--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm sympathetic to the decent and hapless…" description: "\"I'm sympathetic to the decent and hapless footsoldier into whose lap falls the unenviable duty of carrying out fubar policies.\" — Rene Balcer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/846/rene-balcer-38352_decent_i-m-sympathetic-to-the-decent-and-haples_825459.jpg" --- # I'm sympathetic to the decent and hapless footsoldier into… ![“I'm sympathetic to the decent and hapless footsoldier into whose lap falls the unenviable duty of carrying out fubar policies.” quote by Rene Balcer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/846/rene-balcer-38352_decent_i-m-sympathetic-to-the-decent-and-haples_825459.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/846/rene-balcer-38352_decent_i-m-sympathetic-to-the-decent-and-haples_825459.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/846/rene-balcer-38352_decent_i-m-sympathetic-to-the-decent-and-haples_825459.jpg) > “I'm sympathetic to the decent and hapless footsoldier into whose lap falls the unenviable duty of carrying out fubar policies.” [Rene Balcer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-balcer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author expresses empathy for low‑level soldiers forced to enforce chaotic policies. **In simple terms:** Sympathy for soldiers carrying out bad orders. Key Takeaway Support those burdened by unfair duties. Themes empathy military policy ethics obedience Mood concerned compassionate Type reflection analysis When to use this quote - military service - policy implementation - ethical dilemmas Key Concepts moral conflict bureaucracy Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals resist harmful directives? - What support helps affected soldiers? A Different Perspective Does not address ways to change the policies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carrying Fubar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carrying-fubar-511556/) [Decent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decent/) [Decent Hapless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decent-hapless-511557/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Hapless Footsoldier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hapless-footsoldier-511553/) [Lap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lap/) [Policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policy/) [Sympathetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathetic/) [Sympathetic Decent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathetic-decent-511554/) [Unenviable Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unenviable-duty-511555/) ## Related quotes > [Everything I write is highly personal, but put in such a way that it's not dropping everything in someone's lap. Although sometimes I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-siberry/everything-i-write-is-highly-personal-but-put-in-such-a-way-that-it-s/) [Jane Siberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-siberry/) > [ \[On living in New York City:\] I'm oblivious to everything. I just don't notice anything. I sat in a coffee shop, drank half a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-kightlinger/on-living-in-new-york-city-i-m-oblivious-to-everything-i-just-don-t/) [Laura Kightlinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-kightlinger/) > [Sport is a passion and out of passion comes love. No point trying to work out why some become heroes and others don't. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-carlyon/sport-is-a-passion-and-out-of-passion-comes-love-no-point-trying-to/) [Les Carlyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-carlyon/) > [How far have you walked for men who've never held your feet in their laps?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warsan-shire/how-far-have-you-walked-for-men-who-ve-never-held-your-feet-in-their/) [Warsan Shire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warsan-shire/) > [Allie would love what you've done," he remarked. "She was always a softie when it came to things like this." I folded my hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/allie-would-love-what-you-ve-done-he-remarked-she-was-always-a-softie/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [Daphne," he said with controlled gentleness, "what is wrong?" She sat down opposite him and placed a hand on his cheek. "I'm so insensitive,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/daphne-he-said-with-controlled-gentleness-what-is-wrong-she-sat-down/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [From the town of Lincoln Nebraska with a sawed off .410 on my lap, through the Badlands of Wyoming I killed everything in my path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/from-the-town-of-lincoln-nebraska-with-a-sawed-off-410-on-my-lap/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [You can't plan to write a great song. It just happens to you. It drops in your lap. It's the same thing with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-diamond/you-can-t-plan-to-write-a-great-song-it-just-happens-to-you-it-drops/) [Neil Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-diamond/) > [Whoever will be free must make himself free. Freedom is no fairy gift to fall into a man's lap. What is freedom? To have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/whoever-will-be-free-must-make-himself-free-freedom-is-no-fairy-gift/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [Just make sure you're gone by the time we get to Miles's. It creeps me out to see you sitting in his lap without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyson-noel/just-make-sure-you-re-gone-by-the-time-we-get-to-miles-s-it-creeps-me/) [Alyson Noel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyson-noel/) > [I try to be the clown and court jester and make people laugh. At the same time, you have people in the hospital who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-simmons/i-try-to-be-the-clown-and-court-jester-and-make-people-laugh-at-the/) [Richard Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-simmons/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [It's also a question of finding good material and interesting roles. I'm not the only actress out there, and good parts just don't fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/it-s-also-a-question-of-finding-good-material-and-interesting-roles-i/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [By the gift of God, WWE fell into my lap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-brooke/by-the-gift-of-god-wwe-fell-into-my-lap/) [Dana Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-brooke/) > [We must regard Sarah Palin as the Carmella Soprano of the GOP -- an enabling wife of organized crime, who sees, hears and speaks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cintra-wilson/we-must-regard-sarah-palin-as-the-carmella-soprano-of-the-gop-an/) [Cintra Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cintra-wilson/) ## More by Rene Balcer > [In L.A., the only thing within walking distance is your car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-balcer/in-l-a-the-only-thing-within-walking-distance-is-your-car/) [Rene Balcer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-balcer/) > [It is true