Greater Good Quotes

Sometimes you've got to think about more than your own safety! Sometimes you've got to think about the greater good! ~ J.K. Rowling

Somewhere along the line, between the idealisms of youth and the realities of adulthood, we become pacified by our jobs; we tolerate how we hurt the world so that we can sustain our lives. At some point, blurred in the past, we traded the greater good for ourselves. ~ Richard Beckham II

There's an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that I've been thinking about a lot while writing this essay. In it, Buffy sacrifices her own life to save her sister, and right before she does, she tells her sister that the hardest thing to do in the world is to live - ironic words coming from someone about to kill herself for the greater good. As I'm writing this, I just keep thinking that Katniss never gets to sacrifice herself. She doesn't get the heroic death. She survives - and that leaves her doing the hardest thing in the world: living in it once so many of the ones she loves are gone. ~ Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Jedi shackle themselves in chains of obedience: obedience to the Jedi Council; obedience to their Masters; obedience to the Republic. Those who follow the light side even believe they must submit themselves to the Force. They are merely instruments of its will, slaves to a greater good. ~ Drew Karpyshyn

Hurry, conscious younger people! Get to power quickly so political decisions can be based on the greater good for all rather than the greater gain for few. Hurry, before it is too late! ~ Jane Siberry

You're not allowed to freeze your ears off. All of the other mothers will make fun of me for having the bizarre earless offspring, and I don't know if I'm secure enough to endure that."

"In that case, I should probably let my ears freeze off for the greater good. It sounds like you are in need of some serious character growth, Mamacita. ~ Hannah Johnson

There is something that you can do, for a greater good, for a greater cause, one that is far bigger than just yourself. Find it, and then, do it. ~ Kevin Abdulrahman

For too long in this society, we have celebrated unrestrained individualism over common community. For too long as a nation, we have been lulled by the anthem of self-interest. For a decade, led by Ronald Reagan, self-aggrandizement has been the full-throated cry of this society: "I've got mine, so why don't you get yours" and "What's in it for me? ~ Joe Biden

All it takes for generosity to flow is awareness. By actively pursuing awareness and knowledge, we can make choices that cause less harm and greater good to others in the global community of our shared earth. ~ Zoe Weil

Want me to say it? Want me to confess what makes me an actual felon and reserves me a choice spot in hell?"

"Please, Alexandria Patra," Preton said, "tell me all your regrets."

Her eyes narrowed. "I taught children to surrender their developing minds to concepts like the greater good or the good of society which can't exist in any form in this world without actual kids being trampled underneath their untouchable banners."

Pointing at her own chest, she added, "I taught children that in order to live up to those 'higher' ideals they must be obedient - to others, must sacrifice their dreams - to the needs of others. I taught them it was more important to be a part of a group than to stand on their own judgment. I told the non-conforming kids they should feel guilty for wanting to live on their own terms."

Alexa swept a hand forward, pointing it at Preton. "I then delivered every ego-stripped, dream-crushed child to the power mongers of the world like you, who will use this universally accepted mirage of morality to control them. ~ S.W. Southwick

The contemporary Matthew Paris wrote that, 'foul as it is, hell itself is defiled by the foulness of King John'. A bard sang that 'no man may ever trust him, for his heart is soft and cowardly'. Yet this evil was catalyst for a greater good, Magna Carta. ~ Simon Jenkins

We face those that we have to face, and there will be times when we must make the choice to act for a greater good, even at risk to ourselves, but we do not lay down our lives needlessly. Each of us has only one life to live, and one life to give. ~ John Connolly

A short, glorious life in service of a greater good - say, the life of the Spartans at Thermopylae, or the pilots in the Battle of Britain, of whom Winston Churchill said 'Never have so many owed so much to so few,' - that is worth praising. But for glory alone? I think not. ~ Tim O'Reilly

We all have our duties here. We all suffer. We all endure our setbacks for the greater good of mankind. ~ Markus Zusak

