--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When a society abandons its ideals just…" description: "\"When a society abandons its ideals just because most people can't live up to them, behavior gets very ugly indeed.\" — Judith Martin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/judith-martin-1927_abandon_when-a-society-abandons-its-ideals-just_3027133.png" --- # When a society abandons its ideals just because most… ![“When a society abandons its ideals just because most people can't live up to them, behavior gets very ugly indeed.” quote by Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/judith-martin-1927_abandon_when-a-society-abandons-its-ideals-just_3027133.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/judith-martin-1927_abandon_when-a-society-abandons-its-ideals-just_3027133.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/judith-martin-1927_abandon_when-a-society-abandons-its-ideals-just_3027133.png) > “When a society abandons its ideals just because most people can't live up to them, behavior gets very ugly indeed.” [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Abandoning ideals because most fail leads to moral decay and ugliness. **In simple terms:** Giving up ideals makes society ugly. Key Takeaway Uphold standards even when imperfect. Themes ethics society integrity Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - politics - education - family life Key Concepts Moral relativism social contract Questions to Reflect On - Which ideals are essential? - How to balance idealism with compassion? A Different Perspective Rigid ideals may alienate those who struggle. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) ## Related quotes > [A society which abandons children and the elderly severs its roots and darkens its future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/a-society-which-abandons-children-and-the-elderly-severs-its-roots/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [One generation abandons the enterprises of another like stranded vessels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/one-generation-abandons-the-enterprises-of-another-like-stranded/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A Church which abandons the truth abandons itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-kung/a-church-which-abandons-the-truth-abandons-itself/) [Hans Kung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-kung/) > [God abandons only those who abandon themselves, and whoever has the courage to shut up his sorrow within his own heart is stronger to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/god-abandons-only-those-who-abandon-themselves-and-whoever-has-the/) [George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/) > [The Founding Fathers and our fathers are rolling over in their graves as this great country voluntarily abandons its dreams of equal opportunity, achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-limbaugh/the-founding-fathers-and-our-fathers-are-rolling-over-in-their-graves/) [David Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-limbaugh/) > [An artist never really finishes his work, he merely abandons it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/an-artist-never-really-finishes-his-work-he-merely-abandons-it/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [When we do get to the point where things aren't good, we know how to smarten up and fix it before it gets ugly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-timmins/when-we-do-get-to-the-point-where-things-aren-t-good-we-know-how-to/) [Margo Timmins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-timmins/) > [Philosophy gets its ugly head into everything, but I don't think we live philosophy anymore. It's done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-denes/philosophy-gets-its-ugly-head-into-everything-but-i-don-t-think-we/) [Agnes Denes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-denes/) > [Condoms & Hearts...When either one breaks, shit gets ugly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/condoms-hearts-when-either-one-breaks-shit-gets-ugly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [CONDOMS & HEARTS...when either one BREAKS, sh!t gets UGLY!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syntific/condoms-hearts-when-either-one-breaks-sh-t-gets-ugly/) Syntific > [ After a battle royale debate, the fight between \[Marco\]Rubio and \[Donald\]Trump gets ugly. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/after-a-battle-royale-debate-the-fight-between-marco-rubio-and-donald/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [Hmmm! u know our political trend has an ugly face!!! n if sum1 gets ugly then he/she zz on their own!!! they dont mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sardar-hyder-abbas/hmmm-u-know-our-political-trend-has-an-ugly-face-n-if-sum1-gets-ugly/) [Sardar Hyder Abbas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sardar-hyder-abbas/) > [Life isn't always pretty, when you face it it gets ugly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meia-hinds/life-isn-t-always-pretty-when-you-face-it-it-gets-ugly/) Meia Hinds > [“Sometimes life gets ugly before it gets beautiful”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-sterling/sometimes-life-gets-ugly-before-it-gets-beautiful/) [J. Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-sterling/) > [“A mother never abandons her child, even when he seems to want it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/a-mother-never-abandons-her-child-even-when-he-seems-to-want-it/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) ## More by Judith Martin > [Smart people duck when they hear the dread announcement 'I'm going to be perfectly honest with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/smart-people-duck-when-they-hear-the-dread-announcement-i-m-going-to/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [If you put together all the ingredients that naturally attract children - sex, violence, revenge, spectacle and vigorous noise - what you have is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/if-you-put-together-all-the-ingredients-that-naturally-attract/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [The one prediction that never comes true is, 'You'll thank me for telling you this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/the-one-prediction-that-never-comes-true-is-you-ll-thank-me-for/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [Chaperons, even in their days of glory, were almost never able to enforce morality; what they did was to force immorality to be discreet.