--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Are you apathetic toward the saccharine…" description: "\"Are you apathetic toward the saccharine goodness evangelized by sentimental, superstitious fanatics, but equally bored by the intellectuals who worship..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e84/rob-brezsny-7732_apathetic_are-you-apathetic-toward-the-saccharine_1947142.jpg" --- # Are you apathetic toward the saccharine goodness… ![“Are you apathetic toward the saccharine goodness evangelized by sentimental, superstitious fanatics, but equally bored by the intellectuals who worship at the empty-headed shrine of scientific materialism?” quote by Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e84/rob-brezsny-7732_apathetic_are-you-apathetic-toward-the-saccharine_1947142.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e84/rob-brezsny-7732_apathetic_are-you-apathetic-toward-the-saccharine_1947142.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e84/rob-brezsny-7732_apathetic_are-you-apathetic-toward-the-saccharine_1947142.jpg) > “Are you apathetic toward the saccharine goodness evangelized by sentimental, superstitious fanatics, but equally bored by the intellectuals who worship at the empty-headed shrine of scientific materialism?” [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He critiques both sentimentalism and rigid materialism, urging a balanced, open‑minded perspective. **In simple terms:** Avoid extremes of sentiment and materialism. Key Takeaway Seek nuanced worldview. Themes philosophy culture critique Mood thought‑provoking skeptical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - public debates - personal reflection - educational curricula - media analysis Key Concepts sentimentality materialism intellectualism Questions to Reflect On - What middle path can you adopt? - How do you recognize bias? A Different Perspective Might alienate purists on both sides. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bored/) [Fanatics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fanatics/) [Goodness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness/) [Materialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materialism/) [Sentimental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentimental/) [Shrines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shrines/) [Superstitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstitious/) [Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship/) ## Related quotes > [We must always work, and a self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/we-must-always-work-and-a-self-respecting-artist-must-not-fold-his/) [Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/) > [The teenage pregnancy is such a tragic thing. It is such a sad and tragic thing because the children who have children do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-huxley/the-teenage-pregnancy-is-such-a-tragic-thing-it-is-such-a-sad-and/) [Laura Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-huxley/) > [I am beginning to respect the apathetic days. Perhaps they're a necessary pause: better to give in to them than to fight them at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-am-beginning-to-respect-the-apathetic-days-perhaps-they-re-a/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [“I don’t know, apathetic bloody planet, I’ve no sympathy at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/i-don-t-know-apathetic-bloody-planet-i-ve-no-sympathy-at-all/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [From arts, to literature, to science, to the founding of Christian institutions, all of that has its roots in a biblical worldview, but when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/from-arts-to-literature-to-science-to-the-founding-of-christian/) [Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) > [Even as I'm shoveling up my hooter, I realize the sad truth. Coke bores me, It bores us all. We're jaded cunts, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/even-as-i-m-shoveling-up-my-hooter-i-realize-the-sad-truth-coke-bores/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [Thwarted, or starved, in the important objects proper to young capacities, the boys and young men naturally find or invent deviant objects for themselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/thwarted-or-starved-in-the-important-objects-proper-to-young/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Death: the only true emotion felt in an apathetic world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/death-the-only-true-emotion-felt-in-an-apathetic-world/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Mourn not the dead that in the cool earth lie... But rather mourn the apathetic throng - The cowed and the meek - Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-chaplin/mourn-not-the-dead-that-in-the-cool-earth-lie-but-rather-mourn-the/) [Ralph Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-chaplin/) > [Every apathetic individual is a brick in a tyrant's throne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-slater/every-apathetic-individual-is-a-brick-in-a-tyrant-s-throne/) [Philip Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-slater/) > [The first step in freeing yourself from social restrictions is the realization that there is no such thing as a safe code of conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/the-first-step-in-freeing-yourself-from-social-restrictions-is-the/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [Does anyone really go into nursing intending to be apathetic, cold and removed from suffering? I find that very difficult to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-brand/does-anyone-really-go-into-nursing-intending-to-be-apathetic-cold-and/) [Jo Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-brand/) > [We imagine a school in which students and teachers excitedly and joyfully stretch themselves to their limits in pursuit of projects built on their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-and-teachers-excitedly-and/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [My generation in the UK, they're very apathetic, a lot of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thea-gilmore/my-generation-in-the-uk-they-re-very-apathetic-a-lot-of-them/) [Thea Gilmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thea-gilmore/) > [“Empathy nurtures wisdom. Apathy cultivates ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/empathy-nurtures-wisdom-apathy-cultivates-ignorance/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) ## More by Rob Brezsny > [May you eat an unfamiliar dessert in a strange land at least once every three years. May you wake up... and start dancing while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/may-you-eat-an-unfamiliar-dessert-in-a-strange-land-at-least-once/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [Act as if the universe is a prodigious miracle created for your amusement and illumination. Assume that secret helpers are working behind the scenes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/act-as-if-the-universe-is-a-prodigious-miracle-created-for-your/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [Your sweet spot is in between the true believers and the scoffing skeptics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/your-sweet-spot-is-in-between-the-true-believers-and-the-scoffing/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [Not waiting for someone to give you what you can give yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/not-waiting-for-someone-to-give-you-what-you-can-give-yourself/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [If you bury your face in your tear-stained pillow and beg God to please send you your soul mate, may you not slur your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/if-you-bury-your-face-in-your-tear-stained-pillow-and-beg-god-to/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [I will never again cast a curse on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/i-will-never-again-cast-a-curse-on-myself/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [What worn-out shticks are blinding you to the blessings that life is conspiring to give you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/what-worn-out-shticks-are-blinding-you-to-the-blessings-that-life-is/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [Blow kisses to the oak trees and sparrows and elephants and weeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/blow-kisses-to-the-oak-trees-and-sparrows-and-elephants-and-weeds/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [Proclaim the only truth you can be totally sure of: "I don't know."