Courage is a decision you make to act in a way that works through your own fear for the greater good as opposed to pure self-interest. Courage means putting at risk your immediate self-interest for what you believe is right. ~ Derrick A. Bell

greater good in this story - God sparing Joe from a fatal accident. But Joe has to depend on faith. If you realize that God is operating from the vantage point of eternity, and that His Plan for you concerns your life in the next world as well as this one, then you will be more attuned to Him. Then your humility ~ Mother Angelica

People want to be on a team. They want to be part of something bigger than themselves. They want to be in a situation where they feel that they are doing something for the greater good. ~ Mike Krzyzewski

Let us not fail him; do not fear that he will fail you. And if some time he should fail you, it will be for a greater good. The ~ Teresa Of Avila

Collective responsibility, a sense of the greater good versus just one's own good, and a strong set of collective values are imperative for improving society. These are the aims of all these pieces about our society. ~ Chetan Bhagat

God permits sin to come into human life, but only on behalf of a greater good - namely, freedom - and God overrules sin wherever it appears to threaten God's greater purpose ~ Thomas C. Oden

Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. A theory however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if it is untrue; likewise laws and institutions no matter how efficient and well-arranged must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust. Each person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override. For this reason justice denies that the loss of freedom for some is made right by a greater good shared by others. It does not allow that the sacrifices imposed on a few are outweighed by the larger sum of advantages enjoyed by many. Therefore in a just society the liberties of equal citizenship are taken as settled; the rights secured by justice are not subject to political bargaining or to the calculus of social interests. ~ John Rawls

If animals are just commodities, then we are just consumers, with no greater good than material pleasure and no higher law than appetite. ~ Matthew Scully

[When anything happens, we interpret it as good or bad, but ... ] We do not know what is really good or bad fortune. [Only the future can decide. For example, what appears to be bad today may in fact lead us to a greater good tomorrow and by the very act of thinking and planning in that positive way, we can help make that good future come true.] ~ Jean-Jacques Rousseau

On a cohesive team, leaders are not there simply to represent the departments that they lead and manage but rather to solve problems that stand in the way of achieving success for the whole organization. That means they'll readily offer up their departments' resources when it serves the greater good of the team, and they'll take an active interest in the thematic goal regardless of how closely related it is to their functional area. ~ Patrick Lencioni

People who put themselves on the line and sacrifice their own safety for the greater good and for others, and anyone in any profession whose concern is the welfare for other people instead of the individual, are inspiring and important. ~ Chris Hemsworth

All of our time, energy, and money go into keeping people away from us, into building up walls. What if we didn't do that? What if we became part of the world around us? What if we used all of that time, energy, and money for something else? For a greater good? We would no longer be people who were only worth a trash bag full of ransom money. We would be people who were worth something real. ~ Edward Bloor

That means laying out a vision of the world that competes directly with the one on harrowing display at the Heartland conference and in so many other parts of our culture, one that resonates with the majority of people on the planet because it is true: That we are not apart from nature but of it. That acting collectively for a greater good is not suspect, and that such common projects of mutual aid are responsible for our species' greatest accomplishments. That greed must be disciplined and tempered by both rule and example. That poverty amidst plenty is unconscionable. ~ Naomi Klein

Good and Evil are opposite points on a circle, Dr. Chiver. Greater good is just halfway back to Bad. ~ Sheri Holman

This is the oath of a Knight of King Arther's Round Table and should be for all of us to take to heart. I will develop my life for the greater good. I will place character above riches, and concern for others above personal wealth, I will never boast, but cherish humility instead, I will speak the truth at all times, and forever keep my word, I will defend those who cannot defend themselves, I will honor and respect women, and refute sexism in all its guises, I will uphold justice by being fair to all, I will be faithful in love and loyal in friendship, I will abhor scandals and gossip-neither partake nor delight in them, I will be generous to the poor and to those who need help, I will forgive when asked, that my own mistakes will be forgiven, I will live my life with courtesy and honor from this day forward. ~ King Arthur

