--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I grew up thinking that it was immoral to…" description: "\"I grew up thinking that it was immoral to idealize the past because, in the past, there was slavery and no penicillin.\" — Elif Batuman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/elif-batuman-2172_immoral_i-grew-up-thinking-that-it-was-immoral-t_499005.jpg" --- # I grew up thinking that it was immoral to idealize the… ![“I grew up thinking that it was immoral to idealize the past because, in the past, there was slavery and no penicillin.” quote by Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/elif-batuman-2172_immoral_i-grew-up-thinking-that-it-was-immoral-t_499005.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/elif-batuman-2172_immoral_i-grew-up-thinking-that-it-was-immoral-t_499005.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/elif-batuman-2172_immoral_i-grew-up-thinking-that-it-was-immoral-t_499005.jpg) > “I grew up thinking that it was immoral to idealize the past because, in the past, there was slavery and no penicillin.” [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Idealizing the past ignores its moral flaws; acknowledging history’s imperfections is essential. **In simple terms:** Past is not always better. Key Takeaway Critically assess history without romanticizing. Themes history morality idealization critical thinking Mood thoughtful analytical Type cultural philosophical When to use this quote - education curricula - public discourse - personal belief formation - media commentary Key Concepts ethical philosophy historical analysis Questions to Reflect On - What lessons can we learn from past mistakes? - How do we honor progress while remembering past suffering? A Different Perspective Nostalgia can provide comfort but may obscure truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The more we idealize the past and refuse to acknowledge our childhood sufferings, the more we pass them on unconsciously to the next generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/the-more-we-idealize-the-past-and-refuse-to-acknowledge-our-childhood/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [You look back at a time you idealize now and you only remember the good stuff. You tell the stories about the hard stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-gibbard/you-look-back-at-a-time-you-idealize-now-and-you-only-remember-the/) [Ben Gibbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-gibbard/) > [In my first publication I might have claimed that I had come to the conclusion, as a result of serious study of the literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fleming/in-my-first-publication-i-might-have-claimed-that-i-had-come-to-the/) [Alexander Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fleming/) > [I had pneumonia when I was 18 months old and I was given penicillin, which I was allergic to, and since then my teeth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-phillips/i-had-pneumonia-when-i-was-18-months-old-and-i-was-given-penicillin/) [Jess Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-phillips/) > [I had fallen in love with a young man..., and we were planning to get married. And then he died of subacute bacterial endocarditis...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/i-had-fallen-in-love-with-a-young-man-and-we-were-planning-to-get/) [Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) > [The genius of Man in our time has gone into jet-propulsion, atom-splitting, penicillin-curing, etc. There is left none over for works of imagination; of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/the-genius-of-man-in-our-time-has-gone-into-jet-propulsion-atom/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [No king or minister could have instructed Newton to discover the law of gravity, for they did not know and could not know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-northcote-parkinson/no-king-or-minister-could-have-instructed-newton-to-discover-the-law/) [C. Northcote Parkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-northcote-parkinson/) > [Prior to penicillin and medical research, death was an everyday occurrence. It was intimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/prior-to-penicillin-and-medical-research-death-was-an-everyday/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [It's like The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat, about the discovery of penicillin. Out of these strange accidents come huge discoveries. A certain purple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-simon/it-s-like-the-mold-in-dr-florey-s-coat-about-the-discovery-of/) [Carly Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-simon/) > [Stay in college, get the knowledge. And stay there until you're through. If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/stay-in-college-get-the-knowledge-and-stay-there-until-you-re-through/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [If penicillin can cure those that are ill, Spanish sherry can bring the dead back to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fleming/if-penicillin-can-cure-those-that-are-ill-spanish-sherry-can-bring/) [Alexander Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fleming/) > [If penicillin had been judged by its toxicity to guinea pigs, it might never have been used by man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/if-penicillin-had-been-judged-by-its-toxicity-to-guinea-pigs-it-might/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [I have been trying to point out that in our lives chance may have an astonishing influence and, if I may offer advice to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fleming/i-have-been-trying-to-point-out-that-in-our-lives-chance-may-have-an/) [Alexander Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fleming/) > [(The discovery of penicillin) was a triumph of accident, a fortunate occurrence which happened while I was working on a purely academic bacteriological problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fleming/the-discovery-of-penicillin-was-a-triumph-of-accident-a-fortunate/) [Alexander Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fleming/) > [The only reason we don't notice how absolutely interwoven our thinking processes have become with older technologies - pencils, paper, electric light, penicillin, fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/the-only-reason-we-don-t-notice-how-absolutely-interwoven-our/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) ## More by Elif Batuman > [My parents were born into a secular country. They met in Turkey's top medical school, moved to America in the nineteen-seventies, and became researchers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/my-parents-were-born-into-a-secular-country-they-met-in-turkey-s-top/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“I leafed through the phrase book. If a Martian read it, the Martian would probably decide to avoid Hungary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-leafed-through-the-phrase-book-if-a-martian-read-it-the-martian/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [You can't invent something you have no epistemological access to. In a way, it's all recombination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/you-can-t-invent-something-you-have-no-epistemological-access-to-in-a/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [Poetry is another space, like love, where we extend that extra credit to the writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/poetry-is-another-space-like-love-where-we-extend-that-extra-credit/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“Svetlana said that she identified with that Madonna more than with any other woman in any other painting. She kept asking me what painting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/svetlana-said-that-she-identified-with-that-madonna-more-than-with/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [One of the most painful parts of a breakup is having the feeling that your life is a story, and then the other person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/one-of-the-most-painful-parts-of-a-breakup-is-having-the-feeling-that/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“Dracula