--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was always interested in the larger…" description: "\"I was always interested in the larger picture, I was pre-law in college, and had a degree in economics. I was very interested in the big question 'how ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/380/jay-roach-8154_big-questions_i-was-always-interested-in-the-larger-pi_921225.jpg" --- # I was always interested in the larger picture, I was… ![“I was always interested in the larger picture, I was pre-law in college, and had a degree in economics. I was very interested in the big question 'how then shall we live?,' how do we organize as a civilization when we are so different, and often don't get along, yet we know at some point we have…” quote by Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/380/jay-roach-8154_big-questions_i-was-always-interested-in-the-larger-pi_921225.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/380/jay-roach-8154_big-questions_i-was-always-interested-in-the-larger-pi_921225.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/380/jay-roach-8154_big-questions_i-was-always-interested-in-the-larger-pi_921225.jpg) > “I was always interested in the larger picture, I was pre-law in college, and had a degree in economics. I was very interested in the big question 'how then shall we live?,' how do we organize as a civilization when we are so different, and often don't get along, yet we know at some point we have to unite for the common good? I actually really care about those issues, and I'm driven to understand how it works.” [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He reflects on the need to understand societal organization and unity despite differences, driven by curiosity about humanity's purpose. **In simple terms:** He wants to know how societies can unite for the common good. Key Takeaway Explore ways to foster cooperation across diverse groups. Themes society philosophy unity diversity purpose Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - community building - education reform - conflict resolution Key Concepts social contract collective action human nature Questions to Reflect On - What structures best promote unity? - How can we balance diversity with common purpose? A Different Perspective Complex power dynamics can hinder unity despite shared goals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Big questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-questions/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [Common good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-good/) [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) ## Related quotes > [I was very interested in politics in college and was heading to be a lawyer. I have a degree in economics and I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/i-was-very-interested-in-politics-in-college-and-was-heading-to-be-a/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [You cannot organize civilization around the core of militarism and at the same time expect reason to control human destinies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/you-cannot-organize-civilization-around-the-core-of-militarism-and-at/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [I'm not interested in big-budget films, I'm interested in something a little more personal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gareth-evans/i-m-not-interested-in-big-budget-films-i-m-interested-in-something-a/) [Gareth Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gareth-evans/) > [I'm no longer interested in being in big commercial films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sienna-miller/i-m-no-longer-interested-in-being-in-big-commercial-films/) [Sienna Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sienna-miller/) > [I'm not really good at character or plot development. I'm just interested in big comedic moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-linehan/i-m-not-really-good-at-character-or-plot-development-i-m-just/) [Graham Linehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-linehan/) > [It's because I'm only interested in the big things that I'm not interested in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-smart/it-s-because-i-m-only-interested-in-the-big-things-that-i-m-not/) [Elizabeth Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-smart/) > [“I've always been interested in the intimate side of events. War doesn't interest me: soldiers do. Protests don't interest me: protestors do. Parades don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-the-intimate-side-of-events-war-doesn/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > ['Why are we here?' 'What is our purpose? 'Is there an afterlife?' 'Is there a God?' 'Is it all about science?' Those are big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/why-are-we-here-what-is-our-purpose-is-there-an-afterlife-is-there-a/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > [Do those things that incline you toward the big questions, and avoid the things that would reduce you and make you trivial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/do-those-things-that-incline-you-toward-the-big-questions-and-avoid/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I like the big questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-turlington/i-like-the-big-questions/) [Christy Turlington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-turlington/) > [Religion gives you a sense of certainty. It makes you feel that you have the right answers to really big questions and that youve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-heckman/religion-gives-you-a-sense-of-certainty-it-makes-you-feel-that-you/) [James Heckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-heckman/) > [I love Big Themes. Films that ask big questions about technology, society, mortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-ackie/i-love-big-themes-films-that-ask-big-questions-about-technology/) [Naomi Ackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-ackie/) > [I have no doubt, if people are really seeking the big questions, it will lead them to the Lord.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/i-have-no-doubt-if-people-are-really-seeking-the-big-questions-it/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [Many people in their teens wonder about these big questions - what's the meaning of life, what are we doing here - then somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/many-people-in-their-teens-wonder-about-these-big-questions-what-s/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > ['SoulPancake' is a website that I founded with a couple of friends, and it is for exploring life's big questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainn-wilson/soulpancake-is-a-website-that-i-founded-with-a-couple-of-friends-and/) [Rainn Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainn-wilson/) ## More by Jay Roach > [You could get in rehearsals, pre-production, anything that would actually contribute to the understanding of how a film gets made. I actually find those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/you-could-get-in-rehearsals-pre-production-anything-that-would/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [But I always reassure them that as far as my contractual rights can go, I will protect them and make sure that they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/but-i-always-reassure-them-that-as-far-as-my-contractual-rights-can/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [ That's why we had Louis C.K. portray the harder line Communist, to accuse \[Dalton\] Trumbo of being a hypocrite. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/that-s-why-we-had-louis-c-k-portray-the-harder-line-communist-to/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [It was an interesting process trying to get Bob to talk about the film because he's such a shy person. He generally likes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/it-was-an-interesting-process-trying-to-get-bob-to-talk-about-the/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [The commentary track became a lot like the movie and there are some funny, long, awkward pauses that you can tell we're just trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/the-commentary-track-became-a-lot-like-the-movie-and-there-are-some/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [ For Bryan \[Cranston \] to go back in time and become this larger-than-life and somewhat theatrical guy, who performed his ideas and rhetoric in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/for-bryan-cranston-to-go-back-in-time-and-become-this-larger-than/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [When Dalton Trumbo and his friends joined the Communist Party it was 1943, and Russia was our ally in World War II. