--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The real issues I don't think most people…" description: "\"The real issues I don't think most people touch. The Clinton jokes are all about Monica Lewinsky and all that stuff and not about the important things,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/tom-lehrer-3442_bans_the-real-issues-i-don-t-think-most-peopl_2334433.jpg" --- # The real issues I don't think most people touch. The… ![“The real issues I don't think most people touch. The Clinton jokes are all about Monica Lewinsky and all that stuff and not about the important things, like the fact that he wouldn't ban landmines...I'm not tempted to write a song about George W. Bush. I couldn't figure out what sort of song I…” quote by Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/tom-lehrer-3442_bans_the-real-issues-i-don-t-think-most-peopl_2334433.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/tom-lehrer-3442_bans_the-real-issues-i-don-t-think-most-peopl_2334433.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/tom-lehrer-3442_bans_the-real-issues-i-don-t-think-most-peopl_2334433.jpg) > “The real issues I don't think most people touch. The Clinton jokes are all about Monica Lewinsky and all that stuff and not about the important things, like the fact that he wouldn't ban landmines...I'm not tempted to write a song about George W. Bush. I couldn't figure out what sort of song I would write. That's the problem: I don't want to satirize George Bush and his puppeteers, I want to vaporize them. And that's not funny…OK, well, if I say that, I might get a shock laugh, but it's not really satire.” [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker criticizes superficial political jokes, urging deeper, more serious critique of power rather than light satire. **In simple terms:** Focus on serious issues, not trivial jokes. Key Takeaway Address core problems directly. Themes politics satire media accountability Mood critical serious Type political satirical When to use this quote - political commentary - activism - media analysis Key Concepts power structures ethical critique public discourse Questions to Reflect On - What issues deserve deeper satire? - How can humor balance critique and respect? A Different Perspective Satire can dilute seriousness; audiences may reject harsh criticism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Important things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-things/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Jokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jokes/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Satire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satire/) [Shock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shock/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The real issues I don't think most people touch. The Clinton jokes are all about Monica Lewinsky and all that stuff and not about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/the-real-issues-i-don-t-think-most-people-touch-the-clinton-jokes-are/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [When I was in Vietnam with Jane Fonda, I was shooting a farmer in a field - just a pastoral scene. And while I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/when-i-was-in-vietnam-with-jane-fonda-i-was-shooting-a-farmer-in-a/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [As a footballer I can't imagine life without the use of one of my legs... Sadly this is exactly what happens to thousands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-giggs/as-a-footballer-i-can-t-imagine-life-without-the-use-of-one-of-my/) [Ryan Giggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-giggs/) > [I don't see myself as being injured by a landmine or the Taliban; I was injured by ignorance and hatred. When people do these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-duley/i-don-t-see-myself-as-being-injured-by-a-landmine-or-the-taliban-i/) [Giles Duley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-duley/) > [Let me tell you what I do know: I am more than one thing, and not all of those things are good. The truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-siken/let-me-tell-you-what-i-do-know-i-am-more-than-one-thing-and-not-all/) [Richard Siken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-siken/) > [If we spend our days trying to avoid the landmines of stepping out of God's will, then will be afraid to take any risks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-we-spend-our-days-trying-to-avoid-the-landmines-of-stepping-out-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Imagine how foolish you'd look if, like one clever salesman who once pitched to me, you tried to license your product to a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-o-leary/imagine-how-foolish-you-d-look-if-like-one-clever-salesman-who-once/) [Kevin O'Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-o-leary/) > [Officials of governments that use or produce landmines should be forced to see the reality of how landmines hurt people and make them suffer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-chan/officials-of-governments-that-use-or-produce-landmines-should-be/) [Jackie Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-chan/) > [The landmine cannot tell the difference between a soldier or a civilian - a woman, a child, a grandmother going out to collect firewood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jody-williams/the-landmine-cannot-tell-the-difference-between-a-soldier-or-a/) [Jody Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jody-williams/) > [Landmines are among the most barbaric weapons of war, because they continue to kill and maim innocent people long after the war itself has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/landmines-are-among-the-most-barbaric-weapons-of-war-because-they/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [The devastation wreaked by landmines is not only horrendous but immoral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/the-devastation-wreaked-by-landmines-is-not-only-horrendous-but/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Prejudice marks a mental landmine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/prejudice-marks-a-mental-landmine/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [It is the most painful thing to see how young children become collateral damage of wars, but when peace treaties are signed landmines do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-glover/it-is-the-most-painful-thing-to-see-how-young-children-become/) [Danny Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-glover/) > [Life is about making choices: you can either spend three quid on a glossy magazine or you can spend it clearing three square metres…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twiggy/life-is-about-making-choices-you-can-either-spend-three-quid-on-a/) [Twiggy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twiggy/) > [We must rid the world of the scourge of these agents of death and destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boutros-boutros-ghali/we-must-rid-the-world-of-the-scourge-of-these-agents-of-death-and/) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) ## More by Tom Lehrer > [Plagiarize, plagiarize, / Let no man's work evade your eyes, / Remember why the good Lord made your eyes, / Don't shade your eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/plagiarize-plagiarize-let-no-man-s-work-evade-your-eyes-remember-why/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I ache for the touch of your lips dear, but much more for the touch of your whips dear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-ache-for-the-touch-of-your-lips-dear-but-much-more-for-the-touch-of/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [When someone makes a move Of which we don't approve, Who is it that always intervenes? 