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INDIFFERENCE & INDIVIDUALITY

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.
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[QUOTES FOLLOW LINKS]

see:

APATHY

DECISIONS

(ON) DOING NOTHING

EMOTIONS & FEELINGS

IMPARTIALITY

INACTION

MIDDLE (IN THE)

NEGLECT

NEUTALITY

SILENCE

---

We find the most terrible form of atheism, not in
the militant and passionate struggle against the
idea of God himself, but in the practical atheism
of everyday living, in indifference and torpor. We
often encounter these forms of atheism among
those who are formally Christians.
--Nicolai A. Berdyaev

There is nothing upon the face of the earth so insipid as
a medium. Give me love or hate! a friend that will go to
jail for me, or an enemy that will run me through the body!
--Fanny Burney (1752-1840)
English novelist and diarist,
_Camilla_ [1796]

The least pain in our little finger gives more concern
and uneasiness than the destruction of millions of
our fellow beings.
--William Hazlitt (1778-1830)
English essayist,
"American Literature--Dr. Channing"
_The Edinburgh Review_ [October 1829]

He does not weep who does not see.
--Victor Hugo (1802-1885)
French poet, dramatist, and novelist

Science may have found a cure for most evils;
but it has found no remedy for the worst of
them all--the apathy of human beings.
--Helen Keller (1880-1968)
American author and educator
who was blind and deaf,
_My Religion_ [1927]

As long as human beings can sit and watch with hands folded while their
fellow men are tortured and butchered, so long will civilization be a hollow
mockery, a wordy phantom suspended like a mirage above a swelling sea
of murdered carcasses.
--Henry Miller (1891-1980)
American novelist and essayist,
_The Colossus of Maroussi_ [1941], ch. 2

I wish I could care what you do or where
you go but I can't. . . My dear, I don't
give a damn.
("Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!"
in the 1939 screen version ODTQ)
--Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949)
American novelist,
_Gone with the WInd_ [1936]

When Hitler attacked the Jews I was not a Jew, therefore, I was
not concerned. And when Hitler attacked the Catholics, I was
not a Catholic, and therefore, I was not concerned. And when
Hitler attacked the unions and the industrialists, I was not a
member of the unions and I was not concerned. Then, Hitler
attacked me and the Protestant church--and there was nobody
left to be concerned.
(often quoted in the form "In Germany they came first for the
Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist
. . . " ODTQ)
--Martin Niemöller (1892-1984)
German theologian,
In "Congressional Record" [14 October 1968]

People really care about nothing that does
not affect them personally.
--Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)
German philosopher,
"Counsels and Maxims"
_Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer_, tr. T. Bailey Saunders

The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to
hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that's the
essence of inhumanity.
--George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Irish comic dramatist, literary critic, Socialist
propagandist, and winner of the Nobel Prize
for Literature in 1925 {EB},
_The Devil's Disciple_ [1901]

Throughout history, it has been the inaction
of those who could have acted, the indifference
of those who should have known better, the
silence of the voice of justice when it mattered
most, that has made it possible for evil to
triumph.
--Haile Selassie (1892-1975)
Emperor of Ethiopia

The worst sin towards our fellow creatures
is not to hate them, but to be indifferent
to them: that's the essence of inhumanity.
--George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Irish comic dramatist, literary critic, Socialist
propagandist, and winner of the Nobel Prize
for Literature in 1925 {EB},
_The Devil's Disciple_ [1897], act II

One wants to be loved; failing this, to be admired;
failing this, to be feared; failing even this, to be
hated and despised. One wants to arouse some sort
of feeling in people. The soul shrinks from the void
and wants contact at any price.
--Hjalmar Söderberg (1869-1941)
Swedish novelist and playwright,
_Doctor Glas_ [1905]

-

I did not hate them; I was indiffernt to them. My crime
was far worse because I was *not* an anti-Semite. . . .

My conscience was progressively callused and blunted. Of
course, one's conscience does not just cease to exist
overnight; it is slowly eroded over the years, eaten away
day by day, anesthetized by a multiplicity of little crimes. . . .
As the Nazis environment enveloped us, its evils grew
invisible--because we were part of them.

--Albert Speer (1905-1981)
First architect of the Third Reich,
Eric Norden interview _Playboy_ [June 1971]

-

There is one right I would not grant anyone.
And that is the right to be indifferent.
--Eliezer [Elie] Wiesel (1928- )
Romanian Jew and Holocaust survivor. Winner
of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.

