--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Above all there's a lack of personal…" description: "\"“Above all there's a lack of personal discipline, manners, decorum, natural discretion. If everyone causes their own individual catastrophes, how can t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/joseph-roth-14460_discipline_above-all-there-s-a-lack-of-personal-dis_128738.jpg" --- # Above all there's a lack of personal discipline, manners… ![“Above all there's a lack of personal discipline, manners, decorum, natural discretion. If everyone causes their own individual catastrophes, how can there fail to be more general catastrophes? After all, the passengers on a bus or streetcar make up a community of a kind. But they don't see it that…” quote by Joseph Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/joseph-roth-14460_discipline_above-all-there-s-a-lack-of-personal-dis_128738.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/joseph-roth-14460_discipline_above-all-there-s-a-lack-of-personal-dis_128738.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/joseph-roth-14460_discipline_above-all-there-s-a-lack-of-personal-dis_128738.jpg) > ““Above all there's a lack of personal discipline, manners, decorum, natural discretion. If everyone causes their own individual catastrophes, how can there fail to be more general catastrophes? After all, the passengers on a bus or streetcar make up a community of a kind. But they don't see it that way, not even in a moment of danger. As they see it they are bound always to be the other's enemy: for political, social, all sorts of reasons. Where so much hate has been bottled up, it is vented on inanimate things, and provokes the celebrated perversity of inanimate things. Sending experts into other countries won't help much, so long as each individual refuses to work out his own personal traffic plan. There is a wisdom in the accident of language by which there is a single word, "traffic," for movement in the streets, and for people's dealings with one another.”” [Joseph Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-roth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal lack of discipline leads to collective disaster; individuals must manage their own conduct to prevent societal breakdown. **In simple terms:** Individual responsibility prevents larger crises. Key Takeaway Cultivate personal discipline for societal health. Themes responsibility discipline societal collapse community Mood serious concerned Type political philosophical When to use this quote - public policy - personal habit formation Key Concepts ethics social dynamics Practical Applications - encourage self‑regulation - educate on civic duty Questions to Reflect On - How does personal behavior affect community safety? - What systems can reinforce individual responsibility? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) ## Related quotes > [I didn't understand Southland Tales script at all! Is there a single word to describe it? Cacophony? It's celebrity meets pornography meets politics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-grant/i-didn-t-understand-southland-tales-script-at-all-is-there-a-single/) [Beth Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-grant/) > [“But the only thing I could feel were those firm arms holding me, clutching me securely. 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At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-sobon/together-the-fact-that-one-single-word-could-send-my-heart-aflutter/) [Nicole Sobon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-sobon/) > [When I pick up a pencil, that this is a rough draft. This is not going anywhere, and no one's going to see it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/when-i-pick-up-a-pencil-that-this-is-a-rough-draft-this-is-not-going/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) ## More by Joseph Roth > [“Never yet has such furious movement brought in its train such slowness in the passage of time. Everything is spinning, only time stands still.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-roth/never-yet-has-such-furious-movement-brought-in-its-train-such/) [Joseph Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-roth/) > [“The good man believed that shortsighted people were also deaf and that their spectacles would become clearer if their ears heard more sharply.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-roth/the-good-man-believed-that-shortsighted-people-were-also-deaf-and/) [Joseph Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-roth/) > [A moving shadow means more to us than a body at rest. We are no longer taken in by a fixed grin. We know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-roth/a-moving-shadow-means-more-to-us-than-a-body-at-rest-we-are-no-longer/) [Joseph Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-roth/) > [“The world to come will be like this triangular railroad junction, raised to some unknown power. 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Because where there are so many things close together, they can hardly help not thinking of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-roth/of-course-the-merchandise-appears-to-be-cheaper-because-where-there/) [Joseph Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-roth/) > [Although the noise of the chattering clientele is much more significant than the topics of their chatter, it does finally constitute that type of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-roth/although-the-noise-of-the-chattering-clientele-is-much-more/) [Joseph Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-roth/) > [“The weeping willows, on the other hand, are evocative of death. They are a little contrived, a little exaggerated, still green in the middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-roth/the-weeping-willows-on-the-other-hand-are-evocative-of-death-they-are/) [Joseph Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-roth/) > [A lot of truths about the living world are recorded in bad books; they are just badly written about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-roth/a-lot-of-truths-about-the-living-world-are-recorded-in-bad-books-they/) [Joseph Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-roth/) > [“Because human nature will not deny its weaknesses, even where it is seemingly in the process of overcoming them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-roth/because-human-nature-will-not-deny-its-weaknesses-even-where-it-is/) [Joseph Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-roth/) > [“And in the evening concealed fluorescent tubes light the room so evenly that it is no longer illuminated, it is a pool of luminosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-roth/and-in-the-evening-concealed-fluorescent-tubes-light-the-room-so/) [Joseph Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-roth/) [Explore all 41 Joseph Roth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-roth/) ## More Discipline quotes > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [Grit and self-control are related, but they're not the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/grit-and-self-control-are-related-but-they-re-not-the-same-thing/) [Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/) > [“Peace requires a discipline more iron than war. - Easter, 1939 ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-turner/peace-requires-a-discipline-more-iron-than-war-easter-1939/) W.J. Turner > [You can't have the fruits without the roots. It's the principle of sequencing: Private Victories proceed Public Victories. Self-mastery and self-discipline are the foundation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/you-can-t-have-the-fruits-without-the-roots-it-s-the-principle-of/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [Exercise teaches you the pleasure of discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/exercise-teaches-you-the-pleasure-of-discipline/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [I'm always writing. I'm an obsessive. It's not because I'm a disciplined person. It's because I'm crazy about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-m-always-writing-i-m-an-obsessive-it-s-not-because-i-m-a/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [The undisciplined child enters into discipline by working in the company of others; not being told he is naughty.” “Discipline is, therefore, primarily a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-undisciplined-child-enters-into-discipline-by-working-in-the/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“Proverbs from the East: The wind howls, but the mountain remains still. 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Its only people who jump off the roller coaster who get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harvey/stay-in-your-seat-come-times-of-trouble-its-only-people-who-jump-off/) [Paul Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harvey/) [Browse all 5,597 Discipline quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Above all there's a lack of personal discipline, manners, decorum, natural discretion. If everyone causes their own individual catastrophes, how can there fail to be more general catastrophes? After all, the passengers on a bus or streetcar make up a community of a kind. But they don't see it that way, not even in a moment of danger. As they see it they are bound always to be the other's enemy: for political, social, all sorts of reasons. Where so much hate has been bottled up, it is vented on inanimate things, and provokes the celebrated perversity of inanimate things. 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