We have exchanged the Washingtonian dignity for the Jeffersonian simplicity, which was in truth only another name for the Jacksonian vulgarity.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker claims that a shift from dignified, formal values to simple, populist ones actually hides a cruder vulgarity.
- In plain terms
- Changing from formal dignity to simple populism may just replace one form of vulgarity with another.
- What can you take from it?
- Beware that simplifying values can sometimes lower standards.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When does simplicity become vulgarity?
- How can we maintain dignity while being accessible?
Another view
The statement is a sweeping generalization that may not hold universally.
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