--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The government isn't real,\" he replied…" description: "\"“The government isn't real,\" he replied. He might have been talking about Santa Claus or God. \"I don't owe anything to anyone who in themselves are lie..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/walter-mosley-2810_lies_the-government-isn-t-real-he-replied-he_238201.png" --- # The government isn't real," he replied. He might have been… ![“The government isn't real," he replied. He might have been talking about Santa Claus or God. "I don't owe anything to anyone who in themselves are lies and liars.” quote by Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/walter-mosley-2810_lies_the-government-isn-t-real-he-replied-he_238201.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/walter-mosley-2810_lies_the-government-isn-t-real-he-replied-he_238201.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/walter-mosley-2810_lies_the-government-isn-t-real-he-replied-he_238201.png) > ““The government isn't real," he replied. He might have been talking about Santa Claus or God. "I don't owe anything to anyone who in themselves are lies and liars.”” [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) ## 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 dismisses authority and lies, claiming personal independence from deceptive systems and emphasizing self-reliance. **In simple terms:** Reject false authority and rely on yourself. Key Takeaway Question and reject deceptive authority. Themes skepticism independence truth authority Mood cynical defiant Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - political discourse - personal relationships - media consumption - ethical decisions Key Concepts personal autonomy critical thinking social trust Questions to Reflect On - What institutions deserve trust? - How do you balance skepticism with cooperation? A Different Perspective The quote could be seen as overly cynical, ignoring constructive institutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies/) [Lies and liars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies-and-liars/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [I think one of the reasons we have children is to believe everything all over again. And I'm not talking Santa, here, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-one-of-the-reasons-we-have-children-is-to-believe-everything/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I remember arguing with kids on the street who were talking about Santa Claus. I said don't be so daft - Santa Claus doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-skinner/i-remember-arguing-with-kids-on-the-street-who-were-talking-about/) [Dennis Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-skinner/) > [Liars when they speak the truth are not believed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/liars-when-they-speak-the-truth-are-not-believed/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [People who are brutally honest get more satisfaction out of the brutality than out of the honesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-needham/people-who-are-brutally-honest-get-more-satisfaction-out-of-the/) [Richard J. Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-needham/) > [A lie serves no one with a feeling of self worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koni-g/a-lie-serves-no-one-with-a-feeling-of-self-worth/) Koni G > [If you tell the truth, you don't need a long memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/if-you-tell-the-truth-you-don-t-need-a-long-memory/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) > [A liar is not believed even though he tell the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/a-liar-is-not-believed-even-though-he-tell-the-truth/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Those who think it is permissible to tell white lies soon grow color-blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/those-who-think-it-is-permissible-to-tell-white-lies-soon-grow-color/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [Lies give you the unfair dis-advantage at the start of the game. Lies give you a false pre-conception you have a chance of winning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koni-g/lies-give-you-the-unfair-dis-advantage-at-the-start-of-the-game-lies/) Koni G > [If you're okay with being a liar, then you're okay with being lied to as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koni-g/if-you-re-okay-with-being-a-liar-then-you-re-okay-with-being-lied-to/) Koni G > [I hate lies and liars. Don't tell lies just to save your asses. Cause we all know the truth of what's really going on.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amll/i-hate-lies-and-liars-don-t-tell-lies-just-to-save-your-asses-cause/) Amll > [All men are born truthful and die liars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-de-clapiers/all-men-are-born-truthful-and-die-liars/) [Luc de Clapiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-de-clapiers/) > [Maggie, we're through with lies and liars in this house. Lock the door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/maggie-we-re-through-with-lies-and-liars-in-this-house-lock-the-door/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [In a world of lies and liars, an honest work of art is always an act of social responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/in-a-world-of-lies-and-liars-an-honest-work-of-art-is-always-an-act/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [Liars are the cause of all the sins and crimes in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/liars-are-the-cause-of-all-the-sins-and-crimes-in-the-world/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## More by Walter Mosley > [“It’s a continual revelation when you come to understand that the only thing you can expect in return for your own dignity is hatred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/it-s-a-continual-revelation-when-you-come-to-understand-that-the-only/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [I think that it's important to try to keep reality. I think that Gabriel Garcia Marquez speaks a lot about reality in his magical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-think-that-it-s-important-to-try-to-keep-reality-i-think-that/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [There's many things that I am. And all of those things come together at some point. If somebody wants to limit me, you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/there-s-many-things-that-i-am-and-all-of-those-things-come-together/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [I'm almost completely without family and it's a very odd feeling in life. I have no children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-m-almost-completely-without-family-and-it-s-a-very-odd-feeling-in/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [“I find books in used-book stores, chain and independent stores, on friends’ shelves and being read by some woman sitting opposite me on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-find-books-in-used-book-stores-chain-and-independent-stores-on/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [“That was why so many Jews back then understood the American Negro; in Europe the Jew had been a Negro for more than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/that-was-why-so-many-jews-back-then-understood-the-american-negro-in/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [“If there's another writer, like Ross McDonald or Raymond Chandler, and all they're writing are mysteries, they won't be accepted," he said. 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They will live with the reader long after the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/these-short-stories-are-vast-structures-existing-mostly-in-the/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) [Explore all 149 Walter Mosley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) ## More Lies quotes > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [Heaven lies around us in our infancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/heaven-lies-around-us-in-our-infancy/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“What shapes us is not always our achievements but our omissions. Not lies; simply the truths we don’t tell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-tudor/what-shapes-us-is-not-always-our-achievements-but-our-omissions-not/) [C.J. Tudor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-tudor/) > [He is almost a statesman. 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The worst lies are those whose blade is false, but whose handle is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/a-lie-always-needs-a-truth-for-a-handle-to-it-the-worst-lies-are/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Words To Remember: Nobody's phone is ever off. They're lying...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-to-remember-nobody-s-phone-is-ever-off-they-re-lying/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Those who know New York City primarily through tourism or mass culture may think of us natives as possessing certain shared characteristics, not all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dee/those-who-know-new-york-city-primarily-through-tourism-or-mass/) [Jonathan Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dee/) > [“I'm over your lies and I'm over your games. I'm over you asking me when you know I'm not okay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-mcphee/i-m-over-your-lies-and-i-m-over-your-games-i-m-over-you-asking-me/) [Katharine McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-mcphee/) > [“DIGITAL TRUTH DIGITAL LIES • Searches • Social media posts • Views • Social media likes • Clicks • Dating profiles • Swipes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-stephens-davidowitz/digital-truth-digital-lies-searches-social-media-posts-views-social/) [Seth Stephens-Davidowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-stephens-davidowitz/) > [You said you loved me, You said you cared for me, you said you wouldn't let anything happen to me. Then we got into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nohaterzz/you-said-you-loved-me-you-said-you-cared-for-me-you-said-you-wouldn-t/) NoHaterzz [Browse all 4,881 Lies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The government isn't real,\" he replied. 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