--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s so dangerous to idealize anything…" description: "\"It’s so dangerous to idealize anything, or anyone, or any place, because it gives that thing or person or place a kind of permission to not have to cha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/lynn-coady-5173_community_it-s-so-dangerous-to-idealize-anything-o_777019.png" --- # It’s so dangerous to idealize anything, or anyone, or any… ![“It’s so dangerous to idealize anything, or anyone, or any place, because it gives that thing or person or place a kind of permission to not have to change, and not have to evolve. It encourages us to bury our heads in the sand, or in values that are really morally neutral but that we pretend are…” quote by Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/lynn-coady-5173_community_it-s-so-dangerous-to-idealize-anything-o_777019.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/lynn-coady-5173_community_it-s-so-dangerous-to-idealize-anything-o_777019.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f4/lynn-coady-5173_community_it-s-so-dangerous-to-idealize-anything-o_777019.png) > “It’s so dangerous to idealize anything, or anyone, or any place, because it gives that thing or person or place a kind of permission to not have to change, and not have to evolve. It encourages us to bury our heads in the sand, or in values that are really morally neutral but that we pretend are moral goods: tradition, community and family for example.” [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Idealizing people or places creates complacency, preventing growth and moral scrutiny. **In simple terms:** Idealizing blocks change and moral evaluation. Key Takeaway Question assumptions and demand evolution. Themes complacency idealization growth morality tradition Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal relationships - social institutions - political movements - cultural traditions Key Concepts critical thinking ethical scrutiny psychology Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you hold that hinder growth? - How can you honor tradition while encouraging change? A Different Perspective Idealization can also inspire positive aspirations if balanced with realism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Dangerous Idealize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous-idealize-5994982/) [Evolve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolve/) [Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Goods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goods/) [Idealize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealize/) [Idealize Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealize-place-5994983/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Permission](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permission/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Pretend Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretend-moral-5855322/) [Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sand/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [The more moral you pretend to be, the less moral you are; the less moral you try to be, the more moral you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-more-moral-you-pretend-to-be-the-less-moral-you-are-the-less/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [There are a lot of people who pretend to have moral ethics and they talk from both sides of their mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-assaraf/there-are-a-lot-of-people-who-pretend-to-have-moral-ethics-and-they/) [John Assaraf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-assaraf/) > [In our culture, many of us idealize love. We see it as some lofty cure-all for all of life's problems. Our movies and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/in-our-culture-many-of-us-idealize-love-we-see-it-as-some-lofty-cure/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) > [“The Idealize phase is when manipulators and their new targets first meet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-thomas/the-idealize-phase-is-when-manipulators-and-their-new-targets-first/) [Shannon Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-thomas/) > [Never idealize others. They will never live up to your expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/never-idealize-others-they-will-never-live-up-to-your-expectations-3/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [We cannot idealize technology. Technology is only and always the reflection of our own imagination, and its uses must be conditioned by our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/we-cannot-idealize-technology-technology-is-only-and-always-the/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Every time you reject yourself, you idealize others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/every-time-you-reject-yourself-you-idealize-others/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [It's easy to idealize someone that you don't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-bruce/it-s-easy-to-idealize-someone-that-you-don-t-know/) [Craig Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-bruce/) > [What is protecting me is that it is not a finality being an actress. I really think we tend to idealize this job a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-le-bon/what-is-protecting-me-is-that-it-is-not-a-finality-being-an-actress-i/) [Charlotte Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-le-bon/) > [It was easy to idealize someone you barely knew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/it-was-easy-to-idealize-someone-you-barely-knew/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [Maybe we adults idealize our own red-rover days, the hot afternoons spent playing games that required no coaches, eating foods that involved no nutrition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/maybe-we-adults-idealize-our-own-red-rover-days-the-hot-afternoons/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [What we need most, is not so much to realize the ideal as to idealize the real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-herbert-hedge/what-we-need-most-is-not-so-much-to-realize-the-ideal-as-to-idealize/) [Francis Herbert Hedge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-herbert-hedge/) > [We see what we want to see. We idealize each other with our own fantasies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/we-see-what-we-want-to-see-we-idealize-each-other-with-our-own/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [No One Can Ruin Your Day Without YOUR Permission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-one-can-ruin-your-day-without-your-permission/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The idea that someone has to give you permission to become who you want to be, or see it in you in order for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-victor/the-idea-that-someone-has-to-give-you-permission-to-become-who-you/) [Eva Victor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-victor/) ## More by Lynn Coady > [“Then there are the other days, when nothing is enough. The poem grins. It grins because it knows it is a terrible poem. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/then-there-are-the-other-days-when-nothing-is-enough-the-poem-grins/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [A dominant misconception among believers is that their atheist brethren are a slavering pack of hell-bound debauchees, gleefully wining and wenching their way through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/a-dominant-misconception-among-believers-is-that-their-atheist/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [Ever since 'Strange Heaven,' I haven't really reread my old work. 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People come to atheism because they have a problem with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/one-does-not-become-an-atheist-out-of-a-desire-for-hassle-free-sunday/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [Atheism is a moral position - a rather rigid one, if you've ever read the opinions of its highest-profile espousers, Christopher Hitchens and Richard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/atheism-is-a-moral-position-a-rather-rigid-one-if-you-ve-ever-read/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [Filtering can be a very good thing when it comes to human relationships and familial harmony. Yeah, filtering is often an absolute necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/filtering-can-be-a-very-good-thing-when-it-comes-to-human/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [I don't even like to cry in private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/i-don-t-even-like-to-cry-in-private/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [I know what the Giller nominee effect is, but we'll see what the next level is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/i-know-what-the-giller-nominee-effect-is-but-we-ll-see-what-the-next/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [Dating, like almost every other male-female interaction in present-day society, is based on outmoded and unequal social roles and expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/dating-like-almost-every-other-male-female-interaction-in-present-day/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [It's the typical mid-life crisis kind of thing, where you just stop and wonder, 'Should I go back to university and get a law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/it-s-the-typical-mid-life-crisis-kind-of-thing-where-you-just-stop/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) [Explore all 103 Lynn Coady quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) ## More Community quotes > [Race is the idea that a human being is more superior than another human being, race in society grants illusional rights to mistreat each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/race-is-the-idea-that-a-human-being-is-more-superior-than-another/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. 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Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) [Browse all 13,840 Community quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It’s so dangerous to idealize anything, or anyone, or any place, because it gives that thing or person or place a kind of permission to not have to change, and not have to evolve. 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