Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineers-want-843994/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Moron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moron/) [Peripheral Degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peripheral-degree-2249723/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Player](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/player/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Told Unimportant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/told-unimportant-2249724/) [Trash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trash/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Unimportant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unimportant/) [Unimportant Peripheral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unimportant-peripheral-2249722/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [We are told No, you're unimportant, you're peripheral - get a degree, get a job, get a this, get that, and then you're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-told-no-you-re-unimportant-you-re-peripheral-get-a-degree-get/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Although engineers want always to make everything better, they cannot make anything perfect. This basic characteristic flaw of the products of the profession's practitioners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-petroski/although-engineers-want-always-to-make-everything-better-they-cannot/) [Henry Petroski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-petroski/) > [I think people will be surprised to find that I'm not as much of an idiot as they think I am. I'm not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-o/i-think-people-will-be-surprised-to-find-that-i-m-not-as-much-of-an/) [Steve-O](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-o/) > [“You are a moron. Jackson wanted to bash the message into his head. Because obviously his brain wasn't going to be of any help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candis-terry/you-are-a-moron-jackson-wanted-to-bash-the-message-into-his-head/) [Candis Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candis-terry/) > [“If your philosophy can be explained in a tweet, you're a moron. That's my philosophy. Wait...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-j-kirk/if-your-philosophy-can-be-explained-in-a-tweet-you-re-a-moron-that-s/) [T.J. Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-j-kirk/) > [Whoever said what you don't know, can't hurt you. was a moron. because from what i've been through, not knowing, is the worst feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whoever-said-what-you-don-t-know-can-t-hurt-you-was-a-moron-because/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think President Bush is a moron! I think that the only reason he was voted into office is because his family is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristian-machado/i-think-president-bush-is-a-moron-i-think-that-the-only-reason-he-was/) [Cristian Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristian-machado/) > [Scobe's Eighth Law: The moron will enter the single deck game when the count is sky high and the dealer is deciding whether or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-scoblete/scobe-s-eighth-law-the-moron-will-enter-the-single-deck-game-when-the/) [Frank Scoblete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-scoblete/) > [There are four kinds of people in this world: cretins, fools, morons, and lunatics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-are-four-kinds-of-people-in-this-world-cretins-fools-morons-and/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“There's nothing more dangerous in this existence than a moron on a mission.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/there-s-nothing-more-dangerous-in-this-existence-than-a-moron-on-a/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“He's a moron," Blomkvist said. Vanger laughed, but he said: "That may be. But he's not the one who was sentenced by the court.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/he-s-a-moron-blomkvist-said-vanger-laughed-but-he-said-that-may-be/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [Appeal to all scholars of stupidity in the world. Come to Italy, this country has the highest rate of morons of the universe, especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-brown/appeal-to-all-scholars-of-stupidity-in-the-world-come-to-italy-this/) [William C. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-brown/) > [When I was a kid and my parents started talking about politics, I'd run to my room and put on the Rolling Stones as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/when-i-was-a-kid-and-my-parents-started-talking-about-politics-i-d/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) > [Terrorism is obviously on everybody's mind. The other day my son says to me, 'Daddy, how come the bad men hate us?' How sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-giraldo/terrorism-is-obviously-on-everybody-s-mind-the-other-day-my-son-says/) [Greg Giraldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-giraldo/) > [President Bush is a friend of mine. He's not a moron at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-chretien/president-bush-is-a-friend-of-mine-he-s-not-a-moron-at-all/) [Jean Chretien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-chretien/) ## 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. Or the god who put us on this planet to toil in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/man-was-not-put-on-this-planet-to-toil-in-the-mud-or-the-god-who-put/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [If you take psychedelics and the Internet and music and put all of that together you have the basis for a new community that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/if-you-take-psychedelics-and-the-internet-and-music-and-put-all-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Explore all 745 Terence McKenna quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## More Bones quotes > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [May nothing entice me till I happily make my way to Jesus Christ! Fire, cross, struggles with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-antioch/may-nothing-entice-me-till-i-happily-make-my-way-to-jesus-christ-fire/) [Ignatius of Antioch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-antioch/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“We are preaching hope, standing on the bones of the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rucyahana/we-are-preaching-hope-standing-on-the-bones-of-the-past/) [John Rucyahana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rucyahana/) > [Men are fair, and they have learned not to personalize anger - they can disagree with you and argue to the bone, but afterward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/men-are-fair-and-they-have-learned-not-to-personalize-anger-they-can/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. I think I used four boxes of Soilex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/i-separated-the-joints-the-arm-joints-the-leg-joints-and-had-to-do/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [Flesh forgets. Bone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-bass/flesh-forgets-bone-remembers/) [Jefferson Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-bass/) > [One of my favorite poets, Neruda, writes close to the bone. Though I know only a little Spanish, I like to compare the Spanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diament/one-of-my-favorite-poets-neruda-writes-close-to-the-bone-though-i/) [Anita Diament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diament/) > [Death and burial were a public spectacle. Shakespeare may have seen for himself the gravediggers at St Ann's, Soho, playing skittles with skulls and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-arnold/death-and-burial-were-a-public-spectacle-shakespeare-may-have-seen/) [Catharine Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-arnold/) > [REVIEW, v.t. To set your wisdom (holding not a doubt of it./ Although in truth there's neither bone nor skin to it)/ At work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/review-v-t-to-set-your-wisdom-holding-not-a-doubt-of-it-although-in/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“All right, you deadly little ghostlings,” I muttered. “Mama says go back to bed! - Cat”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/all-right-you-deadly-little-ghostlings-i-muttered-mama-says-go-back/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/) [Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/) > [When I look at the human brain I'm still in awe of it. Every single time you lift off the bone and open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/when-i-look-at-the-human-brain-i-m-still-in-awe-of-it-every-single/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [I’m in, Cat. I’d never leave you. Especially when you’ve got death breathing down your neck.” “Very funny,” I retorted, since Bones was inches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/i-m-in-cat-i-d-never-leave-you-especially-when-you-ve-got-death/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) [Browse all 2,113 Bones quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bones/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are told 'no', we're unimportant, we're peripheral. 'Get a degree, get a job, get a this, get a that.' And then you're a player, you don't want to even play in that game. 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