"The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer"
About this Quote
Murrow’s line lands like a shrug from someone who has watched a nation miss what’s right in front of it. A great journalist is supposed to chase the hidden thing: the corrupt deal, the quiet policy failure, the human cost tucked behind official language. Murrow flips that expectation. The “obscure” can be investigated, verified, dragged into daylight. It’s a problem of labor and method. The “completely obvious” is harder because it isn’t a knowledge gap; it’s a will gap.
The subtext is about denial as a social technology. Obvious truths threaten comfort, careers, and consensus, so institutions learn to treat them as impolite. Networks look away to keep access. Politicians bank on the public’s fatigue. Citizens outsource attention until reality becomes background noise. In that sense, “obvious” isn’t simple - it’s radioactive. Everyone senses it, few want to touch it.
Context matters: Murrow’s career spanned WWII broadcasts and the early Cold War, when propaganda, fear, and conformity could make plain facts feel unsayable. His famous stand against McCarthyism wasn’t about uncovering a mystery; it was about insisting that what people already half-knew (the bullying, the reckless accusations, the civic damage) be spoken clearly on air. That’s why the aphorism works: it’s a critique of how mass media and public life invert difficulty. The hidden yields to persistence; the evident yields only to courage.
The subtext is about denial as a social technology. Obvious truths threaten comfort, careers, and consensus, so institutions learn to treat them as impolite. Networks look away to keep access. Politicians bank on the public’s fatigue. Citizens outsource attention until reality becomes background noise. In that sense, “obvious” isn’t simple - it’s radioactive. Everyone senses it, few want to touch it.
Context matters: Murrow’s career spanned WWII broadcasts and the early Cold War, when propaganda, fear, and conformity could make plain facts feel unsayable. His famous stand against McCarthyism wasn’t about uncovering a mystery; it was about insisting that what people already half-knew (the bullying, the reckless accusations, the civic damage) be spoken clearly on air. That’s why the aphorism works: it’s a critique of how mass media and public life invert difficulty. The hidden yields to persistence; the evident yields only to courage.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wisdom |
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