--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... the structure of our public morality…" description: "\"... the structure of our public morality crashed to earth. Above its grave a tombstone read, \"Be tolerant--even of evil.\" Logically the next step would..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/sarah-patton-boyle-33230_character_the-structure-of-our-public-morality-cra_2327928.jpg" --- # ... the structure of our public morality crashed to earth… ![“... the structure of our public morality crashed to earth. Above its grave a tombstone read, "Be tolerant--even of evil." Logically the next step would be to say to our commonwealth's criminals, "I disagree that it's all right to rob and murder, but naturally I respect your opinion." Tolerance is…” quote by Sarah-Patton Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/sarah-patton-boyle-33230_character_the-structure-of-our-public-morality-cra_2327928.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/sarah-patton-boyle-33230_character_the-structure-of-our-public-morality-cra_2327928.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/sarah-patton-boyle-33230_character_the-structure-of-our-public-morality-cra_2327928.jpg) > “... the structure of our public morality crashed to earth. Above its grave a tombstone read, "Be tolerant--even of evil." Logically the next step would be to say to our commonwealth's criminals, "I disagree that it's all right to rob and murder, but naturally I respect your opinion." Tolerance is only complacence when it makes no distinction between right and wrong.” [Sarah-Patton Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-patton-boyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Tolerance without moral discernment becomes passive acceptance of wrongdoing. **In simple terms:** Blind tolerance equals complacency. Key Takeaway Distinguish tolerance from endorsement of evil. Themes ethics morality politics social responsibility Mood critical serious Type ethical political When to use this quote - legislative debates - community activism - media commentary - education curricula - human rights advocacy Key Concepts tolerance justice critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - When does tolerance become harmful? - How can societies enforce moral boundaries without suppressing dissent? A Different Perspective Balancing free speech with moral limits is complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Commonwealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commonwealth/) [Criminals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminals/) [Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinction/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Next step](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-step/) [Next steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-steps/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Right and wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-and-wrong/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Tolerance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tolerance/) ## Related quotes > [It is the evil that lies in ourselves that is ever least tolerant of the evil that dwells within others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/it-is-the-evil-that-lies-in-ourselves-that-is-ever-least-tolerant-of/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [To set up as a standard of public morality a notion which can neither be defined nor conceived is to open the door to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/to-set-up-as-a-standard-of-public-morality-a-notion-which-can-neither/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [If the American public is so into morality in movies, why don't they throw more of their disposable income at religious-themed entertainment? 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Recall that both George Washington and Fisher Ames had warned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/another-aspect-of-behavior-directly-impacted-by-the-removal-of/) [David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/) > [At the heart of our public morality is the idea that he who gives generously is most virtuous and morally praiseworthy; that there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/at-the-heart-of-our-public-morality-is-the-idea-that-he-who-gives/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [A concern with 'public morality' is - if not the last refuge of a scoundrel - the first foray of the fascist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/a-concern-with-public-morality-is-if-not-the-last-refuge-of-a/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) ## More by Sarah-Patton Boyle > [Our minorities alone are in a position to know what the fathers of our democracy were talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-patton-boyle/our-minorities-alone-are-in-a-position-to-know-what-the-fathers-of/) [Sarah-Patton Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-patton-boyle/) > [To grow is sometimes to hurt, but who would return to smallness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-patton-boyle/to-grow-is-sometimes-to-hurt-but-who-would-return-to-smallness/) [Sarah-Patton Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-patton-boyle/) > [If we love-and-serve an ideal we reach backward in time to its inception and forward to its consummation. 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We felt that all patriotic Southerners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-patton-boyle/most-southerners-of-my-parents-era-were-raised-to-feel-that-it-wasn-t/) [Sarah-Patton Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-patton-boyle/) > [Serviceis love in action, love "made flesh"; service is the body, the incarnation of love. Love is the impetus, service the act, and creativity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-patton-boyle/serviceis-love-in-action-love-made-flesh-service-is-the-body-the/) [Sarah-Patton Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-patton-boyle/) > [... the constructive power of an image is not measured in terms of its truth, but of the love it inspires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-patton-boyle/the-constructive-power-of-an-image-is-not-measured-in-terms-of-its/) [Sarah-Patton Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-patton-boyle/) > [A mechanism of some kind stands between us and almost every act of our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-patton-boyle/a-mechanism-of-some-kind-stands-between-us-and-almost-every-act-of/) [Sarah-Patton Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-patton-boyle/) > [A man's real and deep feelings are surely those which he acts upon when challenged, not those which, mellow-eyed and soft-voiced, he spouts in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-patton-boyle/a-man-s-real-and-deep-feelings-are-surely-those-which-he-acts-upon/) [Sarah-Patton Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-patton-boyle/) > [ ... in 1950 a very large slice of the white South stood at the crossroads in its attitude toward its colored citizens and \[was\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-patton-boyle/in-1950-a-very-large-slice-of-the-white-south-stood-at-the-crossroads/) [Sarah-Patton Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-patton-boyle/) > [... one of the blind spots of most Negroes is their failure to realize that small overtures from whites have a large significance... 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