that one of the first acts of tyrants is to erase history, to wipe out the recorded memory of a people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-balcer/it-is-true-that-one-of-the-first-acts-of-tyrants-is-to-erase-history/) [Rene Balcer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-balcer/) > [The more I know, the less I sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-balcer/the-more-i-know-the-less-i-sleep/) [Rene Balcer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-balcer/) > [I write about power, that's my real subject - how you get it, what you do with it, how you abuse it. I'm equally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-balcer/i-write-about-power-that-s-my-real-subject-how-you-get-it-what-you-do/) [Rene Balcer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-balcer/) > [It's not enough to do good. You have to be seen doing good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-balcer/it-s-not-enough-to-do-good-you-have-to-be-seen-doing-good/) [Rene Balcer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-balcer/) > [Justice is a jagged road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-balcer/justice-is-a-jagged-road/) [Rene Balcer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-balcer/) > [Beauty, brains, and a complete psycho. My dream girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-balcer/beauty-brains-and-a-complete-psycho-my-dream-girl/) [Rene Balcer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-balcer/) > [Torture injures everyone who comes into contact with it and corrodes the country that abides it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-balcer/torture-injures-everyone-who-comes-into-contact-with-it-and-corrodes/) [Rene Balcer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-balcer/) > [If you're going to play stickball in Canarsie you better learn Brooklyn rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-balcer/if-you-re-going-to-play-stickball-in-canarsie-you-better-learn/) [Rene Balcer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-balcer/) > [Nobody's reasonable when they're in love. That's the whole point of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-balcer/nobody-s-reasonable-when-they-re-in-love-that-s-the-whole-point-of-it/) [Rene Balcer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-balcer/) > [Bad guys do what good guys dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-balcer/bad-guys-do-what-good-guys-dream/) [Rene Balcer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-balcer/) [Explore all 12 Rene Balcer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-balcer/) ## More Decent quotes > [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [As long as I can sing halfway decent, I'd rather sing than act. There's nothing like being in good voice, feeling good, having good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-keel/as-long-as-i-can-sing-halfway-decent-i-d-rather-sing-than-act-there-s/) [Howard Keel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-keel/) > [You weren't a decent man and you didn't do your best. We none of us were and none of us did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-weren-t-a-decent-man-and-you-didn-t-do-your-best-we-none-of-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes the challenge of beating the jet lag and getting a decent sleep can be as hard to solve as finding the right setup…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-grosjean/sometimes-the-challenge-of-beating-the-jet-lag-and-getting-a-decent/) [Romain Grosjean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-grosjean/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Music and the arts feed our souls, but a decent wage puts food on the table. Musicians, fans of music, and grassroots political organizations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-morello/music-and-the-arts-feed-our-souls-but-a-decent-wage-puts-food-on-the/) [Tom Morello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-morello/) > [The 'key-log' which must be moved to release the evolutionary process for an ethic is simply this: quit thinking about decent land-use as solely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/land-ethic/the-key-log-which-must-be-moved-to-release-the-evolutionary-process/) [Land ethic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/land-ethic/) > [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Every New Yorker spends a certain amount of nervous energy thinking, "How can I afford to stay here? What do I have to sell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-zukin/every-new-yorker-spends-a-certain-amount-of-nervous-energy-thinking/) [Sharon Zukin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-zukin/) > [It is something that most parents hope for in life: That their children will be moderately successful, polite, decent human beings. Anything on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-kramer/it-is-something-that-most-parents-hope-for-in-life-that-their/) [Jerry Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-kramer/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [takes a devil to make a decent angel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-spanbauer/takes-a-devil-to-make-a-decent-angel/) [Tom Spanbauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-spanbauer/) > [I guess the only thing to do now is meet his parents. I'm sure they're decent people. I mean they gotta be if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-de-niro/i-guess-the-only-thing-to-do-now-is-meet-his-parents-i-m-sure-they-re/) [Robert De Niro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-de-niro/) [Browse all 1,392 Decent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm sympathetic to the decent and hapless footsoldier into whose lap falls the unenviable duty of carrying out fubar policies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rene Balcer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-balcer/i-m-sympathetic-to-the-decent-and-hapless-footsoldier-into-whose-lap/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Decent" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-balcer/i-m-sympathetic-to-the-decent-and-hapless-footsoldier-into-whose-lap/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/846/rene-balcer-38352_decent_i-m-sympathetic-to-the-decent-and-haples_825459.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/846/rene-balcer-38352_decent_i-m-sympathetic-to-the-decent-and-haples_825459.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/846/rene-balcer-38352_decent_i-m-sympathetic-to-the-decent-and-haples_825459.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm sympathetic to the decent and hapless footsoldier into whose lap falls the unenviable duty of carrying…” — Rene Balcer", "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": "Rene Balcer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-balcer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm sympathetic to the decent and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-balcer/i-m-sympathetic-to-the-decent-and-hapless-footsoldier-into-whose-lap/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-balcer/i-m-sympathetic-to-the-decent-and-hapless-footsoldier-into-whose-lap/#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 } } ] } ```