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/when-dalton-trumbo-and-his-friends-joined-the-communist-party-it-was/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [We had to do the same thing here. To top that sequel was quite a task. Mike had a couple of good conceptual humour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/we-had-to-do-the-same-thing-here-to-top-that-sequel-was-quite-a-task/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [I figure if it's turns out well the film will have its own momentum and will carry into the video release. So it's hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/i-figure-if-it-s-turns-out-well-the-film-will-have-its-own-momentum/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [ \[Dalton\] Trumbo wrote this incredible pamphlet, almost on the level of Tom Paine's 'Common Sense,' called 'The Time of the Toad.' It's an exquisitely… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/dalton-trumbo-wrote-this-incredible-pamphlet-almost-on-the-level-of/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [People are willing to throw our civilization under the bus to discredit the existing system, without any proposed solution to the problems that they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/people-are-willing-to-throw-our-civilization-under-the-bus-to/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [I was very interested in politics in college and was heading to be a lawyer. I have a degree in economics and I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/i-was-very-interested-in-politics-in-college-and-was-heading-to-be-a/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [I like to shoot a lot of choices. I like a lot of stuff - and so I push to go faster, to shrink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/i-like-to-shoot-a-lot-of-choices-i-like-a-lot-of-stuff-and-so-i-push/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [Sometimes perfecting the one thing can be the enemy of getting any traction on anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/sometimes-perfecting-the-one-thing-can-be-the-enemy-of-getting-any/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [ Mini-Me was the pint sized clone that was the perpetuation of Dr. Evil's own legacy \[in Austin Powers\]. That concept earned the sequel. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/mini-me-was-the-pint-sized-clone-that-was-the-perpetuation-of-dr-evil/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) [Explore all 83 Jay Roach quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) ## More Big questions quotes > ['SoulPancake' is a website that I founded with a couple of friends, and it is for exploring life's big questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainn-wilson/soulpancake-is-a-website-that-i-founded-with-a-couple-of-friends-and/) [Rainn Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainn-wilson/) > [Many people in their teens wonder about these big questions - what's the meaning of life, what are we doing here - then somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/many-people-in-their-teens-wonder-about-these-big-questions-what-s/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [I have no doubt, if people are really seeking the big questions, it will lead them to the Lord.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/i-have-no-doubt-if-people-are-really-seeking-the-big-questions-it/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [I love Big Themes. Films that ask big questions about technology, society, mortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-ackie/i-love-big-themes-films-that-ask-big-questions-about-technology/) [Naomi Ackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-ackie/) > [Religion gives you a sense of certainty. It makes you feel that you have the right answers to really big questions and that youve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-heckman/religion-gives-you-a-sense-of-certainty-it-makes-you-feel-that-you/) [James Heckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-heckman/) > [I like the big questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-turlington/i-like-the-big-questions/) [Christy Turlington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-turlington/) > [Do those things that incline you toward the big questions, and avoid the things that would reduce you and make you trivial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/do-those-things-that-incline-you-toward-the-big-questions-and-avoid/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > ['Why are we here?' 'What is our purpose? 'Is there an afterlife?' 'Is there a God?' 'Is it all about science?' Those are big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/why-are-we-here-what-is-our-purpose-is-there-an-afterlife-is-there-a/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > [I do find that I tend to write about big questions. Why are we here? What are we doing? How do we relate to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-fallon/i-do-find-that-i-tend-to-write-about-big-questions-why-are-we-here/) [Brian Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-fallon/) > [I've always been into asking the big questions; I'm the last guy out the door at closing time cuz I was sittin' around 'til…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/i-ve-always-been-into-asking-the-big-questions-i-m-the-last-guy-out/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [In a very small way, painting addresses the 'Big Questions' to which we'll never find the answers. You do what you have to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-messer/in-a-very-small-way-painting-addresses-the-big-questions-to-which-we/) Sam Messer > [The world of money, of numbers and stock markets and interest rates and credit cards, seems on the surface about as far as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/the-world-of-money-of-numbers-and-stock-markets-and-interest-rates/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [I started asking the big questions that I had asked in college, that my compatriots the Greek philosophers had asked, like 'what is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-huffington/i-started-asking-the-big-questions-that-i-had-asked-in-college-that/) [Arianna Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-huffington/) > [I first started asking big questions when I was 12, and by big questions, I mean, 'Why are we here? What is this business?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/i-first-started-asking-big-questions-when-i-was-12-and-by-big/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [“There are big questions science doesn’t answer, such as why is there something rather than nothing? There can’t be a scientific answer to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/there-are-big-questions-science-doesn-t-answer-such-as-why-is-there/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) [Browse all 142 Big questions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-questions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was always interested in the larger picture, I was pre-law in college, and had a degree in economics. I was very interested in the big question 'how then shall we live?,' how do we organize as a civilization when we are so different, and often don't get along, yet we know at some point we have to unite for the common good? I actually really care about those issues, and I'm driven to understand how it works.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jay Roach" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/i-was-always-interested-in-the-larger-picture-i-was-pre-law-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Big questions" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/i-was-always-interested-in-the-larger-picture-i-was-pre-law-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/380/jay-roach-8154_big-questions_i-was-always-interested-in-the-larger-pi_921225.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/380/jay-roach-8154_big-questions_i-was-always-interested-in-the-larger-pi_921225.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/380/jay-roach-8154_big-questions_i-was-always-interested-in-the-larger-pi_921225.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was always interested in the larger picture, I was pre-law in college, and had a degree in economics. I…” — Jay Roach", "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": "Jay Roach", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was always interested in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/i-was-always-interested-in-the-larger-picture-i-was-pre-law-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/i-was-always-interested-in-the-larger-picture-i-was-pre-law-in/#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 } } ] } ```