--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must not overlook the role that…" description: "\"We must not overlook the role that extremists play. They are the gadflies that keep society from being too complacent.\" — Abraham Flexner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/abraham-flexner-29762_apathy_we-must-not-overlook-the-role-that-extre_2938618.png" --- # We must not overlook the role that extremists play. They… ![“We must not overlook the role that extremists play. They are the gadflies that keep society from being too complacent.” quote by Abraham Flexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/abraham-flexner-29762_apathy_we-must-not-overlook-the-role-that-extre_2938618.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/abraham-flexner-29762_apathy_we-must-not-overlook-the-role-that-extre_2938618.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/abraham-flexner-29762_apathy_we-must-not-overlook-the-role-that-extre_2938618.png) > “We must not overlook the role that extremists play. They are the gadflies that keep society from being too complacent.” [Abraham Flexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-flexner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Extremists act as societal gadflies, preventing complacency. **In simple terms:** Extremists keep society alert. Key Takeaway Recognize value of dissent. Themes social change complacency radicalism Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical political When to use this quote - activism - policy debate - community organizing Key Concepts political theory social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - When does dissent become harmful? - How can societies balance stability and challenge? A Different Perspective Extremism can also cause instability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apathy/) [Complacent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complacent/) [Empathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy/) [Extremism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremism/) [Extremist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremist/) [Extremists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremists/) [Extremists Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremists-play-2544258/) [Gadflies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gadflies/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Role Extremists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/role-extremists-2544257/) [Roles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roles/) [Society Complacent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-complacent-2544259/) ## Related quotes > [We must not overlook the role that extremists play. They are the gadflies that keep society from being too complacent or self-satisfied; they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-flexner/we-must-not-overlook-the-role-that-extremists-play-they-are-the/) [Abraham Flexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-flexner/) > [I'm a chameleon, so changeable. I see myself as a gadfly and a questioner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/i-m-a-chameleon-so-changeable-i-see-myself-as-a-gadfly-and-a/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [“It’s an artist’s right to rebel against the world’s stupidity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-an-artist-s-right-to-rebel-against-the-world-s-stupidity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“An acquaintance merely enjoys your company, a fair-weather companion flatters when all is well, a true friend has your best interests at heart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-acquaintance-merely-enjoys-your-company-a-fair-weather-companion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-am-that-gadfly-which-god-has-attached-to-the-state-and-all-day-long-2/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Athens is like a sluggish horse, and I am the gadfly trying to sting it into life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/athens-is-like-a-sluggish-horse-and-i-am-the-gadfly-trying-to-sting/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [So Socrates was a kind of gadfly. 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I don't try to be a gadfly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/i-don-t-think-writers-should-be-convenient-examples-i-don-t-think-we/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [I'm noticing an exciting trend around the country: a resurgence of interest in Christian apologetics (the defense of the faith). This is a reaction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-strobel/i-m-noticing-an-exciting-trend-around-the-country-a-resurgence-of/) [Lee Strobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-strobel/) > [“...it’s just another one of those things I don’t understand: everyone impresses upon you how unique you are, encouraging you to cultivate your individuality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-just-another-one-of-those-things-i-don-t-understand-everyone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Seeing clearly within himself and always able to dodge around the ends of any position, including his own, Shaw assumed from the start the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/seeing-clearly-within-himself-and-always-able-to-dodge-around-the/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. It instigates invention. It shocks us out of sheep-like passivity, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/conflict-is-the-gadfly-of-thought-it-stirs-us-to-observation-and/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/just-as-socrates-felt-that-it-was-necessary-to-create-a-tension-in/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) ## More by Abraham Flexner > [Medical education is not just a program for building knowledge and skills in its recipients... it is also an experience which creates attitudes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-flexner/medical-education-is-not-just-a-program-for-building-knowledge-and/) [Abraham Flexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-flexner/) > [Mathematicians, like cows in the dark, all look alike to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-flexner/mathematicians-like-cows-in-the-dark-all-look-alike-to-me/) [Abraham Flexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-flexner/) > [We feel strongly that the spirit characteristic of America at its noblest, above all the pursuit of higher learning, cannot admit of any conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-flexner/we-feel-strongly-that-the-spirit-characteristic-of-america-at-its/) [Abraham Flexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-flexner/) > [A patient had a 50-50 chance of benefiting from visiting a physician as of 1910. 