--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There’s something you need to understand…" description: "\"“There’s something you need to understand, Jonah. For every person who’s stealing and setting fires and turning over police cars, there are three or fo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/dean-koontz-118_nice-things_there-s-something-you-need-to-understand_1130558.jpg" --- # There’s something you need to understand, Jonah. For every… ![“There’s something you need to understand, Jonah. For every person who’s stealing and setting fires and turning over police cars, there are three or four others in the same neighborhood who want no part of it, who’re more afraid of lawbreakers than they are of the law.” “Doesn’t look that way.”…” quote by Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/dean-koontz-118_nice-things_there-s-something-you-need-to-understand_1130558.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/dean-koontz-118_nice-things_there-s-something-you-need-to-understand_1130558.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/dean-koontz-118_nice-things_there-s-something-you-need-to-understand_1130558.jpg) > ““There’s something you need to understand, Jonah. For every person who’s stealing and setting fires and turning over police cars, there are three or four others in the same neighborhood who want no part of it, who’re more afraid of lawbreakers than they are of the law.” “Doesn’t look that way.” “Because the TV only shows you the ones who’re doing it. The news isn’t all the news, Jonah. Not by a long shot. It’s just what reporters want to tell you about. Riots come and go, wars come and go, but under the tumult, day after day, century after century, millions of people are doing nice things for one another, making sacrifices, mostly small things, but it’s all those little kindnesses that hold civilization together, all those people who live quiet lives and never make the news.”” [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The media focuses on violent events, but most people quietly help each other, sustaining society through everyday kindness. **In simple terms:** Most people are kind, not violent. Key Takeaway Recognize and value everyday kindness. Themes community kindness media perception social cohesion Mood thoughtful hopeful Type observational inspirational When to use this quote - neighborhood watch - volunteering - community building - media literacy Key Concepts human behavior media bias social resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can we amplify stories of everyday heroism? - What responsibilities do media have in shaping perception? A Different Perspective The quote may overlook systemic issues that cause violence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Jonah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jonah/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Long Shot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-shot/) [Making sacrifices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-sacrifices/) [News Isn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/news-isn-963880/) [News Jonah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/news-jonah-3103228/) [Nice things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nice-things/) [Small things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-things/) [Tell Riots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-riots-3103230/) [Understand Jonah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-jonah-3103229/) ## Related quotes > [“Riots come and go, wars come and go, but under the tumult, day after day, century after century, millions of people are doing nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/riots-come-and-go-wars-come-and-go-but-under-the-tumult-day-after-day/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Bad news isn't wine. It doesn't improve with age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/bad-news-isn-t-wine-it-doesn-t-improve-with-age/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [If the news isn't there, don't create it. If I look at local news, I don't know what's real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-herenton/if-the-news-isn-t-there-don-t-create-it-if-i-look-at-local-news-i-don/) [Willie Herenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-herenton/) > [The media has lost its monopoly. They have lost the opportunity they had to define what's news and what isn't news. They have lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-media-has-lost-its-monopoly-they-have-lost-the-opportunity-they/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [People say to me all the time, "I get my news from your show." And that isn't the way they should get their news.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/people-say-to-me-all-the-time-i-get-my-news-from-your-show-and-that/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [News isn't even the truth on television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-kilmer/news-isn-t-even-the-truth-on-television/) [Val Kilmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-kilmer/) > [News isn't simply debating a statement from the Commons - it is now often about television and popular culture within a broader remit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bacon/news-isn-t-simply-debating-a-statement-from-the-commons-it-is-now/) [Richard Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bacon/) > [The news isn't there to tell you what happened. It's there to tell you what it wants you to hear or what it thinks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/the-news-isn-t-there-to-tell-you-what-happened-it-s-there-to-tell-you/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [I think what drove me away from being a reporter was an inability to accept that the world came in neat stories. Every story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-think-what-drove-me-away-from-being-a-reporter-was-an-inability-to/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I just don't need cable news. There's nothing that happens on cable news that I don't already know. I'm talking about just the acquisition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-just-don-t-need-cable-news-there-s-nothing-that-happens-on-cable/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [News isn't designed to talk about daily life in its nuances, but poetry is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-griswold/news-isn-t-designed-to-talk-about-daily-life-in-its-nuances-but/) [Eliza Griswold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-griswold/) > [We take what's shown on television as the truth, and it isn't. News isn't even the truth on television. If you look up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-kilmer/we-take-what-s-shown-on-television-as-the-truth-and-it-isn-t-news-isn/) [Val Kilmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-kilmer/) > [News isn't just what happens. It's what a fairly small group of people decide is news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hitchens/news-isn-t-just-what-happens-it-s-what-a-fairly-small-group-of-people/) [Peter Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hitchens/) > [I have a liberal definition of news because I think news can be what excites people. I'm not very sanctimonious about what news is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-sawyer/i-have-a-liberal-definition-of-news-because-i-think-news-can-be-what/) [Diane Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-sawyer/) > [“I couldn't stand by and watch you put yourselves in harm's way. No way. And fuck those SAVAK bastards, and their Western masters, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahbod-seraji/i-couldn-t-stand-by-and-watch-you-put-yourselves-in-harm-s-way-no-way/) [Mahbod Seraji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahbod-seraji/) ## More by Dean Koontz > [“This kind of derangement is emblematic of humankind. Grave faults are said to be only eccentricities, and imperfections are routinely celebrated as mere differences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/this-kind-of-derangement-is-emblematic-of-humankind-grave-faults-are/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“He often remembered his dad's admonition that envy was mental theft. If you coveted another man's possessions, Dad said, then you should be willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/he-often-remembered-his-dad-s-admonition-that-envy-was-mental-theft/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. 