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/proclaim-the-only-truth-you-can-be-totally-sure-of-i-don-t-know/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [Your imagination is the single most important asset you possess. Your imagination is your power to create mental pictures of things that don't exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/your-imagination-is-the-single-most-important-asset-you-possess-your/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [“Imagine that the whole world belongs to you. The birch trees in New Hampshire's White Mountains are yours, and so are the cirrus clouds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/imagine-that-the-whole-world-belongs-to-you-the-birch-trees-in-new/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [Here's what I say: We will ignore the cult of doom and gloom and embrace the cause of zoom and boom. We will laugh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/here-s-what-i-say-we-will-ignore-the-cult-of-doom-and-gloom-and/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [We're not going to waste our valuable space or your precious energy by giving equal time to stories of tragedy, failure, and tumult. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/we-re-not-going-to-waste-our-valuable-space-or-your-precious-energy/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [But you will be hard-pressed to find more than a few novels, films, news stories, and TV shows that dare to depict life as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/but-you-will-be-hard-pressed-to-find-more-than-a-few-novels-films/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [HYPOTHESES: Evil is boring. Cynicism is idiotic. Fear is a bad habit. Despair is lazy. Joy is fascinating. Love is an act of heroic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/hypotheses-evil-is-boring-cynicism-is-idiotic-fear-is-a-bad-habit/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) [Explore all 88 Rob Brezsny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) ## More Apathetic quotes > [We must always work, and a self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/we-must-always-work-and-a-self-respecting-artist-must-not-fold-his/) [Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/) > [My generation in the UK, they're very apathetic, a lot of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thea-gilmore/my-generation-in-the-uk-they-re-very-apathetic-a-lot-of-them/) [Thea Gilmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thea-gilmore/) > [We imagine a school in which students and teachers excitedly and joyfully stretch themselves to their limits in pursuit of projects built on their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-and-teachers-excitedly-and/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [Does anyone really go into nursing intending to be apathetic, cold and removed from suffering? I find that very difficult to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-brand/does-anyone-really-go-into-nursing-intending-to-be-apathetic-cold-and/) [Jo Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-brand/) > [The first step in freeing yourself from social restrictions is the realization that there is no such thing as a safe code of conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/the-first-step-in-freeing-yourself-from-social-restrictions-is-the/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [Every apathetic individual is a brick in a tyrant's throne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-slater/every-apathetic-individual-is-a-brick-in-a-tyrant-s-throne/) [Philip Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-slater/) > [Mourn not the dead that in the cool earth lie... But rather mourn the apathetic throng - The cowed and the meek - Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-chaplin/mourn-not-the-dead-that-in-the-cool-earth-lie-but-rather-mourn-the/) [Ralph Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-chaplin/) > [Death: the only true emotion felt in an apathetic world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/death-the-only-true-emotion-felt-in-an-apathetic-world/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Thwarted, or starved, in the important objects proper to young capacities, the boys and young men naturally find or invent deviant objects for themselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/thwarted-or-starved-in-the-important-objects-proper-to-young/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Even as I'm shoveling up my hooter, I realize the sad truth. Coke bores me, It bores us all. We're jaded cunts, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/even-as-i-m-shoveling-up-my-hooter-i-realize-the-sad-truth-coke-bores/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [From arts, to literature, to science, to the founding of Christian institutions, all of that has its roots in a biblical worldview, but when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/from-arts-to-literature-to-science-to-the-founding-of-christian/) [Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) > [“I don’t know, apathetic bloody planet, I’ve no sympathy at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/i-don-t-know-apathetic-bloody-planet-i-ve-no-sympathy-at-all/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [I am beginning to respect the apathetic days. Perhaps they're a necessary pause: better to give in to them than to fight them at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-am-beginning-to-respect-the-apathetic-days-perhaps-they-re-a/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The teenage pregnancy is such a tragic thing. It is such a sad and tragic thing because the children who have children do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-huxley/the-teenage-pregnancy-is-such-a-tragic-thing-it-is-such-a-sad-and/) [Laura Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-huxley/) > [“Empathy nurtures wisdom. Apathy cultivates ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/empathy-nurtures-wisdom-apathy-cultivates-ignorance/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) Browse all 123 Apathetic quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Are you apathetic toward the saccharine goodness evangelized by sentimental, superstitious fanatics, but equally bored by the intellectuals who worship at the empty-headed shrine of scientific materialism?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rob Brezsny" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/are-you-apathetic-toward-the-saccharine-goodness-evangelized-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apathetic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/are-you-apathetic-toward-the-saccharine-goodness-evangelized-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e84/rob-brezsny-7732_apathetic_are-you-apathetic-toward-the-saccharine_1947142.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e84/rob-brezsny-7732_apathetic_are-you-apathetic-toward-the-saccharine_1947142.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e84/rob-brezsny-7732_apathetic_are-you-apathetic-toward-the-saccharine_1947142.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Are you apathetic toward the saccharine goodness evangelized by sentimental, superstitious fanatics, but…” — Rob Brezsny", "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": "Rob Brezsny", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Are you apathetic toward the saccharine...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/are-you-apathetic-toward-the-saccharine-goodness-evangelized-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/are-you-apathetic-toward-the-saccharine-goodness-evangelized-by/#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 } } ] } ```