--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A just society is not one built on fear…" description: "\"A just society is not one built on fear or repression or vengeance or exclusion, but one built on love. Love for our families. Love for our neighbors. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/john-legend-1666_built_a-just-society-is-not-one-built-on-fear_561617.png" --- # A just society is not one built on fear or repression or… ![“A just society is not one built on fear or repression or vengeance or exclusion, but one built on love. Love for our families. Love for our neighbors. Love for the least among us. Love for those who look different or worship differently. Love for those we don't even know.” quote by John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/john-legend-1666_built_a-just-society-is-not-one-built-on-fear_561617.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/john-legend-1666_built_a-just-society-is-not-one-built-on-fear_561617.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/john-legend-1666_built_a-just-society-is-not-one-built-on-fear_561617.png) > “A just society is not one built on fear or repression or vengeance or exclusion, but one built on love. Love for our families. Love for our neighbors. Love for the least among us. Love for those who look different or worship differently. Love for those we don't even know.” [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A just society thrives on love and inclusion, not fear, repression, vengeance, or exclusion. **In simple terms:** Love builds a fair society. Key Takeaway Cultivate love and inclusion. Themes justice inclusion love equality compassion Mood hopeful determined Type inspirational ethical When to use this quote - community building - policy making - education - activism Key Concepts human rights social cohesion ethical leadership Questions to Reflect On - How can love translate into concrete policies? - What barriers prevent love from shaping institutions? A Different Perspective Love alone may not address systemic power imbalances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Family love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-love/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Neighbor love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor-love/) [Our family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-family/) [Repression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repression/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Vengeance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vengeance/) [Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship/) ## Related quotes > [Popular struggles to bring about a freer and more just society have been resisted by violence and repression, and massive efforts to control opinion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/popular-struggles-to-bring-about-a-freer-and-more-just-society-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I will not tire of declaring that if we really want an effective end to violence we must remove the violence that lies at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/i-will-not-tire-of-declaring-that-if-we-really-want-an-effective-end/) [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) > [Intellectuals of the categories happen to enjoy unusual privilege, unique in history, I suppose. It's easy enough to find ugly illustrations of repression, malice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/intellectuals-of-the-categories-happen-to-enjoy-unusual-privilege/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Cheap people often are not very happy because they love money more than they love their families”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celso-cukierkorn/cheap-people-often-are-not-very-happy-because-they-love-money-more/) [Celso Cukierkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celso-cukierkorn/) > [The vast majority of people have never hurt anybody in their lives, don't want killing, don't want wars. In all the countries of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mairead-corrigan/the-vast-majority-of-people-have-never-hurt-anybody-in-their-lives/) [Mairead Corrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mairead-corrigan/) > [“They love their families with their hearts and souls and they wage war against them to prove it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/they-love-their-families-with-their-hearts-and-souls-and-they-wage/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [My family loves each other but doesnt love me. families are suppose to stay together not kick people out of the group](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lovergirl/my-family-loves-each-other-but-doesnt-love-me-families-are-suppose-to/) Lovergirl > [Parents who have fought fiercely for the rights of their much-loved Gay and Lesbian children should not have to worry that their children will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-gregoire/parents-who-have-fought-fiercely-for-the-rights-of-their-much-loved/) [Christine Gregoire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-gregoire/) > [“Family isn’t always who you’re born to. 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It's infuriating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janina-gavankar/it-s-ridiculous-that-people-aren-t-allowed-to-love-who-they-love-have/) [Janina Gavankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janina-gavankar/) > [I think we all make our own families, whether they're comprised of blood relations or friends. Some people are lucky and love their families.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-cleland/i-think-we-all-make-our-own-families-whether-they-re-comprised-of/) [Jane Cleland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-cleland/) > [Each day that we have to get up and wake up in our right minds, get out of our beds, interact with our families…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-slater/each-day-that-we-have-to-get-up-and-wake-up-in-our-right-minds-get/) [Matthew Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-slater/) > [Crazy ideas sometimes work, and the technological society that we have is built on a foundation of those crazy ideas that work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/crazy-ideas-sometimes-work-and-the-technological-society-that-we-have/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) ## More by John Legend > [Some people, you know, should just go to college and do what they do and have a great job and not worry about trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/some-people-you-know-should-just-go-to-college-and-do-what-they-do/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [I guess a lot of times pressure is put on something after it becomes big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/i-guess-a-lot-of-times-pressure-is-put-on-something-after-it-becomes/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [The best way to fight poverty is to empower people through access to quality education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/the-best-way-to-fight-poverty-is-to-empower-people-through-access-to/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [My first album, 'Get Lifted,' was a hip-hop soul album that had some of its roots in the church, as far as the sonic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/my-first-album-get-lifted-was-a-hip-hop-soul-album-that-had-some-of/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [I don't like going to football games. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/when-i-write-i-don-t-really-focus-on-duets-or-anything-like-that-or/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [I would tell myself, "Love yourself and don't be afraid to take risks." I was often afraid to take risks, socially, because I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/i-would-tell-myself-love-yourself-and-don-t-be-afraid-to-take-risks-i/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [I never went through a period where I didn't want to play music. I've always loved it and it's always been a huge part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/i-never-went-through-a-period-where-i-didn-t-want-to-play-music-i-ve/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [All men should be feminists. 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We are better off when women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/all-men-should-be-feminists-if-men-care-about-women-s-rights-the/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [Experience is a great teacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/experience-is-a-great-teacher/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [This ain't a movie no. No fairy tale conclusion ya'll.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/this-ain-t-a-movie-no-no-fairy-tale-conclusion-ya-ll/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) [Explore all 218 John Legend quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) ## More Built quotes > [It's really fun and challenging to build things that have never been built before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/it-s-really-fun-and-challenging-to-build-things-that-have-never-been/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) > [Astronomers have built telescopes which can show myriads of stars unseen before; but when a man looks through a tear in his own eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/astronomers-have-built-telescopes-which-can-show-myriads-of-stars/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [So I concentrated on the rhythmic side of things, and therefore left a lot of holes. 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