I came across this quote on
goodreads today:
“People who claim that
they're evil are usually no worse than the rest of us... It's people who claim
that they're good, or any way better than the rest of us, that you have to be
wary of.”
― Gregory Maguire, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
― Gregory Maguire, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
I
haven’t read the book, but now I think I really, really want to. I thought the quote was very thought
provoking and very true.
Some
of the best people I know seem to have the worst opinions of themselves. It seems that often the truly amazing,
special people in the world don’t realize they are. How many heroes think they are? How many times on the news do you hear a
person who stepped up to help another person brushing off praise, or simply
saying it needed to be done?
History is full of people who thought they
were somehow better than, or superior to, everyone else. Isn’t that what so many problems stem
from? Racism, ethnic cleansing, hate
crimes, religious persecution all seem to happen because someone has the idea
that they are superior to people who don’t believe the same as them, or aren’t
the same color, or speak a different language, or somehow don’t conform to
their ideal.
I
guess it’s much the same as “too good to be true” and the people who present
themselves as better than, or superior to, others just aren’t. So what about you, what are your thoughts on
the quote, or on someone or something being too good to be true?
Well as my folks used to say, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
ReplyDeleteThat seems to be the case most of the time.
DeleteI think that yes, you do have to be careful not to be too naive in today's world, but if we always believe that things are too good to be true then we risk missing out on amazing experiences.
ReplyDeleteThere was a TV advert in the UK a while ago in which a guy offered members of the public the chance to go and see his friend's band who were performing nearby for free. Most declined, but those who took a chance were treated to a small concert by Plan B (he's pretty big over here). So sometimes things are good AND true ;)
Wow! I'm pretty sure I'd be one of the people who declined, but that was really cool for the people who said yes. I guess the skeptics were probably pretty annoyed with themselves.
DeleteI think it's pretty hard sometimes to strike a good balance between believing in people and being skeptical of people.
That is a powerful quote; it is one of those you want to think about and ponder on for a bit because I think there is a lot of wisdom and truth in that. When I was thinking about those who think they are good and better than others, the first people that came to mind was the Pharisees from the Bible; they sure thought they were "all that" yet Jesus saw through them and kind of deflated their egos by calling them hypocrites.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, a very interesting quote! Thanks for sharing it
(and I have to agree too that I have a terrible opinion about myself.....yet others think differently about me.....I don't see that though in me......)
betty
I actually think the proud and egotistical can be just as evil as the seemingly good. Evil is deceptive, period. So, whatever seduces us in, we have to be wary of. Sometimes we're fooled by the lovely and attractive; sometimes we surrender our will to the evil b/c on the surface, it looks fun. It IS hard to discern sometimes who is trustworthy and who is not. I've been burned 3 separate times in my life...and I think I now recognize the negative and destructive.
ReplyDeleteinterestingg quote for sure!! It has been my experience that the really "good" people do not think they are really "good"...humility must somehow go along with being "good"
ReplyDeleteas a Christian, we are taught, we are not inherently good---and that we are judged by our heart
ReplyDeletethat is such a great quote! It's so true too. I find that in this day and age, you can't ever tell if a person is 'good' or 'evil' even if they say they are one or the other. we must keep our wits about us!
ReplyDelete