Don't forget what people intend to use for harm, God can use for His greater good. Let offenses slide today, and watch how God works! ~ Alisa Hope Wagner

I respect ordinary thieves much more than I respect politicians. Ordinary thieves take my money without pretense. Unlike typical politicians, these thieves don't bore me with silly explanations of why their thievery is for the greater good. Nor do ordinary thieves insult my intelligence by proclaiming that they'll use the money that they steal from me to make my life better than I would have made my life had my money not been swiped from me. ~ Walter Williams

The Order of the Titans had agreed with his assessment. This generation, the Order would be successful where previous generations had failed, because this time they would steal mankind's inspiration. They would kill the muses for the greater good ...
For the good of mankind. ~ Lisa Kessler

If I do not do this thing, then it may go on and on. Nothing of the greater good comes without struggle and sacrifice in equal measure, be you man or woman, and in this way are we freed from tyranny. ~ Kathleen Kent

When all else fails, you can always damn yourself with a necessary evil, for the greater good. ~ Simon R. Green

The oblivion fear is something else, fear that I won't be able to give anything in exchange for my life. If you don't live a
life in service of a greater good, you've gotta at least die a death in service of a greater good, you know? And I fear that I won't get either a
life or a death that means anything. ~ John Green

It is always man's ideas which drive his actions. This has, at times, resulted in great evil; but as we look around us, we cannot doubt that it has resulted in greater good. ~ Steven Brust

The more grateful you are for everything good that comes into your life, the more closely you place your mind in contact with that power in life that can produce greater good. ~ Christian D. Larson

This life is filled with threats and danger, David. We face those that we have to face, and there will be times when we must make the choice to act for the greater good, even at risk to ourselves, but we do not lay down our lives needlessly. Each of us has only one life to live, and one life to give. There is no glory in throwing it away where there is no hope. ~ John Connolly

Americans should never forget that the founders of this country, like all who have served her in uniform, were willing to die defending everything its flag represents. It's so easy to get lost in the controversies that divide us. But I believe, no matter what our race, religion, or beliefs may be, that Americans should be able to come together to keep our country rooted in what made it great: a land of opportunity, a place where people can make something of themselves, limited only by their imaginations and willingness to work hard; a country where we can all come together, whatever our differences, for the greater good; a country of hands up, not handouts, where we try to live by the meaning of the words "Love thy neighbor," and put as much effort into helping others as we do helping ourselves. By doing those things, we can continue to live up to the idea of "One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. ~ Marcus Luttrell

It's in my interest, in ours perhaps, or maybe the interests of the greater good, for me to smoke a joint, and calm down. ~ Hunter S. Thompson

Of course killing people is 'wrong', but I think history shows that sometimes it serves the greater good. ~ Zach Braff

compliance, compliance begets tolerance, and tolerance brings peace." He flicks his ferret-like gaze across them all. "Disorder is unacceptable. The greater good depends upon all of you, ~ Joe Hart

You see, without hard work and responsibility, there is no American Dream. Hard work lays the foundation. Our solidarity makes work pay - for all of us. For the greater good. That's what our vision of shared prosperity is all about. ~ Richard Trumka

I definitely believe in a greater good. I definitely believe that there's a reason each of us is here and that we've been brought here to do something. And we need to get busy doing it. And I definitely believe that there is something moving us forward that's good. ~ Jacqueline Woodson

I do not care about happiness simply because I believe that joy is something worth fighting for. ~ Criss Jami

We may live in concrete nests piled on top of each other, we may file in and out of our planes and freeways in neat lines, but we are making it all up as we go along. An ant is born into a complex chemical environment where every small instruction had been laid down in advance. Mother tells the workers what to do and they do everything for the greater good of their enormous family.
In contrast, every human being is capable of working for the advancement of their own procreating, their own minuscule families. Yet we somehow recognize the value of a larger form of society, and readily respond to a larger world beyond our own narrow self-interests. With our unique creative capacity, we have modified ourselves as we have modified our physical conditions, and we have developed an extraordinary division of labor. You and I may be as different as night and day, but that is our strength, and it is precisely this diversification that makes my time in Africa so intensely satisfying. ~ Craig Packer

