Big brothers Quote by David Foster Wallace
““The almost-35-year-old Terry Schmidt had very nearly nothing left anymore of the delusion that he differed from the great herd of the common run of men, not even in his despair at not making a difference or in the great hunger to have an impact that in his late twenties he'd clung to as evidence that even though he was emerging as sort of a failure the grand ambitions against which he judged himself a failure were somehow exceptional and superior to the common run's - not anymore, since now even the phrase Make A Difference had become a platitude so familiar that it was used as the mnemonic tag in low-budget Ad Council PSAs for Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the United Way, which used Make a Difference in a Child's Life and Making a Difference in Your Community respectively, with B.B./B.S. even acquiring the telephonic equivalent of DIF-FER-ENCE to serve as their Volunteer Hotline number in the metro area.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: “The Dependent Subhuman” from *Consider the Lobster* (2005)
The passage critiques how societal slogans like “Make a Difference” become empty platitudes, losing meaning through overuse and commercialization.
In simple terms: Slogans lose meaning when overused.
Key Takeaway
Question the authenticity of popular moral slogans.
Themes
social critique
meaninglessness
authenticity
Mood
critical
thoughtful
Type
philosophical
social
When to use this quote
- activism
- public campaigns
- personal impact assessment
Key Concepts
cultural linguistics
moral fatigue
public messaging
Questions to Reflect On
- Do you still find value in “making a difference”?
- How can we revive sincere purpose in activism?
A Different Perspective
May overlook genuine efforts behind slogans.
