--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Constantly choosing the lesser of two…" description: "\"Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.\" — Jerry Garcia" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/jerry-garcia-2346_evil_constantly-choosing-the-lesser-of-two-ev_2185443.jpg" --- # Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still… ![“Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.” quote by Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/jerry-garcia-2346_evil_constantly-choosing-the-lesser-of-two-ev_2185443.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/jerry-garcia-2346_evil_constantly-choosing-the-lesser-of-two-ev_2185443.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/jerry-garcia-2346_evil_constantly-choosing-the-lesser-of-two-ev_2185443.jpg) > “Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.” [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing the lesser evil still means endorsing wrongdoing. **In simple terms:** Even a small evil is still evil. Key Takeaway Avoid compromising morals. Themes ethics decision making integrity Mood reflective serious Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - political choices - personal dilemmas - business decisions Key Concepts moral philosophy consequentialism Questions to Reflect On - Can a compromise ever be truly ethical? - When is a “lesser” evil acceptable? A Different Perspective Choosing the lesser evil may be rationalized but still harms trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choosing Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choosing-evil-2338652/) [Choosing Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choosing-lesser-990192/) [Constantly Choosing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constantly-choosing-4739169/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evils/) [Evils Choosing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evils-choosing-3877235/) [Lesser Evils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lesser-evils-996363/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) ## Related quotes > [If you choose the lesser of two evils, you are still choosing evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/if-you-choose-the-lesser-of-two-evils-you-are-still-choosing-evil/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [“When choosing the lesser of two evils, always remember, it is still an evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lerner/when-choosing-the-lesser-of-two-evils-always-remember-it-is-still-an/) [Max Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lerner/) > [California is choosing between the lesser of, uh, 300 evils.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/california-is-choosing-between-the-lesser-of-uh-300-evils/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [“If it feels like you're choosing between the lesser of two evils, don't. There is always a higher choice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-neill/if-it-feels-like-you-re-choosing-between-the-lesser-of-two-evils-don/) [Michael Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-neill/) > [If you are picking the lesser of two evils, you are still picking Evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/if-you-are-picking-the-lesser-of-two-evils-you-are-still-picking-evil/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [In the real world in which we live, you always have to choose between evils. And in choosing between evils, you have to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/in-the-real-world-in-which-we-live-you-always-have-to-choose-between/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [“Voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil. Next time, why don’t you go all out and write in Lucifer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/voting-for-the-lesser-of-two-evils-is-still-voting-for-evil-next-time/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Although war is evil, it is occasionally the lesser of two evils.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mcgeorge-bundy/although-war-is-evil-it-is-occasionally-the-lesser-of-two-evils/) [McGeorge Bundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mcgeorge-bundy/) > [“It was the lesser of two evils.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/it-was-the-lesser-of-two-evils/) [Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/) > [Abortion is not the lesser of two evils. It is a crime. It is to throw someone out in order to save another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/abortion-is-not-the-lesser-of-two-evils-it-is-a-crime-it-is-to-throw/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [When you choose the lesser of two evils, always remember that it is still an evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lerner/when-you-choose-the-lesser-of-two-evils-always-remember-that-it-is/) [Max Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lerner/) > [“Voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil. Next time, go all out and write in Lucifer on the ballot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/voting-for-the-lesser-of-two-evils-is-still-voting-for-evil-next-time-2/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [She did not admire him any more than she had. It was merely that she considered him the Lesser of two evils.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-did-not-admire-him-any-more-than-she-had-it-was-merely-that-she/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The lesser of two evils, or the least of the worst, is not good enough for the American people anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/the-lesser-of-two-evils-or-the-least-of-the-worst-is-not-good-enough/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [If you always vote for the lesser of two evils, you will always have evil, and you will always have less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/if-you-always-vote-for-the-lesser-of-two-evils-you-will-always-have/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) ## More by Jerry Garcia > [once in awhile you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look it right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/once-in-awhile-you-get-shown-the-light-in-the-strangest-of-places-if/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [To me, that's the key thing, the pursuit of happiness. That's the basic, ultimate freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/to-me-that-s-the-key-thing-the-pursuit-of-happiness-that-s-the-basic/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [“A leaf of all colors plays a golden-string fiddle To a double-e waterfall over my back”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/a-leaf-of-all-colors-plays-a-golden-string-fiddle-to-a-double-e/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [Some things may work, but they definitely won't work every time. Some things may work at various times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/some-things-may-work-but-they-definitely-won-t-work-every-time-some/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [It's odd that there is a high level of appreciation of nature. There is the aesthetic side that really loves nature and beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/it-s-odd-that-there-is-a-high-level-of-appreciation-of-nature-there/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [If you think of music as a universal language, it still has some very powerful dialects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/if-you-think-of-music-as-a-universal-language-it-still-has-some-very/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [You have to be ready, and also you have to discard notions that are fondly held by a lot of musicians, about sequences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/you-have-to-be-ready-and-also-you-have-to-discard-notions-that-are/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [If you are picking the lesser of two evils, you are still picking Evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/if-you-are-picking-the-lesser-of-two-evils-you-are-still-picking-evil/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [Our strong suit is what we do, and our audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/our-strong-suit-is-what-we-do-and-our-audience/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [And for me there's still more material than 20 lifetimes that I can use up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/and-for-me-there-s-still-more-material-than-20-lifetimes-that-i-can/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [It's much too late to do anything about rock & roll now ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/it-s-much-too-late-to-do-anything-about-rock-roll-now/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [Yeah, I think we have to. If we want our shows to be - if we want the quality of the shows to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/yeah-i-think-we-have-to-if-we-want-our-shows-to-be-if-we-want-the/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [You ain't gonna learn what you don't wanna know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/you-ain-t-gonna-learn-what-you-don-t-wanna-know/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [America is still mostly xenophobic and racist. That's the nature of America, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/america-is-still-mostly-xenophobic-and-racist-that-s-the-nature-of/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [Nothing left to do but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/nothing-left-to-do-but-smile/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) [Explore all 171 Jerry Garcia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) ## More Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) [Browse all 11,163 Evil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jerry Garcia" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/constantly-choosing-the-lesser-of-two-evils-is-still-choosing-evil/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/constantly-choosing-the-lesser-of-two-evils-is-still-choosing-evil/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/jerry-garcia-2346_evil_constantly-choosing-the-lesser-of-two-ev_2185443.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/jerry-garcia-2346_evil_constantly-choosing-the-lesser-of-two-ev_2185443.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/jerry-garcia-2346_evil_constantly-choosing-the-lesser-of-two-ev_2185443.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.” — Jerry Garcia", "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": "Jerry Garcia", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Constantly choosing the lesser of two...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/constantly-choosing-the-lesser-of-two-evils-is-still-choosing-evil/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/constantly-choosing-the-lesser-of-two-evils-is-still-choosing-evil/#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 } } ] } ```