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Unless you get a good percentage of her price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/don-t-solicit-for-your-sister-it-s-not-nice-unless-you-get-a-good/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [It is a sobering thought that when Mozart was my age, he had been dead for two years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/it-is-a-sobering-thought-that-when-mozart-was-my-age-he-had-been-dead/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [“I am never forget the day I first meet the great Lobachevsky. In one word he told me secret of success in mathematics: Plagiarize!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-am-never-forget-the-day-i-first-meet-the-great-lobachevsky-in-one/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Counting in octal is just likst counting in decimal--if you don't use your thumbs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/counting-in-octal-is-just-likst-counting-in-decimal-if-you-don-t-use/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Disclaimer: If anyone disagrees with anything I say, I am quite prepared to not only retract it, but also to deny under oath I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/disclaimer-if-anyone-disagrees-with-anything-i-say-i-am-quite/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Don't write naughty words on the wall if you can't spell!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/don-t-write-naughty-words-on-the-wall-if-you-can-t-spell/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I don't want to satirise George Bush and his puppeteers, I want to vaporise them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-don-t-want-to-satirise-george-bush-and-his-puppeteers-i-want-to/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [San Francisco is a city of twenty-something millionaire white kids named Doug.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/san-francisco-is-a-city-of-twenty-something-millionaire-white-kids/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [On Christmas day you can't get sore, Your fellow man you must adore, There's time to cheat him all the more The other three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/on-christmas-day-you-can-t-get-sore-your-fellow-man-you-must-adore/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Be prepared, and be careful not to do your good deeds when there's no one watching you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/be-prepared-and-be-careful-not-to-do-your-good-deeds-when-there-s-no/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [There's something mathematically satisfying about music: notes fit together and harmony and all that. And mathematics has to do with abstractions and making connections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/there-s-something-mathematically-satisfying-about-music-notes-fit/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) [Explore all 130 Tom Lehrer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) ## More Bans quotes > [ Ben Carson also denounced \[Donald\] Trump's ban all Muslims proposal saying we do not and would not advocate being selective on one's religion. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/ben-carson-also-denounced-donald-trump-s-ban-all-muslims-proposal/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [Why dost thou shrink from my approach, O Man? Why dost thou ever flee in fear, and cling To my false rival, Life? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/why-dost-thou-shrink-from-my-approach-o-man-why-dost-thou-ever-flee/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [I want to break up the Wall Street banks. Hillary Clinton doesn't. I want to raise the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-want-to-break-up-the-wall-street-banks-hillary-clinton-doesn-t-i/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Art penetrates, no matter how many bans you put out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mawra-hocane/art-penetrates-no-matter-how-many-bans-you-put-out/) [Mawra Hocane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mawra-hocane/) > [The American people intuitively understand this, which is why the majority of Catholics practice birth control and some of those opposed to gay marriage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-american-people-intuitively-understand-this-which-is-why-the/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [In every state of the Union, Fundamentalists still fight to ban all the science they dislike and prosecute all who teach it. To them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/in-every-state-of-the-union-fundamentalists-still-fight-to-ban-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [My argument is focused on the fact that a relatively small percentage of the world's Muslim countries are impacted by this order. Stated differently,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-b-rivkin/my-argument-is-focused-on-the-fact-that-a-relatively-small-percentage/) [David B. Rivkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-b-rivkin/) > [It is cruel for you to leave your daughter, so full of hopeand resolve, to suffer the humiliations of disfranchisement she already feels so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/it-is-cruel-for-you-to-leave-your-daughter-so-full-of-hopeand-resolve/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [Banning guns, drugs, alcohol, premarital sex, political incorrectness, and gay marriage hasn't worked. 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Also forbidden is the importing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-calvert/the-bill-would-ban-human-cloning-and-any-attempts-at-human-cloning/) [Ken Calvert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-calvert/) > [We should totally ban for-profit charters. For-profit's first obligation is to its stockholders, not to its children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ravitch/we-should-totally-ban-for-profit-charters-for-profit-s-first/) [Diane Ravitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ravitch/) > [I have been asked what would I ban immediately if I could. Advertising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-westwood/i-have-been-asked-what-would-i-ban-immediately-if-i-could-advertising/) [Vivienne Westwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-westwood/) > [Lacking its own ingenuity, the parasite fears the visionary. What it cannot plagiarize, it seeks to censor. What it cannot regulate, it seeks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-ryan/lacking-its-own-ingenuity-the-parasite-fears-the-visionary-what-it/) [Andrew Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-ryan/) Browse all 318 Bans quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The real issues I don't think most people touch. The Clinton jokes are all about Monica Lewinsky and all that stuff and not about the important things, like the fact that he wouldn't ban landmines...I'm not tempted to write a song about George W. Bush. I couldn't figure out what sort of song I would write. That's the problem: I don't want to satirize George Bush and his puppeteers, I want to vaporize them. 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