--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even if lives did hang in the balance, it…" description: "\"Even if lives did hang in the balance, it would depend on whose they were.\" — Bill Watterson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/bill-watterson-728_balance_even-if-lives-did-hang-in-the-balance-it_2935582.png" --- # Even if lives did hang in the balance, it would depend on… ![“Even if lives did hang in the balance, it would depend on whose they were.” quote by Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/bill-watterson-728_balance_even-if-lives-did-hang-in-the-balance-it_2935582.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/bill-watterson-728_balance_even-if-lives-did-hang-in-the-balance-it_2935582.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/bill-watterson-728_balance_even-if-lives-did-hang-in-the-balance-it_2935582.png) > “Even if lives did hang in the balance, it would depend on whose they were.” [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s stakes depend on whose perspective holds power. **In simple terms:** Life’s balance depends on who controls it. Key Takeaway Question authority and perspective. Themes power perspective responsibility Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical political When to use this quote - politics - media - personal decisions - social movements Key Concepts political theory philosophy Questions to Reflect On - Who benefits from current balances? - How can you shift perspective? A Different Perspective Power structures may resist change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Balance Depend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance-depend-4349938/) [Depend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depend/) [Hang Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hang-balance-4349939/) [Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives/) [Lives Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives-did-3347420/) ## Related quotes > [When you Google someone's name, it matters to me what shows up. Not the lies, but like, did you change lives? Did you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tionne-watkins/when-you-google-someone-s-name-it-matters-to-me-what-shows-up-not-the/) [Tionne Watkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tionne-watkins/) > [“I the sweetness of our lives did not depart, there would be no sweetness at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-the-sweetness-of-our-lives-did-not-depart-there-would-be-no/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I know that people can live celibate lives. I did it myself for many years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamza-yusuf/i-know-that-people-can-live-celibate-lives-i-did-it-myself-for-many/) [Hamza Yusuf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamza-yusuf/) > [“Somehow, we'll find it. The balance between whom we wish to be and whom we need to be. But for now, we simply have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/somehow-we-ll-find-it-the-balance-between-whom-we-wish-to-be-and-whom/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [To depend on others is to build on sand. Its always better to take help from your own good right hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/self-reliance/to-depend-on-others-is-to-build-on-sand-its-always-better-to-take/) [Self-reliance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/self-reliance/) > [“Don't depend on someone else if you can be your own master," Logan replied.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karice-bolton/don-t-depend-on-someone-else-if-you-can-be-your-own-master-logan/) [Karice Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karice-bolton/) > [Umm... I don't judge my relationship with Puff or Bad Boy according to other people or past artists. At the end of the day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/french-montana/umm-i-don-t-judge-my-relationship-with-puff-or-bad-boy-according-to/) [French Montana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/french-montana/) > [Don't depend too much on anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-taymiyyah/don-t-depend-too-much-on-anyone/) [Ibn Taymiyyah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-taymiyyah/) > [Sometimes when God brings things into an individual's life, it makes them totally depend on Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrae-crouch/sometimes-when-god-brings-things-into-an-individual-s-life-it-makes/) [Andrae Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrae-crouch/) > [A true friend, Someone who : Wouldnt leave me behind Someone I : Can always depend on Someone who : Is always there for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-true-friend-someone-who-wouldnt-leave-me-behind-someone-i-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Broadband Internet access shouldn't depend on who you are or where you're from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajit-pai/broadband-internet-access-shouldn-t-depend-on-who-you-are-or-where/) [Ajit Pai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ajit-pai/) > [“depend on things that change less often than you do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandi-metz/depend-on-things-that-change-less-often-than-you-do/) [Sandi Metz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandi-metz/) > [Must whales and dolphins be subjected to deafening noise that will cause more than 3.5 million instances of temporary and/or permanent hearing loss? For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/must-whales-and-dolphins-be-subjected-to-deafening-noise-that-will/) [Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/) > [All of us depend on fate. But I have to openly say that there comes a time when I've had enough of fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-heinz-rummenigge/all-of-us-depend-on-fate-but-i-have-to-openly-say-that-there-comes-a/) [Karl-Heinz Rummenigge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-heinz-rummenigge/) > [“Depend on no one else to give you what you want”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/destiny-s-child/depend-on-no-one-else-to-give-you-what-you-want/) [Destiny's Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/destiny-s-child/) ## More by Bill Watterson > [Calvin: The more you know, the harder it is to take decisive action. Once you are informed, you start seeing complexities and shades of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/calvin-the-more-you-know-the-harder-it-is-to-take-decisive-action/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [A day can really slip by when you're deliberately avoiding what you're supposed to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/a-day-can-really-slip-by-when-you-re-deliberately-avoiding-what-you/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [For your information, I'm staying like this, and everyone else can just get used to it! If people don't like me the way I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/for-your-information-i-m-staying-like-this-and-everyone-else-can-just/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I think most of us would be horrified to meet ourselves and discover what everyone else already knows about us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-think-most-of-us-would-be-horrified-to-meet-ourselves-and-discover/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [As a kid, I knew I wanted to be either a cartoonist or an astronaut. The latter was never much of a possibility, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/as-a-kid-i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-either-a-cartoonist-or-an-astronaut/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [Miss Wormwood: Calvin, your test was an absolute disgrace! It's obvious you haven't read any of the material. Our first president was not Chef…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/miss-wormwood-calvin-your-test-was-an-absolute-disgrace-it-s-obvious/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [Calvin: Today for show and tell, I've brought a tiny miracle of nature: a single snowflake! I think we might all learn a lesson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/calvin-today-for-show-and-tell-i-ve-brought-a-tiny-miracle-of-nature/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [United Features had given me a development contract, which meant I was to work exclusively with them and rather than completing everything on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/united-features-had-given-me-a-development-contract-which-meant-i-was/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [What assurance do I have that your parenting isn't screwing me up?