The Tyranny Of Clichés Book! Trivia Quiz
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"The Tyranny of Clichés: How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas." Test your ability to slice through progressive platitudes and find out what liberals really mean. For each question, pick the option that best captures the real but hidden sentiment of the given cliché. Be sure to review your answers at the end of the quiz for insights from the book.
- 1.
"Diversity makes us stronger."
- A.
Stirring up the mix of contributors improves the final product
- B.
America is a mixing bowl, not a melting pot
- C.
People can be of all stripes, but I will only associate with people who agree with me
Correct Answer
C. People can be of all stripes, but I will only associate with people who agree with meExplanation
Choice quote from the book: "At a deeper level, the agenda behind diversity is about power. It is a way to give permanent license to social engineers. If you make diversity a compelling state interest or social imperative, someone has to decide what does or does not count as beneficial diversity, and that someone is invariably a social engineer."Rate this question:
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- 2.
"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism."
- A.
True heroes are willing to challenge bad ideas
- B.
If something is wrong with the country, we have a duty to say so
- C.
It's OK to say terrible things about the USA as long as you say you love it
Correct Answer
C. It's OK to say terrible things about the USA as long as you say you love itExplanation
Choice quote from the book: “Some of the chanting Occupy Wall Street protesters out there recycling their urine and filming gay porn movies intents might also be interested in helping America, but many are simply motivated by an apish desire to join the crowd or a nihilistic yearning to take a sledgehammer to the foundation of a country they just happened to be born in.”Rate this question:
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- 3.
"My opponents prefer Social Darwinism over social decency."
- A.
Survival of the fittest isn't just about natural selection
- B.
The strong should help the weak and exercise authority in a way that equalizes outcomes
- C.
Conservatives don't want to help the poor or needy
Correct Answer
C. Conservatives don't want to help the poor or needyExplanation
Choice quote from the book: “While hundreds of millions have been killed by the faithful application of Karl Marx's ideas, Marx still enjoys a deep reservoir of respect and an army of apologists. And perhaps more shocking, Darwin is still found utterly blameless on that score, even though he was, in fact, the inspiration for a good deal of Marx's work.”Rate this question:
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- 4.
"It's a slippery slope."
- A.
Small demands little by little add up to much bigger intrusions
- B.
Give an inch and people will take a mile
- C.
People can't be trusted to know when to put the brakes on a bad idea
Correct Answer
C. People can't be trusted to know when to put the brakes on a bad ideaExplanation
Choice quote from the book: "At some level, slippery slope arguments surely appeal to our caveman's brains. The Neanderthal who never asked, "What could go wrong?" probably had a hard time passing on his genes successfully.”Rate this question:
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- 5.
"Better to let 10 guilty men go free than punish one innocent."
- A.
Society should err on the side of the accused
- B.
Justice must be evenly applied
- C.
It's easier to blame "the system" when uncomfortable arguing facts
Correct Answer
C. It's easier to blame "the system" when uncomfortable arguing factsExplanation
Choice quote from the book: “It’s a bedrock contract of society, more important and older than notions of democracy that justice is done to all. But, and this is crucial, that contract is not a suicide pact.”Rate this question:
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- 6.
"The Constitution is a living and breathing document."
- A.
Artificial checks on power are unnatural
- B.
To faithfully perform public service, one must interpret intent to fit the times
- C.
The Bill of Rights is a dead-letter relic
Correct Answer
C. The Bill of Rights is a dead-letter relicExplanation
Choice quote from the book: “If the truly defining qualification for judges is their values or their level of empathy for certain aggrieved groups, then why bother sending lawyers to the Supreme Court in the first place?”Rate this question:
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- 7.
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
- A.
A little bit of planning can help deter disaster
- B.
Cures are often costlier than the disease
- C.
Public officials are in the best position to tell people how to live
Correct Answer
C. Public officials are in the best position to tell people how to liveExplanation
Choice quote from the book: “You want to live longer because you want to live longer. And so for you, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. But the math is reversed for the government. Healthy people cost more than sick people.”Rate this question:
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- 8.
"A crisis is a terrible thing to waste."
- A.
We need to turn a negative into a positive
- B.
Declaring war will pull us out of decline
- C.
Let’s exploit a national emergency to dramatically expand government
Correct Answer
C. Let’s exploit a national emergency to dramatically expand governmentExplanation
Choice quote from the book: "'We planned in war' became the mantra of the intellectuals, furious with the Republican-led 'return to normalcy' of the 1920s. And liberalism has never recovered. The search for a moral equivalent of war continues to define American liberalism today."Rate this question:
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- 9.
"It’s anti-science to dispute the evidence."
- A.
New facts update our understanding of the world
- B.
Time marches forward whether you march or not
- C.
Rather than grappling with alternative arguments, I'm going to say you are stupid
Correct Answer
C. Rather than grappling with alternative arguments, I'm going to say you are stupidExplanation
Choice quote from the book: “Second perhaps only to ‘health,’ science is routinely used as the false flag of reasonableness carried by those who allegedly only care about ‘the facts,’ but are in fact concerned about something else.”Rate this question:
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- 10.
"I don’t let my religious views influence my political decisions."
- A.
I can separate my personal views from the work of the people
- B.
There is no place for religion in politics
- C.
I only discuss my religious views when I can use them for political gain
Correct Answer
C. I only discuss my religious views when I can use them for political gainExplanation
Choice quote from the book: “I understand why abortion-rights activists see pro-life policies as an imposition of faith (and I can see why a fetus would feel much the same way about pro-choice policies if he or she had a chance to live). But how are environmental or anti-poverty policies driven by faith not an imposition of faith?"Rate this question:
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- 11.
"I’m interested in answers, not ideology."
- A.
I want the best idea, regardless of the source
- B.
It’s career-saving for me to run away from labels
- C.
I want to sound open-minded, but I’m really interested only in solutions I already favor
Correct Answer
C. I want to sound open-minded, but I’m really interested only in solutions I already favorExplanation
Choice quote from the book: “Having an ideology doesn’t mean you’ve been brainwashed, it means you’ve come to conclusions about how the world works at some basic level.”Rate this question:
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- 12.
"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
- A.
The greatest names in history are responsible for the greatest crimes
- B.
There has to be a system of checks and balances
- C.
Everyone's a hypocrite
Correct Answer
C. Everyone's a hypocriteExplanation
Choice quote from the book: “We -- and I mean everybody, liberals and conservatives alike -- violate Acton's principles all the time. Conservatives make apologies for benevolent dictators. Liberals forgive totalitarian movements because of the principles to be found somewhere beneath an ocean of blood."Rate this question:
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May 14, 2023Quiz Edited by
ProProfs Editorial Team -
May 01, 2012Quiz Created by
Josh Burke
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