I pray for discretion every single night, that I can see through people, see what their greater good is. Sometimes that individual 'wows' you by the eye, but when it come to heart to heart, that person's not there for you. That's not just females. That may be friends, people who come into your life just to use you for who you are. ~ Cam Newton

The very essence of capitalism is under threat as business is now seen as a personal wealth accumulator. We have to bring this world back to sanity and put the greater good ahead of self-interest. We need to fight very hard to create an environment out there that is more long term focussed and move away from short termism. ~ Paul Polman

What we need to wake people up to now is the crisis in imagination and concern for the greater good. We have no idea what the next ten years, much less the next fifty years, will demand of the coming generation. What we do know is that unless we have a people prepared and eager to meet those crises creatively and compassionately, there is not much hope for this poor old planet of ours. ~ Katherine Paterson

As your understanding of life continues to grow, you can walk upon this planet safe and secure, always moving forward toward your greater good. ~ Louise Hay

She gives just enough hints about him to make you wonder why he became so villainous. And if he dies, I'll never learnt the answer."
Oliver eyes her closely. "Perhaps he was born villainous."
"No one is born villainous."
"Oh?" he said with raised eyebrow. "So we're all born good?"
"Neither. We start as animals, with an animal's needs and desires. It takes parents and teachers and other good examples to show us how to restrain those needs and desires, when necessary, for the greater good. But it's still our choice whether to heed that education or to do as we please."
"For a woman who loves murder and mayhem, you're quite the philosopher."
"I like to understand how things work. Why people behave as they do."
He digested that for a moment. "I happen to think that some of us, like Rockton, are born with a wicked bent."
She chose her words carefully. "That certainly provides Rockton with a convenient excuse for his behavior."
His features turned stony. "What do you mean?"
"Being moral and disciplined is hard work. Being wicked requires no effort at all-one merely indulges every desire and impulse, no matter how hurtful or immoral. By claiming to be born wicked, Rockton ensures that he doesn't have to struggle to be god. He can just protest that he can't help himself."
"Perhaps he can't," he clipped out.
"Or maybe he's simply unwilling to fight his impulses. And I want to know the reason for that. That's why I keep readin ~ Sabrina Jeffries

Sure, I fear earthly oblivion. But, I mean, not to sound like my parents, but I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls. The oblivion fear is something else, fear that I won't be able to give anything in exchange for my life. If you don't live a life in service of a greater good, you've gotta at least die a death in service of a greater good, you know? And I fear that I won't get either a life or a death that means anything." Augustus Waters ~ John Green

For the greater good, I thought I should be a spiritual leader for people for some reason. ~ Johnny Vegas

Thundering, roaring, are the storms of life. Momentary hardships that, unveiled, reveal a purpose beyond carnal reasoning. The pain can get intense, the hurt can be severe, but one must look beyond themselves for conclusive answers. One must not examine their situations using finite logic to try to discover the deeper meaning behind the circumstance or its outcome. One must look beyond the surface of their own intellect, and see through the walls of their own understanding. The blueprint of life has been masterfully designed in such a way, that all things - no matter how they may seem - have a purpose; and that purpose will ultimately bring
about a greater good overall. The spiritual realm is truly realities base; and it is from there that truth derives. The mystery of the storm is revealed - cause and effect - the past, the present, and the future. ~ Calvin W. Allison

Or maybe what he fears is just the opposite: that nobody is looking; that his death, like his life, is without purpose; that there is neither greater good nor evil
only people living and dying because their bodies function and then do not; that the universe is a rip. ~ Jonathan Safran Foer

