A short story is the ultimate close-up magic trick -- a couple of thousand words to take you around the universe or break your heart.
Neil GaimanRead
I will be a wise and tolerant monarch, dispencing justice fairly, and only setting nightmares to rip out the winds of the evil and the wicked. Or just anybody that I don't like.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the balance between justice and personal bias in leadership.
Neil Gaiman's quote humorously highlights the complexities and contradictions often present in leadership roles. While aspiring to be a wise and tolerant ruler, the speaker also acknowledges the temptation of personal bias, suggesting that fairness in dispensing justice can sometimes erode in favor of personal feelings toward individuals deemed 'evil' or 'wicked.' It reflects the challenge leaders face in upholding justice while managing their own emotions and prejudices.
Themes
LeadershipJusticeBiasMonarchFairness
In practice
Example use cases
Use this quote in a discussion about the moral responsibilities of leaders during a panel.
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As a teenager I wrote to R.A. Lafferty. And he responded, too, with letters that were like R.A. Lafferty short stories, filled with elliptical answers to straight questions and simple answers to complicated ones.
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The important thing to understand about American history, wrote Mr. Ibis, in his leather-bound journal, is that it is fictional, a charcoal-sketched simplicity for the children, or the easily bored.
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Nothing’s changed. You’ll go home. You’ll be bored. You’ll be ignored. No one will listen to you, really listen to you. You’re too clever and too quiet for them to understand. They don’t even get your name right.
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I like the stars. It's the illusion of permanence, I think. I mean, they're always flaring up and caving in and going out. But from here, I can pretend...I can pretend that things last. I can pretend that lives last longer than moments. Gods come, and gods go. Mortals flicker and flash and fade. Worlds don't last; and stars and galaxies are transient, fleeting things that twinkle like fireflies and vanish into cold and dust. But I can pretend.
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