"In those days secrets were well kept"
About this Quote
Nostalgia is doing a lot of work in Symingtons dry little line, and so is a warning. "In those days secrets were well kept" sounds like a wistful compliment to an older, more disciplined America: fewer leaks, tighter lips, institutions that could actually hold a line. Coming from Stuart Symington, a businessman-turned-power-broker who moved easily through defense, industry, and Washington, it also reads like an insider remembering the era when the people who mattered all belonged to the same rooms and the same rules.
The intent is double-edged. On the surface, its a throwaway comparison between then and now. Underneath, it hints at how secrecy functioned as a form of social control. Secrets werent just kept because people were more honorable; they were kept because the gatekeepers were fewer, the press was more deferential, and the consequences of breaking ranks were steeper. "Well kept" implies competence, even elegance, but also a kind of self-protective quiet: problems could be managed, scandals softened, decisions made without public friction.
Context matters: Symingtons career sits in the mid-century nexus of military procurement, Cold War priorities, and corporate influence, a time when national security was both genuine imperative and convenient justification. The line flatters that world while quietly admitting what it required: coordinated silence. Its less a moral statement than a cultural snapshot of how power used to sound when it was confident it wouldnt be interrupted.
The intent is double-edged. On the surface, its a throwaway comparison between then and now. Underneath, it hints at how secrecy functioned as a form of social control. Secrets werent just kept because people were more honorable; they were kept because the gatekeepers were fewer, the press was more deferential, and the consequences of breaking ranks were steeper. "Well kept" implies competence, even elegance, but also a kind of self-protective quiet: problems could be managed, scandals softened, decisions made without public friction.
Context matters: Symingtons career sits in the mid-century nexus of military procurement, Cold War priorities, and corporate influence, a time when national security was both genuine imperative and convenient justification. The line flatters that world while quietly admitting what it required: coordinated silence. Its less a moral statement than a cultural snapshot of how power used to sound when it was confident it wouldnt be interrupted.
Quote Details
| Topic | Nostalgia |
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