Because, sometimes you've got to think about more than your own safety! Sometimes you've got to think about the greater good! This is war! ~ J.K. Rowling

The engineer and historian of engineering Henry Petroski presents a very elegant point. Had the Titanic not had that famous accident, as fatal as it was, we would have kept building larger and larger ocean liners and the next disaster would have been even more tragic. So the people who perished were sacrificed for the greater good; they unarguably saved more lives than were lost. The story of the Titanic illustrates the difference between gains for the system and harm to some of its individual parts. ~ Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Obliteration bombing of civilian populations had come to be seen as a military necessity. A terrible evil had been defended as a way to a greater good. After the bomb, all sorts of moral compromises were easier - nearly two million abortions a year seemed a mere matter of freedom of choice, and the plight of the poor in the world's richest nation was a matter of economic necessity. ~ William H. Willimon

Sometimes pain is for the greater good. ~ Veronica Roth

Couples who have been together for a long time say the key to staying together is to work as a team toward the greater good, tolerating some tough (even tragic) times to grow together and work toward a mature kind of union. ~ Amy Dickinson

A zoo is a cultural institution. Like a public library, like a museum, it is at the service of popular education and science. And by that token, not much of a money-making venture for the Greater Good and the Greater Profit are not compatible aims. ~ Yann Martel

We never asked to bow. Who is he to say Red and Browns toiling to death is for the greater good? Who is he to say Pink children being harvested for rape, Obsidians and Grays for battle, is a necessity? How can he sit there and say that he alone knows what is best for me, for my family? It's not his right ~ Pierce Brown

I didn't have a choice."
"Are you saying...What are you saying?" Is he...could he be talking about me?
He runs a hand through his hair. I've never seen him this emotional before. He's always so controlled, so sure of himself. "I'm saying you're what I want, Emma. I'm saying I'm in love with you."
He steps forward and lifts his hand to my cheek, blazing a line of fire with his fingertips as they trace down to my mouth. "How do you think it would make me feel to see you with Grom?" he whispers. "Like someone ripped my heart out and put it through Rachel's meat grinder, that's how. Probably worse. It would probably kill me. Emma, please don't cry."
I throw my hands in the air. "Don't cry? Are you serious? Why did you come here, Galen? Did you think it would make me feel better to know that you do love me, but that it still won't work out? That I still have to mate with Grom for the greater good? Don't you tell me not to cry, Galen! I...c...c...can't h...h...help-" The waterworks soak me. Galen looks at me, hands by his side, helpless as a trapped crab. I'm bordering on hyperventilation, and pretty soon I'll start hiccupping. This is too much.
His expression is so severe, it looks like he's in physical pain. "Emma," he breathes. "Emma, does this mean you feel the same way? Do you care for me at all?"
I laugh, but it sounds sharper than I intended, because of a hiccup. "What does it matter how I feel, Galen? I think we pretty much covered why. No need ~ Anna Banks

The truth about America is that individual freedom and personal responsibility created a superior society. In less than two hundred years we became the richest, most powerful country on earth because we unleashed the true human spirit. The founding fathers of our country were right. All humanity thrives under these conditions and the greater good is served. ~ John Spencer Dale

The only life you have the right to sacrifice for the greater good is your own. ~ Brent Weeks

Certainly there are times when God allows suffering and deprives us of the lesser good of pleasure in order to help us toward the greater good of moral and spiritual education. Even the ancient Greeks believed the gods taught wisdom through suffering. Aeschylus wrote: 'Day by day, hour by hour / Pain drips upon the heart / As, against our will, and even in our own despite / Comes Wisdom from the awful grace of God. ~ Lee Strobel

