--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let it not be said by a future, forlorn…" description: "\"“Let it not be said by a future, forlorn generation that we wasted and lost our great potential because our despair was so deep we didn't even try, or ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47c/ralph-nader-1783_despair_let-it-not-be-said-by-a-future-forlorn-g_2874633.png" --- # Let it not be said by a future, forlorn generation that we… ![“Let it not be said by a future, forlorn generation that we wasted and lost our great potential because our despair was so deep we didn't even try, or because each of us thought someone else was worrying about our problems.” quote by Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47c/ralph-nader-1783_despair_let-it-not-be-said-by-a-future-forlorn-g_2874633.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47c/ralph-nader-1783_despair_let-it-not-be-said-by-a-future-forlorn-g_2874633.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47c/ralph-nader-1783_despair_let-it-not-be-said-by-a-future-forlorn-g_2874633.png) > ““Let it not be said by a future, forlorn generation that we wasted and lost our great potential because our despair was so deep we didn't even try, or because each of us thought someone else was worrying about our problems.”” [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote urges future generations not to blame themselves for unfulfilled potential caused by despair or reliance on others. **In simple terms:** Do not waste potential due to despair or reliance. Key Takeaway Take responsibility for action. Themes responsibility potential despair Mood determined hopeful Type motivational activist When to use this quote - community projects - educational reform - mental health support Key Concepts collective action self‑efficacy Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster collective responsibility? - What structures prevent people from trying? A Different Perspective Overcoming despair requires systemic change, not just individual effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Despair Deep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair-deep-1366956/) [Forlorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forlorn/) [Forlorn Generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forlorn-generation-3951231/) [Future Forlorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-forlorn-3951230/) [Generation Wasted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation-wasted-3951229/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Potential Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/potential-despair-3951232/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Worry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worry/) ## Related quotes > [Despair is deep. An abyss that swallows dreams. A wall at the world's end. Behind it I await death. Because all our work has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-fisher/despair-is-deep-an-abyss-that-swallows-dreams-a-wall-at-the-world-s/) [Catherine Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-fisher/) > [“For much longer, he could have stayed with Kamaswami, made money, wasted money, filled his stomach, and let his soul die of thirst; for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/for-much-longer-he-could-have-stayed-with-kamaswami-made-money-wasted/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Despair is deep. An abyss that swallows dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-fisher/despair-is-deep-an-abyss-that-swallows-dreams/) [Catherine Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-fisher/) > [In imagination she sailed over storied seas that wash the distant shining shores of "faëry lands forlorn," where lost Atlantis and Elysium lie, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-imagination-she-sailed-over-storied-seas-that-wash-the-distant/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The hallucinogenic world, in environmental terms, can be considered as a forlorn effort of man to match the speed of power of hisextended nervous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-hallucinogenic-world-in-environmental-terms-can-be-considered-as/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Even though kids may have planned for months for the trip to Disneyland, some may be feeling very homesick, very forlorn, or very marginalized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/even-though-kids-may-have-planned-for-months-for-the-trip-to/) [Parker J. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) > [Then he knew that they had rounded the cape of good hope, and he took her large, soft hand again and covered it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/then-he-knew-that-they-had-rounded-the-cape-of-good-hope-and-he-took/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [My Muse sits forlorn She wishes she had not been born She sits in the cold No word she says is ever told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/my-muse-sits-forlorn-she-wishes-she-had-not-been-born-she-sits-in-the/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [There is no God, no universe, no human race, no earthly life, no heaven, no hell. It is all a dream, a grotesque and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-no-god-no-universe-no-human-race-no-earthly-life-no-heaven/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Be guided, only by the healer of the sick, the raiser of the dead, the friend of all who were afflicted and forlorn, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/be-guided-only-by-the-healer-of-the-sick-the-raiser-of-the-dead-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Wandering between two worlds, one dead The other powerless to be born, With nowhere yet to rest my head Like these, on earth I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/wandering-between-two-worlds-one-dead-the-other-powerless-to-be-born/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [“There was but a single forlorn hope, and I took it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/there-was-but-a-single-forlorn-hope-and-i-took-it/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [On a ruinous wall I came upon a poster dating from the previous year and announcing that ‘six handsome bulls’ would be killed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/on-a-ruinous-wall-i-came-upon-a-poster-dating-from-the-previous-year/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Thou wast not born for death, immortal bird! No hungry generations tread thee down; The voice I hear this passing night was heard In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/thou-wast-not-born-for-death-immortal-bird-no-hungry-generations/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“To say she is only a woman is to say a violin is a piece of wood with strings, and Dante is mere ink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-crown/to-say-she-is-only-a-woman-is-to-say-a-violin-is-a-piece-of-wood-with/) [Bruce Crown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-crown/) ## More by Ralph Nader > [This welfare for wealthy companies wastes taxpayer dollars, harms the environment, and makes a mockery of the recent reductions in federal social spending programs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/this-welfare-for-wealthy-companies-wastes-taxpayer-dollars-harms-the/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [Nuclear power must be dealt with irrationally. . . . Nuclear plants are carcinogens. Let's get that story out. . . . Their