--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The worst thing that can happen in a…" description: "\"The worst thing that can happen in a democracy - as well as in an individual's life - is to become cynical about the future and lose hope.\" — Hillary C..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1f/hillary-clinton-51_cynical_the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-in-a-dem_1741563.jpg" --- # The worst thing that can happen in a democracy - as well… ![“The worst thing that can happen in a democracy - as well as in an individual's life - is to become cynical about the future and lose hope.” quote by Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1f/hillary-clinton-51_cynical_the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-in-a-dem_1741563.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1f/hillary-clinton-51_cynical_the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-in-a-dem_1741563.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1f/hillary-clinton-51_cynical_the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-in-a-dem_1741563.jpg) > “The worst thing that can happen in a democracy - as well as in an individual's life - is to become cynical about the future and lose hope.” [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cynicism erodes democratic vitality and personal hope, undermining future possibilities. **In simple terms:** Cynicism destroys hope in democracy and life. Key Takeaway Combat cynicism, nurture hope. Themes politics hope civic engagement Mood concerned optimistic Type political motivational When to use this quote - voting decisions - community organizing - personal setbacks - policy debates Key Concepts democracy psychology optimism Questions to Reflect On - How can you foster hope in your community? - What actions counteract cynicism in daily life? A Different Perspective Hope can be fragile in turbulent times. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cynical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynical/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lose hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lose-hope/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The worst thing you can become in life is cynical. Cynical is like concrete. and nothing grows in concrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-santana/the-worst-thing-you-can-become-in-life-is-cynical-cynical-is-like/) [Carlos Santana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-santana/) > [I'm pretty cynical about the future, but I feel like that's not an ethical position for me to take. It's not okay for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/i-m-pretty-cynical-about-the-future-but-i-feel-like-that-s-not-an/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [“Doesn’t this make you sad, Ferdinand?” He shrugged his shoulders. “Cynical, if you like. One is sad when one thinks about life—cynical when one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/doesn-t-this-make-you-sad-ferdinand-he-shrugged-his-shoulders-cynical/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“Wintervale, by being so open, trusting, and artless his entire life, had made his more cynical friends hang on to their secrets. And in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/wintervale-by-being-so-open-trusting-and-artless-his-entire-life-had/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [It's not okay for me to behave as if I'm cynical about the future. Even if I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/it-s-not-okay-for-me-to-behave-as-if-i-m-cynical-about-the-future/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [In a democracy, the individual enjoys not only the ultimate power but carries the ultimate responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/in-a-democracy-the-individual-enjoys-not-only-the-ultimate-power-but/) [Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/) > [Under democracy, individual liberty of opinion and action is jealously guarded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/under-democracy-individual-liberty-of-opinion-and-action-is-jealously/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The Seventeenth Amendment serves not the public's interest but the interests of the governing masterminds and their disciples. Its early proponents advanced it not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-seventeenth-amendment-serves-not-the-public-s-interest-but-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If democracy is control by the people, as it is supposed to be, it is the right form of government. I believe in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peace-pilgrim/if-democracy-is-control-by-the-people-as-it-is-supposed-to-be-it-is/) [Peace Pilgrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peace-pilgrim/) > [We need to get beyond the politics of the moment, the deficit of the hour, the military count of the day, the numbers that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bradley/we-need-to-get-beyond-the-politics-of-the-moment-the-deficit-of-the/) [Bill Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bradley/) > [The first thing I can remember I ever wanted was to go to the United States. And for reasons that are as conventional as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-first-thing-i-can-remember-i-ever-wanted-was-to-go-to-the-united/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Cynically speaking, one could say that it is true to life to be cynical about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tillich/cynically-speaking-one-could-say-that-it-is-true-to-life-to-be/) [Paul Tillich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tillich/) > [Choosing to live a life in a cynical negative matter, doubting every opportunity, and doubting every God-given ability that you possess, is in effect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/choosing-to-live-a-life-in-a-cynical-negative-matter-doubting-every/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“To acclimate students to misery under the rubric that so doing prepares them for life is a cynical notion—and a horrifying one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/to-acclimate-students-to-misery-under-the-rubric-that-so-doing/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [“One is sad when one thinks about life—cynical when one -sees what people make of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/one-is-sad-when-one-thinks-about-life-cynical-when-one-sees-what/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) ## More by Hillary Clinton > [When it comes to bullying small businesses, Donald Trump is the poster boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/when-it-comes-to-bullying-small-businesses-donald-trump-is-the-poster/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I'm going to do everything I can to get myself elected, but that's not enough. I'm going to try to help move the Senate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-m-going-to-do-everything-i-can-to-get-myself-elected-but-that-s-not/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I think we have to take a look at corporate law. We have to take a look at the incentives that we can perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-think-we-have-to-take-a-look-at-corporate-law-we-have-to-take-a/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I am somewhat influenced by the years that I've spent trying to actually get things done, whether it was reforming education in Arkansas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-somewhat-influenced-by-the-years-that-i-ve-spent-trying-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We know in New York we have several million at any one time who are in New York illegally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-know-in-new-york-we-have-several-million-at-any-one-time-who-are/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I have always believed that women are not victims, we are agents