visited the Wolf Department at the Zoological Gardens. "These wolves seem upset at something," he observed. The next morning the cage was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/dracula-visited-the-wolf-department-at-the-zoological-gardens-these/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [I like to think that I know a lot of words, but I definitely don't know all of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-like-to-think-that-i-know-a-lot-of-words-but-i-definitely-don-t/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“I don't know if I ended up siding with the academics just because I happened to end up in graduate school, or if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-don-t-know-if-i-ended-up-siding-with-the-academics-just-because-i/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [People don't become writers because they love having spontaneous, real-world interactions with living people as bodies with clothes in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/people-don-t-become-writers-because-they-love-having-spontaneous-real/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“Each work of criticism is supposed to build on the body of work, to increase the total sum of human understanding. It's not like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/each-work-of-criticism-is-supposed-to-build-on-the-body-of-work-to/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [Humor is really important to me. All my favorite writers are writers I consider to be funny, including Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, even though that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/humor-is-really-important-to-me-all-my-favorite-writers-are-writers-i/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [Every time a meteor comes close to the earth, we all think about the end of the world - but our internal soundtrack doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/every-time-a-meteor-comes-close-to-the-earth-we-all-think-about-the/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [I felt grateful to Ataturk that my parents were so well educated, that they weren't held back by superstition or religion, that they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-felt-grateful-to-ataturk-that-my-parents-were-so-well-educated-that/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“For a moment it felt like we weren’t in the Danube at all but in the river of time, and everyone was at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/for-a-moment-it-felt-like-we-weren-t-in-the-danube-at-all-but-in-the/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) [Explore all 182 Elif Batuman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) ## More Immoral quotes > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [IMMORAL, adj. Inexpedient. Whatever in the long run and with regard to the greater number of instances men find to be generally inexpedient comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/immoral-adj-inexpedient-whatever-in-the-long-run-and-with-regard-to/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-must-remember-that-intelligence-is-not-enough-intelligence-plus/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I do not think homosexuality is immoral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-do-not-think-homosexuality-is-immoral/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Americans have always had an ambivalent attitude toward intelligence. When they feel threatened, they want a lot of it, and when they don't, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-a-walters/americans-have-always-had-an-ambivalent-attitude-toward-intelligence/) [Vernon A. Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-a-walters/) > [What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after-and-what-is-immoral-is-what/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Food is being purposefully formulated to addict you.Then it is purposefully marketed, targeted to young children to addict them at an early age. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-david/food-is-being-purposefully-formulated-to-addict-you-then-it-is/) [Laurie David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-david/) > [Consumer wants can have bizarre, frivolous, or even immoral origins, and an admirable case can still be made for a society that seeks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/consumer-wants-can-have-bizarre-frivolous-or-even-immoral-origins-and/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [I am calling on all citizens with access to unreleased records pertaining to illegal, unconstitutional, or immoral government activities to return those records to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-shapiro/i-am-calling-on-all-citizens-with-access-to-unreleased-records/) [Ryan Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-shapiro/) > [Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/give-up-money-give-up-fame-give-up-science-give-the-earth-itself-and/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“I've put men to death-men with supposedly immoral souls-that looked dumber than that mouse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-ve-put-men-to-death-men-with-supposedly-immoral-souls-that-looked/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [One of two things when the guy you're dating isn't really ready to commit. He's an a\*\*hole and he's cheating on you; bottom line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-catherwood/one-of-two-things-when-the-guy-you-re-dating-isn-t-really-ready-to/) Michael Catherwood > [I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts. I do not believe that the Armed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-pace/i-believe-that-homosexual-acts-between-individuals-are-immoral-and/) [Peter Pace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-pace/) > [When it comes to explaining human thought and behavior, the possibility that heredity plays any role at all still has the power to shock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/when-it-comes-to-explaining-human-thought-and-behavior-the/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [ \[General Curtis\] LeMay recognized that what he was doing would be thought immoral if his side has lost. But what makes it immoral if… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mcnamara/general-curtis-lemay-recognized-that-what-he-was-doing-would-be/) [Robert McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mcnamara/) Browse all 677 Immoral quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I grew up thinking that it was immoral to idealize the past because, in the past, there was slavery and no penicillin.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elif Batuman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-grew-up-thinking-that-it-was-immoral-to-idealize-the-past-because/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Immoral" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-grew-up-thinking-that-it-was-immoral-to-idealize-the-past-because/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/elif-batuman-2172_immoral_i-grew-up-thinking-that-it-was-immoral-t_499005.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/elif-batuman-2172_immoral_i-grew-up-thinking-that-it-was-immoral-t_499005.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/elif-batuman-2172_immoral_i-grew-up-thinking-that-it-was-immoral-t_499005.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I grew up thinking that it was immoral to idealize the past because, in the past, there was slavery and no…” — Elif Batuman", "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": "Elif Batuman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I grew up thinking that it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-grew-up-thinking-that-it-was-immoral-to-idealize-the-past-because/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-grew-up-thinking-that-it-was-immoral-to-idealize-the-past-because/#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 } } ] } ```