The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.
And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.
--Eliezer [Elie] Wiesel (1928- )
Romanian Jew and Holocaust survivor. Winner
of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986,
in "U.S. News and World Report" [27 October 1986]

-----

perfunctory pur-FUNGK-tuh-ree, adjective:
1. Done merely to carry out a duty; performed mechanically or routinely.
2. Lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm; indifferent.




INDIVIDUALITY

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.

[QUOTES FOLLOW LINKS]

see:

ALONE

BE YOURSELF

DIFFERENT

HUMAN RACE

KNOWING (ONESELF)

LONELINESS, LONERS

MINORITY

NONCONFORMITY

POPULARITY

SELF, SELF-ESTEEM

STANDING ALONE

UNIQUE

-

Nature made him, and then broke the mold.
--Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533)
Italian poet,
_Orlando Furioso_ [1532], Canto X, Stanza 84

Voyage upon life's sea,
To yourself be true,
And, whatever your lot may be,
Paddle your own canoe.
--Sarah Bolton in Harper's Magazine [May 1854]
_Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable_

I believe that the duel between Christianity and atheism
is the most important in the world. I further believe that
the struggle between individualism and collectivism is the
same struggle reproduced on another level.
--William F. Buckley Jr. (1925—2008)
American author and journalist.
"God and Man at Yale," [1951]

The most courageous act is still
to think for yourself. Aloud.
--Coco Chanel (1883—1971)
French fashion designer.

To be nobody-but-myself--in a world which is doing
its best, night and day, to make you everybody
else--means to fight the hardest battle which any
human being can fight, and never stop fighting.
--E.E. (Edward Estlin) Cummings (1894-1962)
American poet,
quoted in Charles Norman's _The Magic-Maker_ [1958]

Where the way is hardest, there go thou:
Follow your own path, and let people talk.
--Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)
Italian poet, literary theorist, and moral philosopher,
_The Divine Comedy_ [c. 1310-1321], "Purgatory"

A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human
creature is constituted to be that profound secret
and mystery to every other.
--Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
English novelist

-

I feel ill at ease with that little word 'We.'
No man is at one with another, you see.
Behind all agreement lies something amiss.
All seeming accord cloaks a lurking abyss.
--Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
German-American physicist who developed the
special and general theories of relativity,
in _The New Yorker_ [20 June 1994], p.93


Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition
from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of
understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to
conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express
his opinions courageously and honestly.
--Albert Einstein (1879—1955)
German-American physicist who developed the
special and general theories of relativity.
In Abraham Pais _Einstein Lived Here_. p. 219 [1994].


Any power must be an enemy of mankind which enslaves
the individual by terror and force, whether it arises under
the Fascist or the Communist flag. All that is valuable in
human society depends upon the opportunity for
development accorded to the individual.
--Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
German-American physicist who developed the
special and general theories of relativity;
in a statement in England [15 September 1933]

-

It is easy in the world to live after the
world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to
live after your own; but the great man is
he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with
perfect sweetness the independence of
solitude.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
American philosopher and poet,
Essays, "Self-Reliance"


Whoso goes to walk alone, accuses the whole world;
he declares all to be unfit to be his companions; it
is very uncivil, nay, insulting; society will retaliate.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
American philosopher and poet,
("The Transcendentalist" lecture at the Boston
Masonic Temple [December 1840])


Do not go where the path may lead, go instead
where there is no path and leave a trail.
--attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803—1882)
American philosopher and poet.

-

*No man*, proclaimed Donne, *is an island*, and he
was wrong. If we were not islands, we would be lost,
drowned in each other's tragedies. We are insulated
(a word that means, literally, remember, *made into
an island*) from the tragedy of others, by our island
nature, and by the repetitive shape and form of the
stories. The shape does not change: there was a human
being who was born, lived, and then, by some means
or another, died. There. You may fill in the details
from your own experience. As unoriginal as any other
tale, as unique as any other life. Lives are
snowflakes--forming patterns we have seen before,
as like one another as peas in a pod (and have you
ever looked at peas in a pod? I mean, really *looked*
at them? There's not a chance you'd mistake one for
another, after a minute's close inspection), but
still unique.
--Neil Gaiman (1960- )
Science fiction author,
_American Gods_

