--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Conformity is the enemy of friendship" description: "\"“Conformity is the enemy of friendship”\" — Richard Peck" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/richard-peck-12655_conformity_conformity-is-the-enemy-of-friendship-21_2147602.png" --- # Conformity is the enemy of friendship ![“Conformity is the enemy of friendship” quote by Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/richard-peck-12655_conformity_conformity-is-the-enemy-of-friendship-21_2147602.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/richard-peck-12655_conformity_conformity-is-the-enemy-of-friendship-21_2147602.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/richard-peck-12655_conformity_conformity-is-the-enemy-of-friendship-21_2147602.png) > ““Conformity is the enemy of friendship”” [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Conformity hinders genuine friendships by suppressing individuality. **In simple terms:** Blind conformity damages friendships. Key Takeaway Value authenticity in relationships. Themes friendship individuality conformity Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - teamwork - peer groups - social media - workplace Key Concepts social pressure authentic connection Questions to Reflect On - What pressures make you conform? - How does authenticity strengthen bonds? A Different Perspective Conformity can sometimes foster cohesion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) [Conformity Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity-enemy-4501050/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Enemy Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy-friendship-2531446/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) ## Related quotes > [Thy friendship oft has made my heart to ache: do be my enemy for friendship's sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/thy-friendship-oft-has-made-my-heart-to-ache-do-be-my-enemy-for/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Come, then, affliction, if my Father wills, and be my frowning friend. A friend that frowns is better than a smiling enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/come-then-affliction-if-my-father-wills-and-be-my-frowning-friend-a/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The only peace that can be made with a dictator is once that must be based on deterrence. For today, the dictator may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natan-sharansky/the-only-peace-that-can-be-made-with-a-dictator-is-once-that-must-be/) [Natan Sharansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natan-sharansky/) > [That humanity and sincerity which dispose men to resist injustice and tyranny render them unfit to cope with the cunning and power of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-humanity-and-sincerity-which-dispose-men-to-resist-injustice-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [While it is often true that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, it seems like Yahoo's almost obsessive focus on Google is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-swisher/while-it-is-often-true-that-the-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend-it/) [Kara Swisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-swisher/) > [The terrorist attacks of September 11th and the courageous actions of our armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq remind us that friends of tyranny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-levin/the-terrorist-attacks-of-september-11th-and-the-courageous-actions-of/) [Carl Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-levin/) > [Money couldn't buy friends, but you got a better class of enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spike-milligan/money-couldn-t-buy-friends-but-you-got-a-better-class-of-enemy/) [Spike Milligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spike-milligan/) > [It’s sad when friends become enemies. But what’s even worse is when they become strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayley-williams/it-s-sad-when-friends-become-enemies-but-what-s-even-worse-is-when/) [Hayley Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayley-williams/) > [“Enemies Teach. Friends Preach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tapan-ghosh/enemies-teach-friends-preach/) [Tapan Ghosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tapan-ghosh/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [The Chains of conformity click in tiresomely monotonous unison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-sweet/the-chains-of-conformity-click-in-tiresomely-monotonous-unison/) [Leonard Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-sweet/) > [“All to often, on the long road up, young leaders become servants of what is rather than shapers of what might be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/all-to-often-on-the-long-road-up-young-leaders-become-servants-of/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) [Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/) ## More by Richard Peck > [I caught a glimpse of happiness, and saw it was a bird on a branch, fixing to take wing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/i-caught-a-glimpse-of-happiness-and-saw-it-was-a-bird-on-a-branch/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) > [We write by the light of every story we have ever read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/we-write-by-the-light-of-every-story-we-have-ever-read/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) > [“Nobody but a reader becomes a writer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/nobody-but-a-reader-becomes-a-writer/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) > [I read because one of these days I'm going to get out of this town, and I'm going to go everywhere and meet everybody,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/i-read-because-one-of-these-days-i-m-going-to-get-out-of-this-town/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) > [Only the nonreader fears books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/only-the-nonreader-fears-books/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) > [...they'd just tell you to turn the other cheek, wouldn't they?...Trouble is, Mrs. Dowdel observed, after you've turned the other cheek four times, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/they-d-just-tell-you-to-turn-the-other-cheek-wouldn-t-they-trouble-is/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) > [Fame is a funny thing, like a secret, both are hard to keep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/fame-is-a-funny-thing-like-a-secret-both-are-hard-to-keep/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) > [“The Shambaughs came, bringing Letty. She simpered up to me. Her eyes summed up the lace tippets on my Princess dress and the wide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/the-shambaughs-came-bringing-letty-she-simpered-up-to-me-her-eyes/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) > [Writing is communication, not self-expression. Nobody in this world wants to read your