"I would seriously question whether anybody is really foolish enough to really say what they mean. Sometimes I think that civilization as we know it would kind of break down if we all were completely honest"
About this Quote
The subtext is about performance. An actress understands that “saying what you mean” is rarely a pure act; it’s a choice with consequences, and it can be violent in its own way. Complete honesty doesn’t just reveal you, it also conscripts everyone else into your inner life, whether they consent or not. That’s why her imagined outcome isn’t personal embarrassment but civilizational collapse: a humorous exaggeration that points to a real mechanism. Politeness, diplomacy, even flirtation rely on ambiguity. They give people room to save face, to revise, to be better than their worst impulse in real time.
Context matters: celebrity culture is a machine for turning private thought into public artifact, where “authenticity” is demanded and punished simultaneously. Hurley’s skepticism reads like lived experience: the public begs for unfiltered truth, then treats it as scandal, weapon, or brand. Her joke lands because it’s less about cynicism than survival. Civilization, she suggests, isn’t built on truth; it’s built on tact.
Quote Details
| Topic | Honesty & Integrity |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Hurley, Elizabeth. (2026, January 17). I would seriously question whether anybody is really foolish enough to really say what they mean. Sometimes I think that civilization as we know it would kind of break down if we all were completely honest. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-would-seriously-question-whether-anybody-is-76918/
Chicago Style
Hurley, Elizabeth. "I would seriously question whether anybody is really foolish enough to really say what they mean. Sometimes I think that civilization as we know it would kind of break down if we all were completely honest." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-would-seriously-question-whether-anybody-is-76918/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I would seriously question whether anybody is really foolish enough to really say what they mean. Sometimes I think that civilization as we know it would kind of break down if we all were completely honest." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-would-seriously-question-whether-anybody-is-76918/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.










