--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is the heart of my argument: We can…" description: "\"This is the heart of my argument: We can put more pressure on the antagonist for whom we show human concern.\" — Barbara Deming" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/barbara-deming-14719_antagonist_this-is-the-heart-of-my-argument-we-can_1286819.jpg" --- # This is the heart of my argument: We can put more pressure… ![“This is the heart of my argument: We can put more pressure on the antagonist for whom we show human concern.” quote by Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/barbara-deming-14719_antagonist_this-is-the-heart-of-my-argument-we-can_1286819.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/barbara-deming-14719_antagonist_this-is-the-heart-of-my-argument-we-can_1286819.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/barbara-deming-14719_antagonist_this-is-the-heart-of-my-argument-we-can_1286819.jpg) > “This is the heart of my argument: We can put more pressure on the antagonist for whom we show human concern.” [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Emphasizing empathy toward an opponent can increase moral pressure and highlight their responsibility. **In simple terms:** Showing concern for the opponent strengthens your argument. Key Takeaway Use empathy to hold opponents accountable. Themes ethics argumentation empathy social justice Mood reflective critical Type ethical persuasive When to use this quote - activism - debate - policy advocacy - conflict resolution Key Concepts moral persuasion humanization power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can you ensure genuine concern rather than strategic manipulation? - What risks arise when empathy is used as a rhetorical tool? A Different Perspective Empathy may be exploited as manipulation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antagonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antagonist/) [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Pressure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressure/) ## Related quotes > [At the heart of my argument is the view that religious faith, far from being inevitably on the side of the status quo, should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-the-heart-of-my-argument-is-the-view-that-religious-faith-far-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [She is so stubborn, her heart has an argument with her head every time it wants to beat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/she-is-so-stubborn-her-heart-has-an-argument-with-her-head-every-time/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [The desire of a man for a woman is not directed at her because she is a human being, but because she is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/the-desire-of-a-man-for-a-woman-is-not-directed-at-her-because-she-is/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Ordinary human concern for human distress does not manifest itself ordinarily in the form of a gun aimed at the wallets and earnings of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/ordinary-human-concern-for-human-distress-does-not-manifest-itself/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [I think really that's just the basic Christian lesson that sometimes takes us years and years to understand - have equal concern for another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-think-really-that-s-just-the-basic-christian-lesson-that-sometimes/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [A Resource-Based Economy is in the application of the methods of science with human concern and environmental concern. If we used the scientific method…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/a-resource-based-economy-is-in-the-application-of-the-methods-of/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [Only when science and technology are used with human concern in a world in which all of the earth's resources are held as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/only-when-science-and-technology-are-used-with-human-concern-in-a/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [It is one thing to be able to state the price the antagonist paid, another to be able to count you own real gains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/it-is-one-thing-to-be-able-to-state-the-price-the-antagonist-paid/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [Horror itself is a bit of a bullied genre, the antagonist being literary snobbery and public misconception. And I think good horror tackles our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kealan-patrick-burke/horror-itself-is-a-bit-of-a-bullied-genre-the-antagonist-being/) [Kealan Patrick Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kealan-patrick-burke/) > [It almost seems as though this roiling world is conspiring to test our patience at every turn. In fact, it is. With this in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-almost-seems-as-though-this-roiling-world-is-conspiring-to-test/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We honor revelation too highly to make it the antagonist of reason, or to believe that it calls us to renounce our highest powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/we-honor-revelation-too-highly-to-make-it-the-antagonist-of-reason-or/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [Remember that when you meet your antagonist, to do everything in a mild agreeable manner. Let your courage be keen, but, at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/remember-that-when-you-meet-your-antagonist-to-do-everything-in-a/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [Evil is relative - and what I mean by that is that our villains are as complex, as deep and as compelling as any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-johns/evil-is-relative-and-what-i-mean-by-that-is-that-our-villains-are-as/) [Geoff Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-johns/) > [Self-love . . . is the sole antagonist of virtue, leading us constantly by our propensities to self-gratification in violation of our moral duties to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/self-love-is-the-sole-antagonist-of-virtue-leading-us-constantly-by/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [For me, in any story that I take, the antagonist is more interesting and multi-dimensional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vetrimaaran/for-me-in-any-story-that-i-take-the-antagonist-is-more-interesting/) [Vetrimaaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vetrimaaran/) ## More by Barbara Deming > [Nonviolent tactics can move into action on our behalf men not naturally inclined to act for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/nonviolent-tactics-can-move-into-action-on-our-behalf-men-not/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [Our own pulse beats in every stranger's throat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/our-own-pulse-beats-in-every-stranger-s-throat/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [To resort to power one need not be violent, and to speak to conscience one need not be meek. The most effective action both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/to-resort-to-power-one-need-not-be-violent-and-to-speak-to-conscience/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [I think the only choice that will enable us to hold to our vision. . . is one that abandons the concept of naming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/i-think-the-only-choice-that-will-enable-us-to-hold-to-our-vision-is/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [Nonviolent action does not have to get others to be nice. It can in effect force them to consult their consciences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/nonviolent-action-does-not-have-to-get-others-to-be-nice-it-can-in/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [Think first of the action that is right to take, think later about coping with one's fears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/think-first-of-the-action-that-is-right-to-take-think-later-about/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [Surely all of us are nerved by one another, catch courage from