The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.
Ninety eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hardworking, honest Americans. It's the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then, we elected them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights how a small minority of people can overshadow the majority's virtue, often due to media attention.
Lily Tomlin's quote underscores the reality that the majority of people are decent and hardworking, yet it is the few who engage in negative behaviors that tend to attract the most attention. This paradox highlights societal dynamics where sensationalism overshadows everyday decency, drawing attention to the importance of recognizing the positive contributions of the majority while also critiquing the system that allows the minority to gain prominence.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing community values, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of recognizing the good in people.
More from Lily Tomlin
All quotes βSometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world.
The road to success is always under construction.
Truth is, I've always been selling out. The difference is that in the past, I looked like I had integrity because there were no buyers.
Why is it that when we talk to God we're said to be praying but when God talks to us we're schizophrenic?
Sometimes I feel like a figment of my own imagination.
Similar quotes
No man who has once heartily and wholly laughed can be altogether irreclaimably bad.
Never engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed man.
I don't get high, but sometimes I wish I did. That way, when I messed up in life I would have an excuse. But right now there's no rehab for stupidity.
I have never taken any exercise except sleeping and resting.
Absurdity is what I like most in life, and there's humor in struggling in ignorance. If you saw a man repeatedly running into a wall until he was a bloody pulp, after a while it would make you laugh because it becomes absurd.
This report, by its very length, defends itself against the risk of being read.