--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think the idea that you can go this…" description: "\"I think the idea that you can go this alone is - was a huge mistake. And unfortunately, there was a price paid in terms of suffering and pain for peopl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/michael-chertoff-17447_failure_i-think-the-idea-that-you-can-go-this-al_2864208.jpg" --- # I think the idea that you can go this alone is - was a… ![“I think the idea that you can go this alone is - was a huge mistake. And unfortunately, there was a price paid in terms of suffering and pain for people in New Orleans.” quote by Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/michael-chertoff-17447_failure_i-think-the-idea-that-you-can-go-this-al_2864208.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/michael-chertoff-17447_failure_i-think-the-idea-that-you-can-go-this-al_2864208.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/michael-chertoff-17447_failure_i-think-the-idea-that-you-can-go-this-al_2864208.jpg) > “I think the idea that you can go this alone is - was a huge mistake. And unfortunately, there was a price paid in terms of suffering and pain for people in New Orleans.” [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Assuming individuals can survive disasters alone is a mistake; collective support is essential to mitigate suffering. **In simple terms:** Disasters require community response, not isolation. Key Takeaway Build resilient networks. Themes disaster response community solidarity Mood urgent reflective Type speech policy When to use this quote - emergency planning - neighborhood drills - relief coordination Key Concepts social resilience public policy Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance self‑reliance with communal aid? - What structures foster mutual aid? A Different Perspective Individual autonomy can be valuable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Huge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/huge/) [Huge Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/huge-mistake-1136885/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [New orleans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-orleans/) [Paid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paid/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pain People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-people-1242472/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Suffering and pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-and-pain/) [Suffering pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-pain/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [That we may give our body and our blood over to suffering and pain, like Christ - not for Self, but to give harvests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/that-we-may-give-our-body-and-our-blood-over-to-suffering-and-pain/) [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) > [Life ain't fair. It ain't. Not never. It's pointless and stupid and there's only suffering and pain and people who want to hurt you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/life-ain-t-fair-it-ain-t-not-never-it-s-pointless-and-stupid-and/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [The cause of so much suffering and pain and one of the impediments to our spiritual progress, is the conditioning of expecting things to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/the-cause-of-so-much-suffering-and-pain-and-one-of-the-impediments-to/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [Pointless, needless suffering and pain? I don’t suppose it would help if I told you that was the way life is. The good suffer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/pointless-needless-suffering-and-pain-i-don-t-suppose-it-would-help/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“As you are all aware, in the course of life we experience many kinds of pain. Pains of the body and pains of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/as-you-are-all-aware-in-the-course-of-life-we-experience-many-kinds/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Life is pitiful, death so familiar, suffering and pain so common, yet I would not be anywhere else. 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And anybody who believes that this is about something we've done has to ask themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/you-don-t-bargain-with-terrorists-you-don-t-appease-terrorists-and/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [So that's why I said, if you look at the average, you would see the money New York got this year was in line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/so-that-s-why-i-said-if-you-look-at-the-average-you-would-see-the/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [The second thing we did was said, OK, we've now identified the risk, but what do you want to do with the money? Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/the-second-thing-we-did-was-said-ok-we-ve-now-identified-the-risk-but/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [First, we did rank everybody by risk, and New York comes out number one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/first-we-did-rank-everybody-by-risk-and-new-york-comes-out-number-one/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [Well, I mean, Congress did originally set the formula for the state grants, and they guaranteed every state a minimum formula. 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We work hard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/we-always-monitor-the-flow-of-information-intelligence-threat-streams/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [Al Qaeda is very media-savvy and very focused on what goes on in the global media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/al-qaeda-is-very-media-savvy-and-very-focused-on-what-goes-on-in-the/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [But I think the bottom line right now is to take the constructive criticism and use that to build toward, as I say, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/but-i-think-the-bottom-line-right-now-is-to-take-the-constructive/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [The larger point is this: We've invested over half a billion dollars in New York since this department was stood up. We've given New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/the-larger-point-is-this-we-ve-invested-over-half-a-billion-dollars/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [And here where the fact that we've given over half a billion dollars to New York really plays a role, because New York has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/and-here-where-the-fact-that-we-ve-given-over-half-a-billion-dollars/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [Even the kinds of ingredients you can find in your own kitchen can be used to make bombs. So the problem is with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/even-the-kinds-of-ingredients-you-can-find-in-your-own-kitchen-can-be/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [And one of the things I want to say, Wolf, is we're 100 days from hurricane season, and we've got to start focusing on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/and-one-of-the-things-i-want-to-say-wolf-is-we-re-100-days-from/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [I have not heard a report of thousands of people in the convention center who don't have food and water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/i-have-not-heard-a-report-of-thousands-of-people-in-the-convention/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) [Explore all 37 Michael Chertoff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) ## More Failure quotes > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Rhiannon's Law #28: If you're going to fuck up, be sure to fuck up good and proper. Nothing makes failure acceptable, so you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rhiannon-s-law-28-if-you-re-going-to-fuck-up-be-sure-to-fuck-up-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [First action was a mistake. What about the second? third? fourth and fifth?...Mehn you are bad...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-action-was-a-mistake-what-about-the-second-third-fourth-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 27,498 Failure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think the idea that you can go this alone is - was a huge mistake. 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