--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Humanity is a natural foil for…" description: "\"Humanity is a natural foil for inhumanity, and humanity is what will ultimately keep us going when all else has failed.\" — Margaret Cho" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/104/margaret-cho-1136_compassion_humanity-is-a-natural-foil-for-inhumanit_3146227.png" --- # Humanity is a natural foil for inhumanity, and humanity is… ![“Humanity is a natural foil for inhumanity, and humanity is what will ultimately keep us going when all else has failed.” quote by Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/104/margaret-cho-1136_compassion_humanity-is-a-natural-foil-for-inhumanit_3146227.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/104/margaret-cho-1136_compassion_humanity-is-a-natural-foil-for-inhumanit_3146227.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/104/margaret-cho-1136_compassion_humanity-is-a-natural-foil-for-inhumanit_3146227.png) > “Humanity is a natural foil for inhumanity, and humanity is what will ultimately keep us going when all else has failed.” [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humanity's empathy and moral compass contrast with cruelty, sustaining hope when systems collapse. **In simple terms:** Humanity keeps us hopeful when everything else fails. Key Takeaway Cultivate compassion and community. Themes empathy hope resilience Mood reflective optimistic Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - crisis response - community building - ethical leadership - mental health support Key Concepts moral philosophy human nature Questions to Reflect On - How can we strengthen communal bonds in crises? - What role does empathy play in societal recovery? A Different Perspective Humanity alone may not solve systemic failures without structural change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Foils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foils/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Humanity Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity-natural-912513/) [Humanity Ultimately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity-ultimately-876359/) [Inhumanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inhumanity/) [Inhumanity Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inhumanity-humanity-2476198/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) ## Related quotes > [When you have a situation that's destructive, when there's tremendous inhumanity everywhere, you see how humanity survives in all of its different permutations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-cockburn/when-you-have-a-situation-that-s-destructive-when-there-s-tremendous/) [Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) > [Don’t accept the habitual as a natural thing. In times of disorder, of organized confusion, of de-humanized humanity, nothing should seem natural. Nothing should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/don-t-accept-the-habitual-as-a-natural-thing-in-times-of-disorder-of/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Beauty connotes humanity. We call a natural object beautiful because we see that its form expresses fitness, the perfect fulfillment of function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-safdie/beauty-connotes-humanity-we-call-a-natural-object-beautiful-because/) [Moshe Safdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-safdie/) > [The Globalization of humanity is a natural, biological, evolutionary process. Yet we face an enormous crisis because the most central and important aspect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabet-sahtouris/the-globalization-of-humanity-is-a-natural-biological-evolutionary/) [Elisabet Sahtouris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabet-sahtouris/) > [“Enmity is humanity's natural state.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-leo-koerner/enmity-is-humanity-s-natural-state/) [Joseph Leo Koerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-leo-koerner/) > [“even though the mind of humanity was ultimately one mind, still, each and every single individual had to establish his or her own special,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/even-though-the-mind-of-humanity-was-ultimately-one-mind-still-each/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [One by one I have seen obstacles removed, errors corrected, prejudices softened, proscriptions relinquished, and my people advancing in all the elements that go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/one-by-one-i-have-seen-obstacles-removed-errors-corrected-prejudices/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [Science and reason liberate us from the shackles of superstition by offering us a framework for understanding our shared humanity. Ultimately, we all have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gad-saad/science-and-reason-liberate-us-from-the-shackles-of-superstition-by/) [Gad Saad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gad-saad/) > [If your intentions are pure, if you apply your craft with a view to observe humanity and, ultimately, God himself, very often something powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-ahmad/if-your-intentions-are-pure-if-you-apply-your-craft-with-a-view-to/) [Yasmin Ahmad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-ahmad/) > [History down through the centuries has proved again and again that there can be but one outcome to a struggle for selfish power against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bowes-sayre-sr/history-down-through-the-centuries-has-proved-again-and-again-that/) [Francis Bowes Sayre, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bowes-sayre-sr/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [We can't gather the intelligence we need to foil future attacks, if we are blindly granting terrorists the right to remain silent. But for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-can-t-gather-the-intelligence-we-need-to-foil-future-attacks-if-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Barack Obama was better as a campaigner than as a - as a president sometimes in this same position. It is easier when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-todd/barack-obama-was-better-as-a-campaigner-than-as-a-as-a-president/) [Chuck Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-todd/) > [I made a tin man costume with tin foil and furnace parts because I thought it would help me be more heartless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-dzama/i-made-a-tin-man-costume-with-tin-foil-and-furnace-parts-because-i/) [Marcel Dzama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-dzama/) > [How