--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Individuals had never much cared what had…" description: "\"“Individuals had never much cared what had happened in the past, or would happen in the future, or how much others of their kind suffered or lacked. Th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06f/louise-lawrence-85534_time_individuals-had-never-much-cared-what-ha_1425831.jpg" --- # Individuals had never much cared what had happened in the… ![“Individuals had never much cared what had happened in the past, or would happen in the future, or how much others of their kind suffered or lacked. They did not care how many others died providing they lived. And government, to those who did not govern, had been largely a matter of indifference…” quote by Louise Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06f/louise-lawrence-85534_time_individuals-had-never-much-cared-what-ha_1425831.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06f/louise-lawrence-85534_time_individuals-had-never-much-cared-what-ha_1425831.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06f/louise-lawrence-85534_time_individuals-had-never-much-cared-what-ha_1425831.jpg) > ““Individuals had never much cared what had happened in the past, or would happen in the future, or how much others of their kind suffered or lacked. They did not care how many others died providing they lived. And government, to those who did not govern, had been largely a matter of indifference unless it happened to have a detrimental effect on the lives of individuals. Then, maybe, if the individuals had felt strongly enough, they had held protests, gone on strike, or started revolutions.”” [Louise Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-lawrence/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often ignore collective suffering unless it directly impacts them; only strong personal stakes spur activism. **In simple terms:** Indifference persists until personal stakes arise. Key Takeaway Cultivate empathy to motivate collective action. Themes indifference activism empathy Mood reflective concerned Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - community meetings - protests - labor strikes - policy debates - education programs Key Concepts social psychology political theory Questions to Reflect On - How can you make distant suffering feel personal? - What triggers can transform apathy into action? A Different Perspective Change can be slow and met with resistance from those comfortable with status quo. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Government Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-did-1337497/) [Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) [Individuals Cared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuals-cared-5063308/) [Individuals Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuals-felt-5063309/) [Lived Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lived-government-1661937/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“But so long as I lived under a system of Government based on force and voluntarily partook of the many facilities and privileges it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/but-so-long-as-i-lived-under-a-system-of-government-based-on-force/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“all of us need to be reminded that the federal government did not create the states, the states created the federal government. . .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/all-of-us-need-to-be-reminded-that-the-federal-government-did-not/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [We have provided capital here with a couple of institutions recently. The Federal government did that in the '30s for the RFC and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/we-have-provided-capital-here-with-a-couple-of-institutions-recently/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [We do not believe that if you cut back what government does you diminish its authority. On the contrary, a government that did less,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/we-do-not-believe-that-if-you-cut-back-what-government-does-you/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [“The town could not talk, and would not listen. "How'd you like to hear about the war?" he might have asked, but the place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/the-town-could-not-talk-and-would-not-listen-how-d-you-like-to-hear/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“I hate that," I said. "It's like there's no human beings in the chain of responsibility, just things-that-happen. It's the ultimate cop-out. The system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/i-hate-that-i-said-it-s-like-there-s-no-human-beings-in-the-chain-of/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [ \[T\]he only thing the United States government ever did about slavery was to abolish it. Perhaps that was a mistake, but I do not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/t-he-only-thing-the-united-states-government-ever-did-about-slavery/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) > [The government did a lot of things to us in terms of sending pictures to my house. If I had to go to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carlos/the-government-did-a-lot-of-things-to-us-in-terms-of-sending-pictures/) [John Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carlos/) > [I don't believe UPA government did nothing; they did whatever they could and they deserve appreciation for whatever good they did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/i-don-t-believe-upa-government-did-nothing-they-did-whatever-they/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Many civil rights came about, not when they were passed into law, but because the federal government did what it should and saw them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-mccaskill/many-civil-rights-came-about-not-when-they-were-passed-into-law-but/) [Claire McCaskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-mccaskill/) > [China has been a textbook case of how the government did just enough intervention to increase penetration, but the reality is that it isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-clarke-duncan/china-has-been-a-textbook-case-of-how-the-government-did-just-enough/) [Michael Clarke Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-clarke-duncan/) > [In philanthropy, many of us give a little bit and each year we give more and more to see what actually works and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paul-dejoria/in-philanthropy-many-of-us-give-a-little-bit-and-each-year-we-give/) [John Paul DeJoria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paul-dejoria/) > [My job was to bring down the government, and I did that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subramanian-swamy/my-job-was-to-bring-down-the-government-and-i-did-that/) [Subramanian Swamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subramanian-swamy/) > [The federal government did not create the states; the states created the federal government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-federal-government-did-not-create-the-states-the-states-created/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [It was of limited usefulness to head great rallies. The government did not listen, and, soon enough, the tear gas and the muzzles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/it-was-of-limited-usefulness-to-head-great-rallies-the-government-did/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) ## More by Louise Lawrence > [“Homo sapiens! The name itself was an irony. They had not been wise at all, but incredibly stupid. Lords of the Earth with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-lawrence/homo-sapiens-the-name-itself-was-an-irony-they-had-not-been-wise-at/) [Louise Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-lawrence/) > [“Simon hated her for that. Perhaps it was automatic. Her appearance alone made her different from him, and human beings had always feared and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-lawrence/simon-hated-her-for-that-perhaps-it-was-automatic-her-appearance/) [Louise Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-lawrence/) [Explore all 3 Louise Lawrence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-lawrence/) ## More Indifference quotes > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [“Courage did not come from the need to survive, or from a brute indifference inherited from someone else, but from a driving need for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/courage-did-not-come-from-the-need-to-survive-or-from-a-brute/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Indifference is harder to fight than hostility, and there is nothing that kills an agitation like having everybody admit that it is fundamentally right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-eastman/indifference-is-harder-to-fight-than-hostility-and-there-is-nothing/) [Crystal Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-eastman/) > [Love and hate, despite their polar opposites, are both feelings that are induced by passion. I can handle that. It's the indifference I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/love-and-hate-despite-their-polar-opposites-are-both-feelings-that/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [“I wasn't sure which I appreciated less—the insincere concern or the genuine indifference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-graham/i-wasn-t-sure-which-i-appreciated-less-the-insincere-concern-or-the/) [Arthur Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-graham/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Desire is half of life, indifference is half of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/desire-is-half-of-life-indifference-is-half-of-death/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What's wrong with death sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can't we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/what-s-wrong-with-death-sir-what-are-we-so-mortally-afraid-of-why-can/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I'm not very interested in people. I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-m-not-very-interested-in-people-i-recognize-it-in-myself-there-is-a/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Adorn thyself with simplicity and with indifference towards the things which lie between virtue and vice. Love mankind. Follow God. The poet says that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/adorn-thyself-with-simplicity-and-with-indifference-towards-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [One's own troubles can be borne with fortitude; only a monster of indifference can bear the sufferings of others with fortitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ertz/one-s-own-troubles-can-be-borne-with-fortitude-only-a-monster-of/) [Susan Ertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ertz/) > [Many men without morals have attacked religion because it was contrary to their inclinations. Many wise men have despised it because it seemed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach/many-men-without-morals-have-attacked-religion-because-it-was/) [Baron d'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/) > [Indifference to one's own faith is no proof of tolerance. Loyalty to one's own is part of a larger loyalty to faith generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abba-hillel-silver/indifference-to-one-s-own-faith-is-no-proof-of-tolerance-loyalty-to/) [Abba Hillel Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abba-hillel-silver/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) [Browse all 1,128 Indifference quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Individuals had never much cared what had happened in the past, or would happen in the future, or how much others of their kind suffered or lacked. They did not care how many others died providing they lived. 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