--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We lost our courage as a people. Sure…" description: "\"“We lost our courage as a people. Sure, some people still had it, but as a people, as a group where we all had to commit resources to a common good, we..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/rick-wiedeman-84090_common-good_we-lost-our-courage-as-a-people-sure-som_684615.jpg" --- # We lost our courage as a people. Sure, some people still… ![“We lost our courage as a people. Sure, some people still had it, but as a people, as a group where we all had to commit resources to a common good, we were too scared and petty and divided to do anything worth remembering.” quote by Rick Wiedeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/rick-wiedeman-84090_common-good_we-lost-our-courage-as-a-people-sure-som_684615.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/rick-wiedeman-84090_common-good_we-lost-our-courage-as-a-people-sure-som_684615.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/rick-wiedeman-84090_common-good_we-lost-our-courage-as-a-people-sure-som_684615.jpg) > ““We lost our courage as a people. Sure, some people still had it, but as a people, as a group where we all had to commit resources to a common good, we were too scared and petty and divided to do anything worth remembering.”” Rick Wiedeman ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Collective courage erodes when fear and division dominate, hindering meaningful action. **In simple terms:** Fear divides groups. Key Takeaway Rebuild trust and shared purpose. Themes courage community division trust shared purpose Mood determined hopeful Type motivational strategic When to use this quote - neighborhood initiatives - political movements - team projects - disaster response Key Concepts social cohesion collective action Questions to Reflect On - What steps can a community take to rekindle shared commitment? - How does fear manifest in group dynamics? A Different Perspective Overcoming entrenched apathy requires sustained effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-good/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) ## Related quotes > [Walking alone is truly an adventure and courage are very few people. 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German proverb”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-robotham/wealth-lost-something-lost-honor-lost-much-lost-courage-lost-all-lost/) [Michael Robotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-robotham/) > [Pamela realizes for the first time in her life that she hadn't made the wrong choice at all. Nor had she made the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pip-karmel/pamela-realizes-for-the-first-time-in-her-life-that-she-hadn-t-made/) Pip Karmel > [Money lost, something lost. Honor lost, much lost. Courage lost, everything lost-better you were never born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/money-lost-something-lost-honor-lost-much-lost-courage-lost/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [What did you do when the worst thing that could happen to you had already happened - how did you live life then? You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/what-did-you-do-when-the-worst-thing-that-could-happen-to-you-had/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage "People living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/we-don-t-see-things-as-they-are-we-see-them-as-we-are-life-shrinks-or/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [You're demonstrating a courage that most people can't even fathom: giving it all away in order to have yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/you-re-demonstrating-a-courage-that-most-people-can-t-even-fathom/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [It is an error to suppose that courage means courage in everything. Most people are brave only in the dangers to which they accustom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/it-is-an-error-to-suppose-that-courage-means-courage-in-everything/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [Courage is not what people think you have but to appear to them as good as what you really are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/courage-is-not-what-people-think-you-have-but-to-appear-to-them-as/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [It takes courage for people to listen to their own goodness and act on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-casals/it-takes-courage-for-people-to-listen-to-their-own-goodness-and-act/) [Pablo Casals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-casals/) > [As a teenager, I found a lot of courage through people on the television being funny or subversive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-amstell/as-a-teenager-i-found-a-lot-of-courage-through-people-on-the/) [Simon Amstell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-amstell/) > [“I have been fascinated by men and women of courage. People who took brave decisions in the service of great causes especially when more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/i-have-been-fascinated-by-men-and-women-of-courage-people-who-took/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) ## More by Rick Wiedeman > [“I mean, you told me once that the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s not giving a crap.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wiedeman/i-mean-you-told-me-once-that-the-opposite-of-love-isn-t-hate-it-s-not/) Rick Wiedeman > [“Freedom is the ability to say no. It is nothing more than that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wiedeman/freedom-is-the-ability-to-say-no-it-is-nothing-more-than-that/) Rick Wiedeman Explore all 3 Rick Wiedeman quotes ## More Common good quotes > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [Advocacy groups, politicians, and bureaucrats use the government to advance their private good instead of the common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-miller/advocacy-groups-politicians-and-bureaucrats-use-the-government-to/) [Joel Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-miller/) > [With a full century of contrary proof in our possession and despite our demonstrated capacity for cooperative teamwork, some among us seem to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/with-a-full-century-of-contrary-proof-in-our-possession-and-despite/) [Dwight D. 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