Idealism Quotes

“I lost something magical in the process of growing up – my disillusionment.”
― Bauvard, The Prince Of Plungers

“Something must be radically wrong with a culture and a civilisation when its youth begins to desert it. Youth is the natural time for revolt, for experiment, for a generous idealism that is eager for action. Any civilisation which has the wisdom of self-preservation will allow a certain margin of freedom for the expression of this youthful mood. But the plain, unpalatable fact is that in America today that margin of freedom has been reduced to the vanishing point. Rebellious youth is not wanted here. In our environment there is nothing to challenge our young men; there is no flexibility, no colour, no possibility for adventure, no chance to shape events more generously than is permitted under the rules of highly organised looting. All our institutional life combines for the common purpose of blackjacking our youth into the acceptance of the status quo; and not acceptance of it merely, but rather its glorification.”
― Harold Edmund Stearns, America and the young intellectual

“In order to succeed we need leaders of inspired idealism, leaders to whom are granted great visions, who dream greatly and strive to make their dreams come true; who can kindle the people with the fire from their own burning souls. The leader for the time being, whoever he may be, is but an instrument, to be used until broken and then to be cast aside; and if he is worth his salt he will care no more when he is broken than a soldier cares when he is sent where his life is forfeit in order that the victory may be won.”
― Theodore Roosevelt

“The reason why we believe that change is possible is not because we are idealists but because we believe we have made it, so other people can make it as well.”
― Roméo Dallaire, They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children: The Global Quest to Eradicate the Use of Child Soldiers

“We've already had Malthus, the friend of humanity. But the friend of humanity with shaky moral principles is the devourer of humanity, to say nothing of his conceit; for, wound the vanity of any one of these numerous friends of humanity, and he's ready to set fire to the world out of petty revenge—like all the rest of us, though, in that, to be fair; like myself, vilest of all, for I might well be the first to bring the fuel and run away myself.”
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Idiot

“Countless generations have set out convinced that they would succeed where other had failed – that's where lawyers and reporters come from, you know. They're the cynical corpses of idealistic young people who thought the system could be reformed.”
― CrimethInc., Days of War, Nights of Love: Crimethink For Beginners

“How many times in life have I been advised to "toe the line," to "tone it down," to stop "pushing the envelope"? As a journalist, I had to keep my opinions to myself for 30 years. I thought that, as an artist, I'd have the liberty to express my views. Now I'm told that doing so might hurt my readership.

I'm so idealistic, as I said elsewhere on FB today, that I think people ought to read my books because they're good. Period.”
― Sherry Jones

“The late 1920s were an age of islands, real and metaphorical. They were an age when Americans by thousands and tens of thousands were scheming to take the next boat for the South Seas or the West Indies, or better still for Paris, from which they could scatter to Majorca, Corsica, Capri or the isles of Greece. Paris itself was a modern city that seemed islanded in the past, and there were island countries, like Mexico, where Americans could feel that they had escaped from everything that oppressed them in a business civilization. Or without leaving home they could build themselves private islands of art or philosophy; or else - and this was a frequent solution - they could create social islands in the shadow of the skyscrapers, groups of close friends among whom they could live as unconstrainedly as in a Polynesian valley, live without moral scruples or modern conveniences, live in the pure moment, live gaily on gin and love and two lamb chops broiled over a coal fire in the grate. That was part of the Greenwich Village idea, and soon it was being copied in Boston, San Francisco, everywhere.”
― Malcolm Cowley, Exile's Return: A Literary Odyssey of the 1920s

“The Gospel worldview equips the artist with a unique combination of optimism and realism about life.”
― Timothy Keller

“If you have realistic ideals and can generally live up to them, your self-esteem will not be threatened. If your ideals are exaggerated and you cannot reach them, your good feelings from successes may be short lived, and you may feel that you are never good enough.

The continued hope for the impossible, the expectation that you will or can be unconditionally loved and adored, is not facing reality but rather holding onto an idealized image of yourself and an idealized version of what others can provide. If this is the case, your sense of self may be threatened by shame and its resulting depression, or by feelings of inadequacy for not living up to your unrealistic ideals. A better understanding of shame may help you recognize your tendency to hide what you feel from yourself and others.”
― Mary C. Lamia, The White Knight Syndrome: Rescuing Yourself from Your Need to Rescue Others

“The real battlefield is the realm of ideas.”
― Bryant McGill, Voice of Reason

“As long as the vision of heaven is always changing, the vision of earth will be exactly the same. No ideal will remain long enough to be realized, or even partly realized. The modern young man will never change his environment; for he will always change his mind.”
― G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

“Călătoria pare să fie destul de lungă. Tânărul pare să se fi îmbarcat în trenul lui Auguste Compte, să fi trecut prin stația teologiei, a cărei deviză era: „Da! Crede și nu cerceta” pentru a poposi și a scormoni acum în tărâmurile metafizicii a cărei deviză este: „Nu!”, iar în depărtare se întrezărește realismul, pe al cărui frontispiciu stă scris: „Deschide ochii și întdrăznește!”.”
― Naguib Mahfouz, Palace of Desire

“Lincoln, considering a Cabinet nominee: "He is a Radical without the petulance and fretfulness of many radicals.”
― Doris Kearns Goodwin

“Idealismul și violența sunt două fețe inseparabile ale legionarismului, ceea ce pare derutant, unii continuând și astăzi să vadă doar „puritatea” proiectului, iar alții, dimpotrivă, strict dezlănțuirea criminală.”
― Lucian Boia, Capcanele istoriei. Elita intelectuală românească între 1930 şi 1950

“Cum au putut atâtea spirite alese să fie atrase de o mișcare criminală e o întrebare nelalocul ei. „Spiritele alese” au fost atrase de idealismul mișcării, idealism care, în exces, a condus pe de altă parte la o barbarie fără margini.”
― Lucian Boia, Capcanele istoriei. Elita intelectuală românească între 1930 şi 1950

“S'il n'y avait que des salauds dans le monde, le Réalisme serait aussi le Bon Sens, car le Réalisme est précisément le bon sens des salauds.”
― Georges Bernanos, La France contre les robots