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But, you have also heard your last honest compliment, and you have lost your last true friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-flexner/you-have-had-your-last-bad-meal-but-you-have-also-heard-your-last/) [Abraham Flexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-flexner/) > [The real enemy is the man who tries to mold the human spirit so that it will not dare to spread its wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-flexner/the-real-enemy-is-the-man-who-tries-to-mold-the-human-spirit-so-that/) [Abraham Flexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-flexner/) > [The student is to collect and evaluate facts. The facts are locked up in the patient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-flexner/the-student-is-to-collect-and-evaluate-facts-the-facts-are-locked-up/) [Abraham Flexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-flexner/) > [The world in which we live is the only world about which our senses can testify.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-flexner/the-world-in-which-we-live-is-the-only-world-about-which-our-senses/) [Abraham Flexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-flexner/) > [ At no period of \[Michael Faraday's\] unmatched career was he interested in utility. He was absorbed in disentangling the riddles of the universe, at… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-flexner/at-no-period-of-michael-faraday-s-unmatched-career-was-he-interested/) [Abraham Flexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-flexner/) > [Science, in the very act of solving problems, creates more of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-flexner/science-in-the-very-act-of-solving-problems-creates-more-of-them/) [Abraham Flexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-flexner/) > [We must not overlook the role that extremists play. They are the gadflies that keep society from being too complacent or self-satisfied; they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-flexner/we-must-not-overlook-the-role-that-extremists-play-they-are-the/) [Abraham Flexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-flexner/) > [Curiosity, which may or may not eventuate in something useful, is probably the most outstanding characteristic of modern thinking ... Institutions of learning should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-flexner/curiosity-which-may-or-may-not-eventuate-in-something-useful-is/) [Abraham Flexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-flexner/) [Explore all 18 Abraham Flexner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-flexner/) ## More Apathy quotes > [If possible, I want to hear POLITICS defined without either sympathy or apathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/if-possible-i-want-to-hear-politics-defined-without-either-sympathy/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [One response was given by the innkeeper when Mary and Joseph wanted to find a room where the Child could be born. The innkeeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/one-response-was-given-by-the-innkeeper-when-mary-and-joseph-wanted/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Try to greet troubles with apathy. Hello's are never what they used to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-swellers/try-to-greet-troubles-with-apathy-hello-s-are-never-what-they-used-to/) [The Swellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-swellers/) > [Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/apathy-can-be-overcome-by-enthusiasm/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [Indifference must be a crime in us, to be ranked but one degree below treachery; for deserting the commonwealth is next to betraying it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/indifference-must-be-a-crime-in-us-to-be-ranked-but-one-degree-below/) [Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/) > [Insect politics, indifferent universe. Bang your head against the wall, but apathy is worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-henley/insect-politics-indifferent-universe-bang-your-head-against-the-wall/) [Don Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-henley/) > [“And there's a freedom in apathy, a wild, dizzying liberation on which you can almost get drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/and-there-s-a-freedom-in-apathy-a-wild-dizzying-liberation-on-which/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [For he who is not deaf, half a silence is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/for-he-who-is-not-deaf-half-a-silence-is-enough/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [“Just because a person is silent doesn’t mean there’s no message.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/just-because-a-person-is-silent-doesn-t-mean-there-s-no-message/) [Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/) > [“If someone with a high level of authority were to ask me, "Suzy, how can we make people so incredibly stupid and apathetic, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/if-someone-with-a-high-level-of-authority-were-to-ask-me-suzy-how-can/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“It takes more than one kick in the pants to reverse a lifetime of unplanned apathy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-neilan/it-takes-more-than-one-kick-in-the-pants-to-reverse-a-lifetime-of/) [Paul Neilan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-neilan/) > [“Use the apathy of your logic to solve your problems and then the passion of your soul to enjoy life after that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelos-michalopoulos/use-the-apathy-of-your-logic-to-solve-your-problems-and-then-the/) [Angelos Michalopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelos-michalopoulos/) > [“The fundamental basis by which the court’s decision might be made is, in itself, imperfect and subject to contradictions. 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But rather mourn the apathetic throng - The cowed and the meek - Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-chaplin/mourn-not-the-dead-that-in-the-cool-earth-lie-but-rather-mourn-the/) [Ralph Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-chaplin/) [Browse all 619 Apathy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apathy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We must not overlook the role that extremists play. 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