diary except your mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/writing-is-communication-not-self-expression-nobody-in-this-world/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) > [The years went by, and Mary Alice and I grew up, Slower than we wanted to, faster than we realized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/the-years-went-by-and-mary-alice-and-i-grew-up-slower-than-we-wanted/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) > [“I read because one life isn't enough, and in the page of a book I can be anybody; I read because the words that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/i-read-because-one-life-isn-t-enough-and-in-the-page-of-a-book-i-can/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) > [Grandma, how old is she?" "Oh I don't know." Grandma said. "You'd have to cut off her head and count the rings in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/grandma-how-old-is-she-oh-i-don-t-know-grandma-said-you-d-have-to-cut/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) > [Humor is anger that was sent to finishing school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/humor-is-anger-that-was-sent-to-finishing-school/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) > [We don't write what we know. We write what we wonder about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/we-don-t-write-what-we-know-we-write-what-we-wonder-about/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) > [“Never worry about a book corrupting a child. Worry if your children are not getting ideas from books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/never-worry-about-a-book-corrupting-a-child-worry-if-your-children/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) [Explore all 54 Richard Peck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) ## More Conformity quotes > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) [Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/) > [“All to often, on the long road up, young leaders become servants of what is rather than shapers of what might be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/all-to-often-on-the-long-road-up-young-leaders-become-servants-of/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [The Chains of conformity click in tiresomely monotonous unison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-sweet/the-chains-of-conformity-click-in-tiresomely-monotonous-unison/) [Leonard Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-sweet/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [A self is a frightening thing to waste, it's the lens through which one's whole life is viewed, and few people are willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/a-self-is-a-frightening-thing-to-waste-it-s-the-lens-through-which/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Ideation is not a synonym for innovation, conformity is not its simple antonym, and innovation is not the automatic consequence of "creative thinking.".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/ideation-is-not-a-synonym-for-innovation-conformity-is-not-its-simple/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [“I lead with the knowingness that my reality conforms to my wishes and desires instantly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-baker/i-lead-with-the-knowingness-that-my-reality-conforms-to-my-wishes-and/) [Robin S. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-baker/) > [Alas, everything that men say to one another is alike; the ideas they exchange are almost always the same, in their conversation. But inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/alas-everything-that-men-say-to-one-another-is-alike-the-ideas-they/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [The search for truth is a cooperative, unending endeavor. We can, and should, engage in it to the extent we can and encourage others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-search-for-truth-is-a-cooperative-unending-endeavor-we-can-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Seeds have the power to preserve species, to enhance cultural as well as genetic diversity, to counter economic monopoly and to check the advance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/seeds-have-the-power-to-preserve-species-to-enhance-cultural-as-well/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“Brontë was attempting to depict a character that adheres to the unchanging principles of her faith though she refused conformity to the particular practices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-swallow-prior/bront-was-attempting-to-depict-a-character-that-adheres-to-the/) [Karen Swallow Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-swallow-prior/) > [Officers conditioned to conformity in peacetime cannot be expected to behave boldly and flexibly in combat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yingling/officers-conditioned-to-conformity-in-peacetime-cannot-be-expected-to/) [Paul Yingling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-yingling/) > [The more civilized a nation, the more conformed its population, until that civilization's last age arrives, when multiplicity wages war with conformity. The former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/the-more-civilized-a-nation-the-more-conformed-its-population-until/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/society-everywhere-is-in-conspiracy-against-the-manhood-of-every-one/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Deaths, births, and marriages, considering how much they are separately dependent on the freedom of the human will, should seem to be subject to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/deaths-births-and-marriages-considering-how-much-they-are-separately/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) [Browse all 937 Conformity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Conformity is the enemy of friendship”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Peck" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/conformity-is-the-enemy-of-friendship/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conformity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/conformity-is-the-enemy-of-friendship/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/richard-peck-12655_conformity_conformity-is-the-enemy-of-friendship-21_2147602.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/richard-peck-12655_conformity_conformity-is-the-enemy-of-friendship-21_2147602.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/richard-peck-12655_conformity_conformity-is-the-enemy-of-friendship-21_2147602.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Conformity is the enemy of friendship” — Richard Peck", "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": "Richard Peck", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Conformity is the enemy of friendship”", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/conformity-is-the-enemy-of-friendship/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/conformity-is-the-enemy-of-friendship/#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 } } ] } ```