one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/surely-all-of-us-are-nerved-by-one-another-catch-courage-from-one/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [We cannot live without our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/we-cannot-live-without-our-lives/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [Let me be really here, here in this place and this time where I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/let-me-be-really-here-here-in-this-place-and-this-time-where-i-am/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [The injunction that we should love our neighbors as ourselves means to us equally that we should love ourselves as we love our neighbors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/the-injunction-that-we-should-love-our-neighbors-as-ourselves-means/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [Vengeance is not the point: change is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/vengeance-is-not-the-point-change-is/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [A liberation movement that is nonviolent sets the oppressor free as well as the oppressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/a-liberation-movement-that-is-nonviolent-sets-the-oppressor-free-as/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [People may find it more comfortable to listen to us if we equivocate, but in the long run only words that discomfort them are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/people-may-find-it-more-comfortable-to-listen-to-us-if-we-equivocate/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [Our task, of course, is to transmute the anger that is affliction into the anger that is determination to bring about change. I think,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/our-task-of-course-is-to-transmute-the-anger-that-is-affliction-into/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [The point is to change one's life. The point is not to give some vent to the emotions that have been destroying one; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/the-point-is-to-change-one-s-life-the-point-is-not-to-give-some-vent/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) [Explore all 45 Barbara Deming quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) ## More Antagonist quotes > [For me, in any story that I take, the antagonist is more interesting and multi-dimensional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vetrimaaran/for-me-in-any-story-that-i-take-the-antagonist-is-more-interesting/) [Vetrimaaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vetrimaaran/) > [Self-love . . . is the sole antagonist of virtue, leading us constantly by our propensities to self-gratification in violation of our moral duties to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/self-love-is-the-sole-antagonist-of-virtue-leading-us-constantly-by/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Evil is relative - and what I mean by that is that our villains are as complex, as deep and as compelling as any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-johns/evil-is-relative-and-what-i-mean-by-that-is-that-our-villains-are-as/) [Geoff Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-johns/) > [Remember that when you meet your antagonist, to do everything in a mild agreeable manner. Let your courage be keen, but, at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/remember-that-when-you-meet-your-antagonist-to-do-everything-in-a/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We honor revelation too highly to make it the antagonist of reason, or to believe that it calls us to renounce our highest powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/we-honor-revelation-too-highly-to-make-it-the-antagonist-of-reason-or/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [It almost seems as though this roiling world is conspiring to test our patience at every turn. In fact, it is. With this in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-almost-seems-as-though-this-roiling-world-is-conspiring-to-test/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Horror itself is a bit of a bullied genre, the antagonist being literary snobbery and public misconception. And I think good horror tackles our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kealan-patrick-burke/horror-itself-is-a-bit-of-a-bullied-genre-the-antagonist-being/) [Kealan Patrick Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kealan-patrick-burke/) > [I'm a filmmaker, and I was most influenced by Hitchcock's films. How he could plant such deep enriched characters and then make us care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-haggis/i-m-a-filmmaker-and-i-was-most-influenced-by-hitchcock-s-films-how-he/) [Paul Haggis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-haggis/) > [Because the character is a fiction, he's a composite of other contributors to the science that brought this enzyme therapy through the process. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/because-the-character-is-a-fiction-he-s-a-composite-of-other/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [If you have to be the antagonist, you often have a lot more creative powers. You have a lot more color to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-atherton/if-you-have-to-be-the-antagonist-you-often-have-a-lot-more-creative/) William Atherton > [“I mean, without the antagonist, there would be no story! It’d be like: ‘Once upon a time there was a girl who wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/i-mean-without-the-antagonist-there-would-be-no-story-it-d-be-like/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) > [“Alice started to understand why people found her repulsive. In stories, anyone who didn't look quite right, who wasn't a perfect human being, was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-byng/alice-started-to-understand-why-people-found-her-repulsive-in-stories/) [Georgia Byng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-byng/) > [Error indeed has often prevailed by the assistance of power or force. Truth is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/error-indeed-has-often-prevailed-by-the-assistance-of-power-or-force/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [We are the 1000 children of death. We're in-between, on the fence. Non-descript antagonists. I'm in-between, on the fence. Non-descript antagonist!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otep/we-are-the-1000-children-of-death-we-re-in-between-on-the-fence-non/) [Otep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otep/) > [From a real antagonist one gains boundless courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/from-a-real-antagonist-one-gains-boundless-courage/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) [Browse all 123 Antagonist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antagonist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This is the heart of my argument: We can put more pressure on the antagonist for whom we show human concern.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Deming" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/this-is-the-heart-of-my-argument-we-can-put-more-pressure-on-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Antagonist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/this-is-the-heart-of-my-argument-we-can-put-more-pressure-on-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/barbara-deming-14719_antagonist_this-is-the-heart-of-my-argument-we-can_1286819.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/barbara-deming-14719_antagonist_this-is-the-heart-of-my-argument-we-can_1286819.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/barbara-deming-14719_antagonist_this-is-the-heart-of-my-argument-we-can_1286819.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This is the heart of my argument: We can put more pressure on the antagonist for whom we show human concern.” — Barbara Deming", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barbara Deming", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "This is the heart of my...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/this-is-the-heart-of-my-argument-we-can-put-more-pressure-on-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/this-is-the-heart-of-my-argument-we-can-put-more-pressure-on-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```