-

I look upon an increase of the power of the State with
the greatest fear, because although while apparently
doing good by minimizing exploitation, it does the
greatest harm to mankind by destroying individuality,
which lies at the root of all progress. We know of
so many cases where men have adopted trusteeship,
but none where the State has really lived for the
poor.
--Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)
Indian statesman, interview to Nirmal Kumar Bose
_The Hindustan Times_ [17 October 1935]

Individuality . . . lies at the root of all progress.
--Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)
Indian statesman and leader of the nationalistic
movement against British rule,
in _The Modern Review_ [October 1935]

-

There is no support so strong as the strength
that enables one to stand alone.
--Ellen Glasgow,
_The Shadowy Third_ [1923]

I cannot and will not cut my conscience
to fit this year's fashion.
--Lillian Hellman (1905-1984)
American dramatist,
in a letter to the House Committee on Un-American Activities [19 May 1952]

The strongest oak of the forest is not the one that
is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun.
It's the one that stands in the open where it is
compelled to struggle for its existence against the
winds and rains and the scorching sun.
--Napoleon Hill (1883-1970)
American journalist, lawyer, and author of self-help books

It is thus necessary that the individual should come
to realize that his own ego is of no importance in
comparison with the existence of his nation; that the
position of the individual ego is conditioned solely
by the interests of the nation as a whole ... that
above all the unity of a nation's spirit and will are
worth far more than the freedom of the spirit and
will of an individual.
... The greater the readiness to subordinate purely
personal interests, the higher rises the ability to
establish comprehensive communities ... This state
of mind, which subordinates the interests of the
ego to the conservation of the community, is really
the first premise for every truly human culture ...
we understand only the individual's capacity to make
sacrifices for the community, for his fellow man.
--Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)
German dictator

Some trees grow very tall and straight and large
in the forest close to each other, but some must
stand by themselves or they won't grow at all.
--Oliver Wendell Holmes (Sr.?)

It is hard to utter common notions
in an individual way.
--Horace [Quintus Horatius Flaccus] (65-8 BC)
Roman poet, Ars Poetica, l.128

The thing is, you see, that the strongest man in
the world is the man who stands most alone.
--Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906)
Norwegian playwright,
_An Enemy of the People_ [1882]

It is a blessed thing that in every age some one
has had individuality enough and courage enough
to stand by his own convictions.
--Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899)
American politician and orator know as "the great agnostic,"
_Individuality_ [1873]

The nail that sticks up will be hammered down.
--Japanese Proverb

He who has so little knowledge of human nature, as to
seek happiness by changing any thing but his own
dispositions, will waste his life in fruitless efforts, and
multiply the griefs which he purposes to remove.
--Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
English poet, critic, and lexicographer,
"The Rambler" (English journal),
Number 6 [7 April 1750]

Comrades! We must abolish the cult of the
individual decisively, once and for all.
--Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971)
Soviet statesman, Premier [1958-1964]

Oh, cursed be that arrogant satisfaction in standing alone.
--Sören Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
Danish philosopher,
_Journal_ [8 May 1838]

When all men think alike, no one thinks
very much.
--Walter Lippmann (1889—1974)
American journalist.
In _Speakers Encyclopedia_, NY [1955].

Democratic man, as I have remarked, is quite unable
to think of himself as a free individual; he must
belong to a group, or shake with fear and loneliness
- and the group, of course, must have its leaders.
--H.L. (Henry Louis) Mencken (1880-1956)
American journalist and literary critic,
_Notes on Democracy_, p.202 [1926]

-

There is one characteristic of the present direction
of public opinion peculiarly calculated to make it
intolerant of any marked demonstration of individuality.
The general average of mankind are not only moderate
in intellect, but also moderate in inclinations; they
have no tastes or wishes strong enough to incline them
to do anything unusual, and they consequently do not
understand those who have, and class all such with the
wild and intemperate whom they are accustomed to look
down upon.
--John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
English philosopher and social reformer.
_On Liberty_ [1859]
Ch. 3, "Of Individuality, as One of the Elements of Well-Being"


Whatever crushes individuality is despotism, by whatever
name it may be called and whether it professes to be
enforcing the will of God or the injunctions of men.
--John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
English philosopher and social reformer.
_On Liberty_ [1859], ch. 3

-

Read, every day, something no one else is reading.
Think, every day, something no one else is thinking.
Do, every day, something no one else would be silly
enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always
part of a unanimity.
--Christopher Morley (1890-1957)
American journalist, novelist, and poet.