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Anger was a medicine but never a cure, briefly numbing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/anger-was-a-reliable-defense-but-one-that-allowed-no-chance-of-final/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“Nothing is predetermined for us, and yet all our possible choices are threads in the vast weave of things, so that we have free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/nothing-is-predetermined-for-us-and-yet-all-our-possible-choices-are/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“In fact, time teaches us that the musical score of life oscillates between that of Psycho and that of The Sound of Music, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/in-fact-time-teaches-us-that-the-musical-score-of-life-oscillates/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“Some will accuse me of being judgmental. Thank you. And proud of it. You wreck a kid's life, I have no pity for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/some-will-accuse-me-of-being-judgmental-thank-you-and-proud-of-it-you/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“Waiting is one of the things that humans beings cannot do well, though it is one of the essential things we must do successfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/waiting-is-one-of-the-things-that-humans-beings-cannot-do-well-though/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“Dogs know we need to give affection as much as they need to receive it. They were the first therapists; they've been in practice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/dogs-know-we-need-to-give-affection-as-much-as-they-need-to-receive/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) [Explore all 1,233 Dean Koontz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) ## More Jonah quotes > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [“(Because Jonah’s real story is the one never told: never was he as stupendously happy as during those three days and three nights of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/because-jonah-s-real-story-is-the-one-never-told-never-was-he-as/) [Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/) > [Here's the point - and Jonah Goldberg reminds us of this. He wrote a blog post that was titled "The MacGuffinization of American Politics."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/here-s-the-point-and-jonah-goldberg-reminds-us-of-this-he-wrote-a/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Just a reminder, if you tell anyone about what happened with Jonah last night, I'll destroy all of my writing and never play music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/just-a-reminder-if-you-tell-anyone-about-what-happened-with-jonah/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Lord, make me less like Jonah and more like Jesus. Save me from being the kind of person who cares more about my comfort,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-s-smith/lord-make-me-less-like-jonah-and-more-like-jesus-save-me-from-being/) [Colin S. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-s-smith/) > [Any real Bob Dylan fan would sleep with Jonah Lehrer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/any-real-bob-dylan-fan-would-sleep-with-jonah-lehrer/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [We make a mistake forsaking England and moving out into the periphery of life. After all, Taormina, Ceylon, Africa, America -- as far as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/we-make-a-mistake-forsaking-england-and-moving-out-into-the-periphery/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [There are a lot of really funny guys who are very natural in what they do: Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Seth Rogen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-ferrell/there-are-a-lot-of-really-funny-guys-who-are-very-natural-in-what/) [Will Ferrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-ferrell/) > [“When you fall in love, when Love really does its worst, it gives you no cause. It swallows you whole. It allows no refusals.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candice-raquel-lee/when-you-fall-in-love-when-love-really-does-its-worst-it-gives-you-no/) [Candice Raquel Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candice-raquel-lee/) > [“Jonah, however, set out in the opposite direction in order to get away from the Lord. He went to Joppa, where he found a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tata-velasquez/jonah-however-set-out-in-the-opposite-direction-in-order-to-get-away/) [Tata Velasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tata-velasquez/) > [Jonah Griggs. Not just a name but a state of mind I never want to revisit, although I do keep him at the back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/jonah-griggs-not-just-a-name-but-a-state-of-mind-i-never-want-to/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [“The Bible frequently uses symmetries and inversions. By such comparisons (parallels and contrasts) the unique aspects of reality begin to emerge. Comparing two objects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ben-zehabe/the-bible-frequently-uses-symmetries-and-inversions-by-such/) [Michael Ben Zehabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ben-zehabe/) > [His father's made us paint half this town and if we stick around any longer he'll make us paint the rest of it." -Jonah…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/his-father-s-made-us-paint-half-this-town-and-if-we-stick-around-any/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [“The world has a lot to offer. There’s a lot to explore. I like to take advantage of that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-neill/the-world-has-a-lot-to-offer-there-s-a-lot-to-explore-i-like-to-take/) [Chloe Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-neill/) > [“Wealth is not a sign of dignity, dear Jonah. Only those who put faith above wealth are worthy of this honour. Abandon wealth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-shel/wealth-is-not-a-sign-of-dignity-dear-jonah-only-those-who-put-faith/) [Viktor Shel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-shel/) [Browse all 172 Jonah quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jonah/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There’s something you need to understand, Jonah. For every person who’s stealing and setting fires and turning over police cars, there are three or four others in the same neighborhood who want no part of it, who’re more afraid of lawbreakers than they are of the law.” “Doesn’t look that way.” “Because the TV only shows you the ones who’re doing it. The news isn’t all the news, Jonah. Not by a long shot. It’s just what reporters want to tell you about. Riots come and go, wars come and go, but under the tumult, day after day, century after century, millions of people are doing nice things for one another, making sacrifices, mostly small things, but it’s all those little kindnesses that hold civilization together, all those people who live quiet lives and never make the news.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dean Koontz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/there-s-something-you-need-to-understand-jonah-for-every-person-who-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Jonah" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/there-s-something-you-need-to-understand-jonah-for-every-person-who-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/dean-koontz-118_nice-things_there-s-something-you-need-to-understand_1130558.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/dean-koontz-118_nice-things_there-s-something-you-need-to-understand_1130558.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/dean-koontz-118_nice-things_there-s-something-you-need-to-understand_1130558.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There’s something you need to understand, Jonah. 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