Alexandros points to the bronze sculpture of Socrates. "His society didn't collapse because of an outside aggressor. It collapsed from within, from the complete breakdown of communication between citizens, and the breakdown of loving sentiment for one another. They ganged up and got rid of Socrates because he was an uncomfortable reminder of the glory days of ancient Athens, when /demokratia/--'people power'--reigned and citizens worked toward a greater good. He epitomized the fact that you're meant to stay open to all views, to all human experiences, because that's how you deepen your love for people and of wisdom. That amazing man sacrificed his life in the name of classic Athenian values of excellence and honor and compassion, so one day they might live on. And they did, here in America, for more than two centuries. I'm worried my beloved America is becoming as loveless as ancient Athens in its days of decline. ~ Christopher Phillips

A person may be qualified to do greater good to mankind and become more beneficial to the world, by morality without faith than by faith without morality. ~ Joseph Addison

He died as he lived: working always for the greater good and, to his last hour, as willing to stretch out a hand to a small boy with dragon pox as he was on the day that I met him. ~ J.K. Rowling

For a split second I wonder what I am doing here on this battlefield, on the front line. I am a princess. I am soft and regal. I am quiet, forgotten Sorrowlynn, who never leaves her rooms. And yet I am so much more. I have the capacity to be anything. To be everything! This girl running to fight for the greater good is me. For the first time ever, I feel like I am living the life I was meant to be living all along. ~ Bethany Wiggins

No complaining about how hard it is to write, we are all so, so lucky to write, to sit down, inside, and write words on paper. There is no greater freedom, no greater good, nothing that brings more joy. ~ Isabel Allende

Take the Holocaust for example: Why did God allow Hitler to kill millions of innocent Jews? Because God didn't want to step on Hitler's toes and interfere with his free will? That's a pretty lame excuse. What about the free will of all those Jews who died? I'm pretty sure that getting gassed to death was obviously not their choice.

So, was the Holocaust part of God's great plan? Is that why he allowed it to happen? Is that why God didn't answer the prayers of all those Jews who begged him to make Hitler drop dead?

Why didn't God just make Hitler have a heart attack before he could start World War 2? Why didn't he simply prevent Hitler from being born? How could a God who is supposed to be all good all the time allow something like the Holocaust?

Or did God not just LET it happen? Maybe God MADE the Holocaust happen, because everything that happens, happens for a good reason? Are our minds simply too tiny, too inferior, to understand God's divine plan? Are we just too stupid to see the greater good that came out of the Holocaust?

If that were true, and everything that happens, including the Holocaust, is part of God's perfect plan, then that means that Hitler really wasn't a bad man at all. He was actually doing God's work. And if Hitler did exactly what he was supposed to do in God's great plan, then Hitler obviously didn't have free will, but was just God's puppet. So that means Hitler was a good guy. A man of God.

Sor ~ Oliver Markus

We all have regrets, Urian. Nothing that lives is immune from that nasty emotion. (Acheron)
So what? You want me to go kiss and make up? (Urian)
Hardly. But I want you to set aside your own hurt and anger to see clearly for a minute. This isn't about you and your father anymore than it's about me and Nick hating each other over something we can't change. This is about saving the lives of a million innocent people. People like Phoebe who don't deserve to be hunted and killed. If I can stand at the side of my enemies for the greater good, so can you. (Acheron) ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon

Each land in the world produces its own men individually bad - and, in time, other bad men who kill them for the greater good. ~ Emerson Hough

Our maturity will be judged by how well we are able to agree to disagree and yet continue to love one another, to care for one another, and cherish one another and seek the greater good of the other. ~ Desmond Tutu

Take a stand. Be disruptive for the greater good of your company. Make a difference to other's people's lives. ~ Timi Nadela

We must let our every act be out of love, and for the greater good of all. ~ Bryant McGill

The potential of greater good goes right along with the potential for greater evil. ~ Larry Wall

For the greater good":
the phrase that always precedes
the greatest evil. ~ Jakub Bozydar Wisniewski

We must understand that our talents and our wealth are only loaned to us, in trusteeship, to use toward the greater good. ~ Christopher Benninger