How glorious it is – and also how
painful – to be an exception.
--Alfred de Musset (1810—1857)
French poet, dramatist, and author.
_The Story of a White Blackbird_

-

The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct
him to hold in higher esteem those who think
alike than those who think differently.
--Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900)
German classical scholar, philosopher, and critic of culture.


The individual has always had to struggle to keep
from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it,
you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened.
But no price is too high to pay for the privilege
of owning yourself.
--Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900)
German classical scholar, philosopher, and critic of culture.


Deep down every human being well knows that he
is in the world only one time, unique, and that no
such strange chance will throw together a second
time such a wonderfully many-colored assortment
into a unity such as he is: he knows it, but conceals
it like a bad conscience.
--Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900)
German classical scholar, philosopher, and critic of culture.
_Schopenhauer as Educator_ [1874]

-

I do my thing, and you do your thing
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations
And you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you and I am I
And if by chance we find each other, it's beautiful.
If not, it can't be helped.
--Fritz Perls (1893-1970)
German-born psychologist.

"You're not one of us."
"I don't think I'm one of them, either," said
Brutha. "I'm one of mine."
--Terry Pratchett (1948- )
English science fiction writer.
_Small Gods_

The word "We" is as lime poured over men, which
sets and hardens into stone, and crushes all beneath
it, and that which is white and that which is black
are lost equally in the grey of it. It is the word by
which the depraved steal the virtue of the good, by
which the weak steal the might of the strong, by
which the fools steal the wisdom of the sages.
--Equality 7-2521, the hero in Ayn Rand's
_Anthem_, 1937 Ch. XI

My manner of thinking, so you say, cannot be approved.
Do you suppose I care? A poor fool indeed is he who
adopts a manner of thinking for others! My manner of
thinking stems straight from my considered reflections;
it holds with my existence, with the way I am made. It
is not in my power to alter it; and were it, I'd not do so.
--Marquis de Sade (Donatien Alphonse François, Comte de Sade) (1740-1814)
French aristocrat and writer of pornography.
Letter to his wife [1783].

If we are to survive, we must have ideas, vision, and courage.
These things are rarely produced by committees. Everything
that matters in our intellectual and moral life begins with an
individual confronting his own mind and conscience in a room
by himself.
--Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. (1917-2007)
American historian.
"The Decline of Greatness" in
_Saturday Evening Post_ [1 November 1958]

We humans are herd animals of the monkey tribe,
not natural individuals as the lions are. Our
individuality is partial and restless; the
stream of consciousness that we call "I" is made
of shifting elements that flow from our group and
back to our group again. Always we seek to be
ourselves and the herd together, not One against
the herd.
--Anna Louise Strong (1885-1970)
American journalist.
_I Change Worlds_ [1935]

Why every one as they like; as the good woman
said when she kissed her cow.
--Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)
Anglo-Irish poet and satirist.
"Polite Conversation," Dialogue 1

The flower which is single, need not envy
the thorns that are numerous.
--Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)
Bengali poet, short-story writer, song composer,
playwright, and painter who won the 1913
Nobel Prize for Literature.

-

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps
it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step
to the music he hears, however measured or far away.
--Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
American essayist, poet, and practical philosopher.
_Walden_ [1854] "Conclusion"


Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with
our own private opinion. What a man thinks of
himself, that it is which determines, or rather
indicates, his fate.
--Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
American essayist, poet, and practical philosopher.
_Walden_ [1854]

-

Each of you, for himself, by himself and on his own responsibility, must speak. And it is a solemn and weighty responsibility, and not lightly to be flung aside at the bullying of pulpit, press, government, or the empty catchphrases of politicians. Each must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, and which course is patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your convictions is to be an unqualified and inexcusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let man label you as they may. If you alone of all the nation shall decide one way, and that way be the right way according to your convictions of the right, you have done your duty by yourself and by your country-hold up your head! You have nothing to be ashamed of.
--Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835-1910)
American humorist, novelist, journalist, and river pilot.

Our wretched species is so made that those who
walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones
at those who are showing a new road.
--Voltaire (François Marie Arouet) (1694-1778)
French writer and philosopher.

Avoid the reeking herd,
Shun the polluted flock,
Live like that stoic bird
The eagle of the rock.
--Elinor Wylie (1885-1928)
American poet and novelist.
"The Eagle and the Mole" [1921], st. 1


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