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/what-assurance-do-i-have-that-your-parenting-isn-t-screwing-me-up/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [In the right hands, a comic strip attains a beauty and elegance that, really, I would put against any other art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/in-the-right-hands-a-comic-strip-attains-a-beauty-and-elegance-that/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [If you give a little credit to the concept of the artist, I think you ought to indulge excesses a bit, because that reflects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/if-you-give-a-little-credit-to-the-concept-of-the-artist-i-think-you/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I tell you all this because it's worth recognizing that there is no such thing as an overnight success. You will do well to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-tell-you-all-this-because-it-s-worth-recognizing-that-there-is-no/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [The secret to enjoying your job is to have a hobby that's even worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/the-secret-to-enjoying-your-job-is-to-have-a-hobby-that-s-even-worse/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [By golly, life's too darn short to waste time trying to please every meddlesome moron who's got an idea how I ought to be!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/by-golly-life-s-too-darn-short-to-waste-time-trying-to-please-every/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-m-yet-another-resource-consuming-kid-in-an-overpopulated-planet/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) [Explore all 389 Bill Watterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) ## More Balance quotes > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/she-got-a-reputation-for-an-easy-smile-and-a-sharp-tongue-and-using/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [Life's unfairness is not irrevocable; we can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/life-s-unfairness-is-not-irrevocable-we-can-help-balance-the-scales/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [“We don't need to strive towards balance, we rather need to work on the obstacles that are preventing the natural flow of balance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-alebraheem/we-don-t-need-to-strive-towards-balance-we-rather-need-to-work-on-the/) [A.A. Alebraheem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-alebraheem/) > [I think that kind of balance comes with the process of growing together as a band, the Little Dragon. We love to write, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukimi-nagano/i-think-that-kind-of-balance-comes-with-the-process-of-growing/) [Yukimi Nagano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukimi-nagano/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [At times of recession, running a budget deficit is highly desirable. Once the economy begins to recover, you have to balance the budget. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/at-times-of-recession-running-a-budget-deficit-is-highly-desirable/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [It's my intention to make something stand outside the realm of album art, but it also feels comfortable to me to be in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer-baizley/it-s-my-intention-to-make-something-stand-outside-the-realm-of-album/) [John Dyer Baizley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer-baizley/) > [Once you've gotten your money in balance, you know how much you have to spend on things that are just fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/once-you-ve-gotten-your-money-in-balance-you-know-how-much-you-have/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [I never understood how much running changes your life. I'm now obsessed. When not trying to beat my personal best, I'm talking to other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadiq-khan/i-never-understood-how-much-running-changes-your-life-i-m-now/) [Sadiq Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadiq-khan/) > [Whatever needed to be done, I need to know how to do it just as well as my wife. You know, for us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isbell/whatever-needed-to-be-done-i-need-to-know-how-to-do-it-just-as-well/) [Jason Isbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isbell/) > [I don't think my parents would have let me go straight into acting full time when I was 12. I do like to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-don-t-think-my-parents-would-have-let-me-go-straight-into-acting/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [When it comes down to music, I have no balance. I am 100 percent. It is like full throttle. Five hundred miles an hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanni/when-it-comes-down-to-music-i-have-no-balance-i-am-100-percent-it-is/) [Yanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanni/) [Browse all 5,166 Balance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even if lives did hang in the balance, it would depend on whose they were.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Watterson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/even-if-lives-did-hang-in-the-balance-it-would-depend-on-whose-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Balance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/even-if-lives-did-hang-in-the-balance-it-would-depend-on-whose-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/bill-watterson-728_balance_even-if-lives-did-hang-in-the-balance-it_2935582.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/bill-watterson-728_balance_even-if-lives-did-hang-in-the-balance-it_2935582.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/bill-watterson-728_balance_even-if-lives-did-hang-in-the-balance-it_2935582.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Even if lives did hang in the balance, it would depend on whose they were.” — Bill Watterson", "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": "Bill Watterson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Even if lives did hang in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/even-if-lives-did-hang-in-the-balance-it-would-depend-on-whose-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/even-if-lives-did-hang-in-the-balance-it-would-depend-on-whose-they/#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 } } ] } ```