'24' is not an anti-government show, really. We've always relied on Jack to fight for the greater good in his own way, and at times, '24' is very patriotic. For me personally, I definitely pay attention to things in a different way. ~ Mary Lynn Rajskub

I looked at the faces around me, wondering what was going to happen to me ... wondering when I would see Father again.
I will help you. ~ M.L. LeGette

To define twentieth-century humanism briefly, I would say that it is a philosophy of joyous service for the greater good of all humanity in this natural world and advocating the methods of reason, science, and democracy. ~ Corliss Lamont

My constant prayer for myself is to be used in service for the greater good. ~ Oprah Winfrey

I'm a very truthful person, but if the greater good is best served by a lie then I'll tell it. ~ Karina Bliss

I believe in the principle that I can make a difference in this world. It may be ever so small, but it will count for the greater good. ~ Gordon B. Hinckley

Unity means not only getting along with one's neighbors, but also having the ability to mobilize one's resources. Unity means being able to move forward together, and to act in tandem with one another. Unity means being able to think as a community, not as individuals, being able to think in terms of the greater good and looking forward beyond the immediate future. ~ Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

The height of humanity should give birth to greater good. We should be in desperation of "CHANGE" but not in spawning evil, because by doing so, humanity remains shackled. ~ Henry Johnson Jr

Say what you will about the Mafia, but it works because everyone has a specific role to play. They all do what they do for the greater good of the organization. They'd willingly die for each other.
The other reason a wolf pack is like the Mafia?
Because, for both groups, there is nothing more important than family. ~ Jodi Picoult

Let's be about leaving this world better than we find it each and every day. Our life is a testimony and through us divine loving is becoming more manifest. Greater good is calling upon us here in this world to be done this day. One of my rallying calls is let's go out and do some good. This is who we are. This is what we are about. ~ John Morton

There can be no greater good than the quest for peace, and no finer purpose than the preservation of freedom. ~ Ronald Reagan

Some people think that the people they lead are too stupid to be told the truth, and thus they must be lied to, in order for a greater good to be accomplished. Some people believe in the system that has been set up, where the strongest among us is going to lead us in a fight, otherwise everyone is the same. That's the doctrine of pirates. ~ Zach McGowan

When you making a piece of comedy entertainment, the audience is a big component there. You do have to end up getting rid of things that you love, but in the interest of making a movie that's not longer than two hours, and in the interest of when every joke hopefully is good enough, then everybody looks good. You cut things that you love, but ultimately it's for the greater good of making the whole movie better. ~ Jason H. Moore

The sacrifice 'of' self for the greater good is the greatest calling imaginable, and it is the bedrock of the greatest nations. The sacrifice 'for' self is the most pathetic calling imaginable, and it is the quicksand within which nations perish. ~ Craig D. Lounsbrough

We have to harden our hearts and think of the greater good."
"The plan is, our exposure to her is supposed to purify us. But it seems more like her exposure to us is diminishing her. ~ Bill Willingham

Most ill-doers do not think of themselves as evil; indeed, most conceive themselves the heroes of the stories they tell. I once thought that the greatest evil in this world was done in the name of the greater good. I was wrong. Terribly wrong. There is evil in this world which knows itself for evil, and hates the good with all its strength. All fair things does it desire to destroy. ~ Eliezer Yudkowsky

Those who committed atrocities always seemed to do so out of a misconceived sense of righteousness and the greater good. ~ Terry Brooks

What she had forever seen as her calling -- this living apart and serving the greater good -- now felt more a curse. Her life had been taken from her. Squeezed into pulp. The juice of her efforts and sacrificed years had dripped down through a silo that, just forty levels below her, hardly knew and barely cared. ~ Hugh Howey

When the chips are down, you are given
the chance to find the strength you never knew you had and put it toward the greater good. Or go over to the dark side. You know, if that's how you roll. ~ Jessica Lave

To believe in 'the greater good' is to operate, necessarily, in a certain ethical suspension. ~ Joan Didion