often, when we have been nearest each other bodily, have we really been farthest off! Our tongues were the witty foils with which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/how-often-when-we-have-been-nearest-each-other-bodily-have-we-really/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Margaret Cho > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [I'm super-obsessed with 'Intervention.' I wrote a song about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/i-m-super-obsessed-with-intervention-i-wrote-a-song-about-it/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [I have 3 dogs myself - I actually have a kennel license in order to do so. I love them so much I couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/i-have-3-dogs-myself-i-actually-have-a-kennel-license-in-order-to-do/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [I think self-deprecation is such a disease, and I want to cure everybody of it and so that's my contribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/i-think-self-deprecation-is-such-a-disease-and-i-want-to-cure/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [I don't like pot anymore -- I forget why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/i-don-t-like-pot-anymore-i-forget-why/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [I'm not a mom, but I think the word 'mother' is about wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/i-m-not-a-mom-but-i-think-the-word-mother-is-about-wisdom/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [That we are selfish gives us the opportunity to gain the power so that, in time, we might be selfless. To give back what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/that-we-are-selfish-gives-us-the-opportunity-to-gain-the-power-so/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [Why can't all different types of women be considered beautiful? Why can't we can't we all be considered possible love interests?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/why-can-t-all-different-types-of-women-be-considered-beautiful-why/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [I think that failure is just as important as success. In a way, failure is a kind of success if you can look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/i-think-that-failure-is-just-as-important-as-success-in-a-way-failure/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [I could never make a joke about somebody unless I could say it to their face and they'd laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/i-could-never-make-a-joke-about-somebody-unless-i-could-say-it-to/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways it can change someone else's life forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/sometimes-when-we-are-generous-in-small-barely-detectable-ways-it-can/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [ Something as important as marriage equality, which is now a constitutional right \[in the USA\], is something that cannot be denied. It's also very… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/something-as-important-as-marriage-equality-which-is-now-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [It's not the best between my family and me. There are so many crimes left unpunished, debts unpaid, white elephants in the middle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/it-s-not-the-best-between-my-family-and-me-there-are-so-many-crimes/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [It's okay for you to have relationships, but it's not okay to talk about them. It's not okay to be out or to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/it-s-okay-for-you-to-have-relationships-but-it-s-not-okay-to-talk/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [My attitude toward peace does not depend on which war we are discussing. I think that words should do the work of bombs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/my-attitude-toward-peace-does-not-depend-on-which-war-we-are/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) [Explore all 285 Margaret Cho quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) ## More Compassion quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/if-you-refuse-to-use-physical-force-then-you-will-be-at-the-mercy-of/) [Segun Magbagbeola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/segun-magbagbeola/) > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. That's how we'll make the move, to reform from rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/helpers-in-every-corner-helpers-in-every-hood-that-s-how-we-ll-make/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [May the gods have mercy on whoever pisses them off, because Zarek and Jericho will have none for them. (Madoc) You’d better be glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/may-the-gods-have-mercy-on-whoever-pisses-them-off-because-zarek-and/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/) [Talib al Habib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-al-habib/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 9,892 Compassion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Humanity is a natural foil for inhumanity, and humanity is what will ultimately keep us going when all else has failed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Cho" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/humanity-is-a-natural-foil-for-inhumanity-and-humanity-is-what-will/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compassion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/humanity-is-a-natural-foil-for-inhumanity-and-humanity-is-what-will/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/104/margaret-cho-1136_compassion_humanity-is-a-natural-foil-for-inhumanit_3146227.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/104/margaret-cho-1136_compassion_humanity-is-a-natural-foil-for-inhumanit_3146227.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/104/margaret-cho-1136_compassion_humanity-is-a-natural-foil-for-inhumanit_3146227.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Humanity is a natural foil for inhumanity, and humanity is what will ultimately keep us going when all else…” — Margaret Cho", "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": "Margaret Cho", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Humanity is a natural foil for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/humanity-is-a-natural-foil-for-inhumanity-and-humanity-is-what-will/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/humanity-is-a-natural-foil-for-inhumanity-and-humanity-is-what-will/#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 } } ] } ```