of change, we are drivers of progress, we are makers of peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-have-always-believed-that-women-are-not-victims-we-are-agents-of/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I have clearly said we faced terrorist enemies who use Islam to justify slaughtering innocent people and we have to stop them and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-have-clearly-said-we-faced-terrorist-enemies-who-use-islam-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [If I had lost the popular vote but won the electoral college and in my first day as president the intelligence community came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/if-i-had-lost-the-popular-vote-but-won-the-electoral-college-and-in/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We now have power under the Dodd-Frank legislation to break up banks. And I've said I will use that power if they pose a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-now-have-power-under-the-dodd-frank-legislation-to-break-up-banks/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I am not going to make promises I can't keep. I am not going to talk about big ideas like single-payer and then not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-not-going-to-make-promises-i-can-t-keep-i-am-not-going-to-talk/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [It's important to recognize that expanding the circle of opportunity and increasing the democratic potential of our own society, as well as those across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/it-s-important-to-recognize-that-expanding-the-circle-of-opportunity/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We're living in a technological world. You cannot tell me we can't do a better job getting that information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-re-living-in-a-technological-world-you-cannot-tell-me-we-can-t-do/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [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/) > [We need to have more second chance programs. I'm glad that we're ending private prisons in the federal system; I want to see them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-need-to-have-more-second-chance-programs-i-m-glad-that-we-re/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [A nuclear-weapons armed Iran is not in anyone's human-rights interests. That is a direct threat to the lives and the livelihoods and the stability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/a-nuclear-weapons-armed-iran-is-not-in-anyone-s-human-rights/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) [Explore all 1,911 Hillary Clinton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) ## More Cynical quotes > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I would say most comedians have a very cynical worldview of the way the world can work. It's almost like if you didn't, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-quinn/i-would-say-most-comedians-have-a-very-cynical-worldview-of-the-way/) [Colin Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-quinn/) > [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. Now I am living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/sure-i-m-dramatic-and-sloppily-semi-cynical-and-semi-sentimental-but/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [We're so immaturely cynical as a culture. We're not wise enough to look at an institution like marriage and to really things about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-peterson/we-re-so-immaturely-cynical-as-a-culture-we-re-not-wise-enough-to/) [Jordan Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-peterson/) > [I'm not cynical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/i-m-not-cynical/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [A well governed people are generally a people who do not think much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-siegfried/a-well-governed-people-are-generally-a-people-who-do-not-think-much/) Andre Siegfried > [I love writers who are insightful enough to be cynical but choose not to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-d-mclaren/i-love-writers-who-are-insightful-enough-to-be-cynical-but-choose-not/) [Brian D. McLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-d-mclaren/) > [It is a very cynical, skeptical, foolish person that suggests Israel does not need a peace process to have a growing economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-quest/it-is-a-very-cynical-skeptical-foolish-person-that-suggests-israel/) [Richard Quest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-quest/) > [Songwriters might write cynical, world-wise lyrics and constantly talk about money, but most of us are downright naive when it comes to business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/songwriters-might-write-cynical-world-wise-lyrics-and-constantly-talk/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) > [No one more cynical than an idealist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/no-one-more-cynical-than-an-idealist/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [I've actually always wanted to write like a one-person show that was sort of a romantic comedy - a show that was kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-birbiglia/i-ve-actually-always-wanted-to-write-like-a-one-person-show-that-was/) [Mike Birbiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-birbiglia/) > [“That's what I've never been able to get about religion: that charmless combination of altruism and insanity. Give me a cynical, self-interested bastard any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-carey/that-s-what-i-ve-never-been-able-to-get-about-religion-that-charmless/) [Mike Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-carey/) > [As the rain falls and the sun shines, they grow, grow, grow; minds so open, they go through life aware and accepting, seeing light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/as-the-rain-falls-and-the-sun-shines-they-grow-grow-grow-minds-so/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [One of the weirdest things that happened to artists and art criticism was this moment when everyone got cynical and stopped believing in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/one-of-the-weirdest-things-that-happened-to-artists-and-art-criticism/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) [Browse all 968 Cynical quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynical/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The worst thing that can happen in a democracy - as well as in an individual's life - is to become cynical about the future and lose hope.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hillary Clinton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-in-a-democracy-as-well-as-in-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cynical" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-in-a-democracy-as-well-as-in-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1f/hillary-clinton-51_cynical_the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-in-a-dem_1741563.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1f/hillary-clinton-51_cynical_the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-in-a-dem_1741563.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1f/hillary-clinton-51_cynical_the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-in-a-dem_1741563.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The worst thing that can happen in a democracy - as well as in an individual's life - is to become cynical…” — Hillary Clinton", "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": "Hillary Clinton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The worst thing that can happen...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-in-a-democracy-as-well-as-in-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-in-a-democracy-as-well-as-in-an/#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 } } ] } ```