lies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/nuclear-power-must-be-dealt-with-irrationally-nuclear-plants-are/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [In 2000 the majority of people wanted me and Buchanan on the debates in two thousand. And me on the debates in 2004. have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/in-2000-the-majority-of-people-wanted-me-and-buchanan-on-the-debates/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [What we need to recognize, less than 1 percent of the people organized around issues that are already supported by conservatives and liberals, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/what-we-need-to-recognize-less-than-1-percent-of-the-people-organized/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [We live in a two-party tyranny that doesn't believe in competition, can enforce it with penalties and obstructions, and they're getting closer and closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/we-live-in-a-two-party-tyranny-that-doesn-t-believe-in-competition/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [George W. Bush is very vulnerable but not if you campaign the way the major candidates - except for Dean and Kucinich - are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/george-w-bush-is-very-vulnerable-but-not-if-you-campaign-the-way-the/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [In the meantime the big corporations are fleeing America for tax havens and places like Ireland, Luxembourg and the Grand Cayman Islands; the rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/in-the-meantime-the-big-corporations-are-fleeing-america-for-tax/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [Full Medicare-for-all, free choice of doctor and hospital: that comes in sixty to seventy percent without even further explanation. And if you ever explained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/full-medicare-for-all-free-choice-of-doctor-and-hospital-that-comes/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [I always say there's no ticket of admission for active citizenship. Anybody can get through that gate, and anybody can ask that basic question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/i-always-say-there-s-no-ticket-of-admission-for-active-citizenship/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [People have got to show up, showing up at meetings, rallies, marches, City Council, courtrooms. You've got to show up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/people-have-got-to-show-up-showing-up-at-meetings-rallies-marches/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [For almost seventy years the life insurance industry has been a smug sacred cow feeding the public a steady line of sacred bull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/for-almost-seventy-years-the-life-insurance-industry-has-been-a-smug/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [It is fascinating to watch legislators turn away from their usual corporate grips when they hear the growing thunder of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/it-is-fascinating-to-watch-legislators-turn-away-from-their-usual/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [In 2004 Professor Stephen Farnsworth, when I report saying that I got about five minutes on all the networks after Labor Day to election…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/in-2004-professor-stephen-farnsworth-when-i-report-saying-that-i-got/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [Young wives are the leading asset of corporate power. They want the suburbs, a house, a settled life, and respectability. They want society to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/young-wives-are-the-leading-asset-of-corporate-power-they-want-the/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [Moral courage is the highest expression of humanity ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/moral-courage-is-the-highest-expression-of-humanity/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) [Explore all 208 Ralph Nader quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) ## More Despair quotes > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“She searched her mind for a single day when it had felt good to be alive. There must have been one, surely?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-abbott/she-searched-her-mind-for-a-single-day-when-it-had-felt-good-to-be/) [Rachel Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-abbott/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [Your spirit is the part of you that seeks meaning and purpose. It's the part drawn to hope, that will not give in to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/your-spirit-is-the-part-of-you-that-seeks-meaning-and-purpose-it-s/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The skin and shell of things Though fair are not Thy wish nor prayer but got My meer despair of wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-vaughan/the-skin-and-shell-of-things-though-fair-are-not-thy-wish-nor-prayer/) [Henry Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-vaughan/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Enough for this bow & arrow. It caused me nothing but sorrow. No need for another tomorrow. In your heart, I will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/enough-for-this-bow-arrow-it-caused-me-nothing-but-sorrow-no-need-for/) [Louaiq8](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louaiq8/) > [True repentance never leads to despair. Its leads home. It leads to grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/true-repentance-never-leads-to-despair-its-leads-home-it-leads-to/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [Do not consider despair as a thick and high wall standing on your way; it is just a darkness and you can still walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/do-not-consider-despair-as-a-thick-and-high-wall-standing-on-your-way/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Browse all 3,181 Despair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Let it not be said by a future, forlorn generation that we wasted and lost our great potential because our despair was so deep we didn't even try, or because each of us thought someone else was worrying about our problems.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Nader" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/let-it-not-be-said-by-a-future-forlorn-generation-that-we-wasted-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Despair" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/let-it-not-be-said-by-a-future-forlorn-generation-that-we-wasted-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47c/ralph-nader-1783_despair_let-it-not-be-said-by-a-future-forlorn-g_2874633.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47c/ralph-nader-1783_despair_let-it-not-be-said-by-a-future-forlorn-g_2874633.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47c/ralph-nader-1783_despair_let-it-not-be-said-by-a-future-forlorn-g_2874633.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Let it not be said by a future, forlorn generation that we wasted and lost our great potential because our…” — Ralph Nader", "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": "Ralph Nader", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Let it not be said by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/let-it-not-be-said-by-a-future-forlorn-generation-that-we-wasted-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/let-it-not-be-said-by-a-future-forlorn-generation-that-we-wasted-and/#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 } } ] } ```