I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
Will RogersRead
Why don't they pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting anybody from learning anything? If it works as well as prohibition did, in five years Americans would be the smartest race of people on Earth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote humorously suggests that preventing learning would paradoxically lead to greater intelligence among people.
Will Rogers uses satire to critique the absurdity of prohibiting education. He proposes that if learning were forbidden, the resultant determination of individuals to acquire knowledge would ultimately make them smarter, highlighting the value and resilience inherent in the pursuit of education despite restrictions.
Themes
EducationLearningIntelligenceSatireKnowledge
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on educational reform, one might use this quote to illustrate the value of learning.
More from Will Rogers
All quotes →People who fly into a rage always make a bad landing.
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The 1928 Republican Convention opened with a prayer. If the Lord can see His way clear to bless the Republican Party the way it's been carrying on, then the rest of us ought to get it without even asking.
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Let advertisers spend the same amount of money improving their product that they do on advertising and they wouldn't have to advertise it.
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The man with the best job in the country is the vice-president. All he has to do is get up every morning and say, 'How is the president?'
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Heroing is one of the shortest-lived professions there is.
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