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/chaperons-even-in-their-days-of-glory-were-almost-never-able-to/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [There are always proper responses, even to rude questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/there-are-always-proper-responses-even-to-rude-questions/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [Perhaps the greatest rudenesses of our time come not from the callousness of strangers, but from the solicitousness of intimates who believe that their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/perhaps-the-greatest-rudenesses-of-our-time-come-not-from-the/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [We are all entitled to our little harmless habits, but we are not entitled to demand approval for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/we-are-all-entitled-to-our-little-harmless-habits-but-we-are-not/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [“Lady” is not used before the lady’s first name unless she is the daughter of a duke, marquess or earl; those who come by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/lady-is-not-used-before-the-lady-s-first-name-unless-she-is-the/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [Greece is a good place for rebirths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/greece-is-a-good-place-for-rebirths/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [Adorable children are considered to be the general property of the human race. Rude children belong to their mothers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/adorable-children-are-considered-to-be-the-general-property-of-the/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [I have always believed that the key to a happy marriage was the ability to say with a straight face, 'Why, I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/i-have-always-believed-that-the-key-to-a-happy-marriage-was-the/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [It is, indeed, a trial to maintain the virtue of humility when one can't help being right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/it-is-indeed-a-trial-to-maintain-the-virtue-of-humility-when-one-can/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [Honesty is a virtue, but not the only one. If you're in a courtroom you need the whole truth and nothing but the truth;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/honesty-is-a-virtue-but-not-the-only-one-if-you-re-in-a-courtroom-you/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [Only a person who considers himself too good for you is good enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/only-a-person-who-considers-himself-too-good-for-you-is-good-enough/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [Society cannot exist without etiquette ... It never has, and until our own century, everybody knew that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/society-cannot-exist-without-etiquette-it-never-has-and-until-our-own/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) [Explore all 197 Judith Martin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) ## More Abandon quotes > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik > [The purpose of a spirit filled life is to demonstrate the supernatural power of our living God so that the unsaved multitudes will abandon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-osborn/the-purpose-of-a-spirit-filled-life-is-to-demonstrate-the/) [T.L. Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-osborn/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [I would leave at once, but it would be cruel to abandon a lady in a foreign land with a maniac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-would-leave-at-once-but-it-would-be-cruel-to-abandon-a-lady-in-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Every great thing starts with an idea, followed by a doubt and finally a resolve to abandon or pursue. Victory is a treacherous journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/every-great-thing-starts-with-an-idea-followed-by-a-doubt-and-finally/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don't give up because things are hard, but work harder, when you think of giving up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/don-t-give-up-because-things-are-hard-but-work-harder-when-you-think/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [Sex is not the ultimate high, but the ultimate high hangs out around sex. The ultimate high is the dance with another person, played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/sex-is-not-the-ultimate-high-but-the-ultimate-high-hangs-out-around/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I care so deeply about this matter that I'm willing to take on the legal penalties, to sit in this prison cell, to sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-care-so-deeply-about-this-matter-that-i-m-willing-to-take-on-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) Browse all 1,142 Abandon quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When a society abandons its ideals just because most people can't live up to them, behavior gets very ugly indeed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Judith Martin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/when-a-society-abandons-its-ideals-just-because-most-people-can-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abandon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/when-a-society-abandons-its-ideals-just-because-most-people-can-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/judith-martin-1927_abandon_when-a-society-abandons-its-ideals-just_3027133.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/judith-martin-1927_abandon_when-a-society-abandons-its-ideals-just_3027133.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/judith-martin-1927_abandon_when-a-society-abandons-its-ideals-just_3027133.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When a society abandons its ideals just because most people can't live up to them, behavior gets very ugly…” — Judith Martin", "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": "Judith Martin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When a society abandons its ideals...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/when-a-society-abandons-its-ideals-just-because-most-people-can-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/when-a-society-abandons-its-ideals-just-because-most-people-can-t/#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 } } ] } ```