--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And suddenly, for the first time this…" description: "\"“And suddenly, for the first time this day, we remembered that we are the damned. We remembered it, and we laughed.”\" — Ayn Rand" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd2/ayn-rand-59_damned_and-suddenly-for-the-first-time-this-day_2533098.jpg" --- # And suddenly, for the first time this day, we remembered… ![“And suddenly, for the first time this day, we remembered that we are the damned. We remembered it, and we laughed.” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd2/ayn-rand-59_damned_and-suddenly-for-the-first-time-this-day_2533098.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd2/ayn-rand-59_damned_and-suddenly-for-the-first-time-this-day_2533098.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd2/ayn-rand-59_damned_and-suddenly-for-the-first-time-this-day_2533098.jpg) > ““And suddenly, for the first time this day, we remembered that we are the damned. We remembered it, and we laughed.”” [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recognition of humanity’s inherent flaws can provoke dark humor and cynical insight. **In simple terms:** We see our flaws and laugh. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection, find humor. Themes human nature existentialism dark humor Mood cynical reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - political debate - personal reflection - literary analysis Key Concepts philosophy psychology satire Questions to Reflect On - Do you laugh to cope with flaws? - What does laughter reveal about acceptance? A Different Perspective Humor may mask deeper despair. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Damned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damned/) [Damned Remembered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damned-remembered-1362064/) [First time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-time/) [Laughed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughed/) [Remembered Damned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembered-damned-1362065/) [Remembered Laughed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembered-laughed-1362066/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [But I still wonder how it was possible, in those graceless years of transition, long ago, that men did not see whither they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/but-i-still-wonder-how-it-was-possible-in-those-graceless-years-of-2/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [You are damned, and we wish to share your damnation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/you-are-damned-and-we-wish-to-share-your-damnation/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [From the first time you laughed with me, all those months, and all those stories,” Joe said quietly. “They were all you, to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-hart/from-the-first-time-you-laughed-with-me-all-those-months-and-all/) [Megan Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-hart/) > [“She was fifteen when it occurred to her for the first time that women did not run railroads and that people might object. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [What rage for fame attends both great and small! Better be damned than mentioned not at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wolcot/what-rage-for-fame-attends-both-great-and-small-better-be-damned-than/) [John Wolcot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wolcot/) > [“With thousands of roads before us that lead nowhere, going in circles. There really are only two roads we will either travel, one going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/with-thousands-of-roads-before-us-that-lead-nowhere-going-in-circles/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [“Jonathan Edwards, the dear old soul, who, if his doctrine is true, is now in heaven rubbing his holy hands with glee, as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-ingersoll/jonathan-edwards-the-dear-old-soul-who-if-his-doctrine-is-true-is-now/) [Robert G. Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-g-ingersoll/) > [You have told me, O God, to believe in hell. But you have forbidden me to think...of any man as damned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/you-have-told-me-o-god-to-believe-in-hell-but-you-have-forbidden-me/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [Dead star shine Light up the sky I'm all out of breath My walls are closing in Days go by Give me a sign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proudlesbian/dead-star-shine-light-up-the-sky-i-m-all-out-of-breath-my-walls-are/) [ProudLesbian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proudlesbian/) > [The human race consists of the damned and the ought-to-be damned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-human-race-consists-of-the-damned-and-the-ought-to-be-damned/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Life is a paradox, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-cartwright/life-is-a-paradox-you-re-damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you-don-t/) [Nancy Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-cartwright/) > [Let them impeach and be damned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-johnson/let-them-impeach-and-be-damned/) [Andrew Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-johnson/) > [People are no damned good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-steig/people-are-no-damned-good/) [William Steig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-steig/) > [“The future be damned. Because right here, right now, I almost lost you. I won’t waste another moment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renea-mason/the-future-be-damned-because-right-here-right-now-i-almost-lost-you-i/) [Renea Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renea-mason/) > [Sir, my friend John Baynes used to say that the man who published a book without an index ought to be damned ten miles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-douce/sir-my-friend-john-baynes-used-to-say-that-the-man-who-published-a/) [Francis Douce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-douce/) ## More by Ayn Rand > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-was-reality-she-thought-this-sense-of-clear-outlines-of-purpose/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. It is merely the sum of endless numbers of individual minds. If we have an endless number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-collective-mind-does-not-exist-it-is-merely-the-sum-of-endless/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She