Where a reputation for intolerance is more feared than a reputation for vice itself, all manner of evil may be expected to flourish.
Interpretation
Fear of judgment can lead to the acceptance of immoral behavior.
This quote by Theodore Dalrymple suggests that when society prioritizes the fear of being labeled as intolerant over the fear of being perceived as morally corrupt, it creates an environment where unethical actions can thrive. Intolerance becomes a greater concern than vice itself, leading individuals to ignore or even support wrongdoing to avoid being labeled as unaccepting or judgmental.
In practice
In a discussion about moral standards in society, this quote can highlight the dangers of prioritizing reputation over ethics.
So what exactly are the rewards of resentment. It is always a relief to know that the reason we have failed in life is not because we lack the talent, energy, or determination to succeed, but because of a factor that is beyond our control and that has loaded the dice decisively against us.
It is clear to me that people often want incompatible things. They want danger and excitement on the one hand, and safety and security on the other, and often simultaneously. Contradictory desires mean that life can never be wholly satisfying or without frustration.
At the heart of the matter is a battle between wish and fear. Fear generally proves stronger than a wish, but it leaves a taste of disappointment on the tongue.
The provisions we have made [for our government] are such as please ourselves; they answer the substantial purposes of government and of justice, and other purposes than these should not be answered.
Your mind is the knife that cuts the continuum of space and time into neat slices of linear experience.
Punishment is the last and the least effective instrument in the hands of the legislator for the prevention of crime.
All meditations are nothing but efforts to bring you to the present. When you live in the present moment, with no past hanging around you, with no future projection, you are free from life and death, you are free from body and mind. You are free - simply free - you are freedom.
Nothing in the nature around us is evil. This needs to be repeated since one of the human ways of talking oneself into inhuman acts is to cite the supposed cruelty of nature.
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