Where a reputation for intolerance is more feared than a reputation for vice itself, all manner of evil may be expected to flourish.
Interpretation
Fear of judgment can lead to the acceptance of immoral behavior.
This quote by Theodore Dalrymple suggests that when society prioritizes the fear of being labeled as intolerant over the fear of being perceived as morally corrupt, it creates an environment where unethical actions can thrive. Intolerance becomes a greater concern than vice itself, leading individuals to ignore or even support wrongdoing to avoid being labeled as unaccepting or judgmental.
In practice
In a discussion about moral standards in society, this quote can highlight the dangers of prioritizing reputation over ethics.
So what exactly are the rewards of resentment. It is always a relief to know that the reason we have failed in life is not because we lack the talent, energy, or determination to succeed, but because of a factor that is beyond our control and that has loaded the dice decisively against us.
It is clear to me that people often want incompatible things. They want danger and excitement on the one hand, and safety and security on the other, and often simultaneously. Contradictory desires mean that life can never be wholly satisfying or without frustration.
Some tourists think Amsterdam is a city of sin, but in truth it is a city of freedom. And in freedom, most people find sin.
In all of our society, but especially in Hollywood, there is an obsession with perfection that can lead to self-loathing and neurosis and all that kind of stuff.
Honor and shame from no condition rise. Act well your part: there all the honor lies.
The Dhamma has to be found by looking into your own heart and seeing that which is true and that which is not, that which is balanced and that which is not balanced.
Every philosophical problem, when it is subjected to the necessary analysis and justification, is found either to be not really philosophical at all, or else to be, in the sense in which we are using the word, logical.
The great thing about faith in God is that it keeps a man undisturbed in the midst of disturbance.
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