moved her hand and let it rest against his. He did not withdraw his fingers and he did not pretend indifference. She bent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-moved-her-hand-and-let-it-rest-against-his-he-did-not-withdraw/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-miracle-of-me-is-mine-to-own-and-keep-and-mine-to-guard-and-mine/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“There was still one response, the greatest, that she had missed. She thought: To find a feeling that would hold, as their sum, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-was-still-one-response-the-greatest-that-she-had-missed-she/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“We are fornicating in the sight of six billion people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-fornicating-in-the-sight-of-six-billion-people/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She was fifteen when it occurred to her for the first time that women did not run railroads and that people might object. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Fransisco, you're some kind of very high nobility, aren't you?" He answered, "Not yet. The reason my family has lasted for such a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/fransisco-you-re-some-kind-of-very-high-nobility-aren-t-you-he/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Have you felt it too? Have you seen how your best friends love everything about you- except the things that count? And your most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/have-you-felt-it-too-have-you-seen-how-your-best-friends-love/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Every coercive monopoly was created by government intervention into the economy: by special privileges, such as franchises or subsidies, which closed the entry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/every-coercive-monopoly-was-created-by-government-intervention-into/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [We are all brothers under the skin - and I, for one, would be willing to skin humanity to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-all-brothers-under-the-skin-and-i-for-one-would-be-willing-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) [Explore all 1,777 Ayn Rand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More Damned quotes > [Sir, my friend John Baynes used to say that the man who published a book without an index ought to be damned ten miles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-douce/sir-my-friend-john-baynes-used-to-say-that-the-man-who-published-a/) [Francis Douce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-douce/) > [“The future be damned. Because right here, right now, I almost lost you. I won’t waste another moment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renea-mason/the-future-be-damned-because-right-here-right-now-i-almost-lost-you-i/) [Renea Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renea-mason/) > [People are no damned good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-steig/people-are-no-damned-good/) [William Steig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-steig/) > [Let them impeach and be damned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-johnson/let-them-impeach-and-be-damned/) [Andrew Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-johnson/) > [Life is a paradox, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-cartwright/life-is-a-paradox-you-re-damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you-don-t/) [Nancy Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-cartwright/) > [The human race consists of the damned and the ought-to-be damned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-human-race-consists-of-the-damned-and-the-ought-to-be-damned/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Dead star shine Light up the sky I'm all out of breath My walls are closing in Days go by Give me a sign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proudlesbian/dead-star-shine-light-up-the-sky-i-m-all-out-of-breath-my-walls-are/) [ProudLesbian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proudlesbian/) > [You have told me, O God, to believe in hell. But you have forbidden me to think...of any man as damned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/you-have-told-me-o-god-to-believe-in-hell-but-you-have-forbidden-me/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [“Jonathan Edwards, the dear old soul, who, if his doctrine is true, is now in heaven rubbing his holy hands with glee, as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-ingersoll/jonathan-edwards-the-dear-old-soul-who-if-his-doctrine-is-true-is-now/) [Robert G. Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-g-ingersoll/) > [“With thousands of roads before us that lead nowhere, going in circles. There really are only two roads we will either travel, one going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/with-thousands-of-roads-before-us-that-lead-nowhere-going-in-circles/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [What rage for fame attends both great and small! Better be damned than mentioned not at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wolcot/what-rage-for-fame-attends-both-great-and-small-better-be-damned-than/) [John Wolcot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wolcot/) > [Those who think of freedom in this country as one long, broad path leading ever onward and upward are dead damned wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/those-who-think-of-freedom-in-this-country-as-one-long-broad-path/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Take what's yours and be damned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genesis/take-what-s-yours-and-be-damned/) [Genesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genesis/) > [I'm damned if I do, but I'm only darned if I don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/i-m-damned-if-i-do-but-i-m-only-darned-if-i-don-t/) [John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) > [“Basically, if you're a woman, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-steven/basically-if-you-re-a-woman-you-re-damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you/) [Laura Steven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-steven/) [Browse all 219 Damned quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damned/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And suddenly, for the first time this day, we remembered that we are the damned. 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