--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dorothy Day said - and I'm sure that…" description: "\"Dorothy Day said - and I'm sure that Kathy Kelly would say the same thing - 'I'm working toward a world in which it will be easier for people to behave..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/913/studs-terkel-3020_behave_dorothy-day-said-and-i-m-sure-that-kathy_1786801.jpg" --- # Dorothy Day said - and I'm sure that Kathy Kelly would say… ![“Dorothy Day said - and I'm sure that Kathy Kelly would say the same thing - 'I'm working toward a world in which it will be easier for people to behave decently.' Now, think about that: a world in which it will be easier for people to behave decently.” quote by Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/913/studs-terkel-3020_behave_dorothy-day-said-and-i-m-sure-that-kathy_1786801.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/913/studs-terkel-3020_behave_dorothy-day-said-and-i-m-sure-that-kathy_1786801.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/913/studs-terkel-3020_behave_dorothy-day-said-and-i-m-sure-that-kathy_1786801.jpg) > “Dorothy Day said - and I'm sure that Kathy Kelly would say the same thing - 'I'm working toward a world in which it will be easier for people to behave decently.' Now, think about that: a world in which it will be easier for people to behave decently.” [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A world where decent behavior is easy would reduce moral effort, highlighting the importance of social structures that support virtue. **In simple terms:** Easier to be decent in a supportive world. Key Takeaway Promote environments that enable decency. Themes morality social design community ethics human behavior Mood hopeful reflective Type social inspirational When to use this quote - urban planning - education systems - workplace culture - online communities Key Concepts sociology public policy Questions to Reflect On - What changes would make decency easier? - How do you contribute to a supportive environment? A Different Perspective Even in easy contexts, personal responsibility remains. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Having integrity...means being completely true to what is inside you - to what you know is right...what you feel you must do, regardless of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-goldwyn/having-integrity-means-being-completely-true-to-what-is-inside-you-to/) [Samuel Goldwyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-goldwyn/) > [“I am a humanist, which means, in part, that I have tried to behave decently without expectations of rewards or punishments after I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-am-a-humanist-which-means-in-part-that-i-have-tried-to-behave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“We humanists try to behave as decently, as fairly, and as honorably as we can without any expectation of rewards or punishments in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/we-humanists-try-to-behave-as-decently-as-fairly-and-as-honorably-as/) [Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) > [“Human beings, after all, have some sense; they see that you cannot have any real safety or happiness except in a society where every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/human-beings-after-all-have-some-sense-they-see-that-you-cannot-have/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“The fact that some men (and their families) behave decently does not negate the unequal power structure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-palmer/the-fact-that-some-men-and-their-families-behave-decently-does-not/) [Gabrielle Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-palmer/) > [Being a Humanist means trying to behave decently without expectation of rewards or punishment after you are dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/being-a-humanist-means-trying-to-behave-decently-without-expectation/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [You live your life and it ends quite quickly and all you can do with it is pass it on decently to someone else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-boyle/you-live-your-life-and-it-ends-quite-quickly-and-all-you-can-do-with/) [Danny Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-boyle/) > [“...maybe we don't need a heavenly bribe or the fear of hell and damnation to make us behave decently. Maybe it would be healthier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-khoury/maybe-we-don-t-need-a-heavenly-bribe-or-the-fear-of-hell-and/) [Raymond Khoury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-khoury/) > [Secularists are wrong when they ask believers to leave their religion at the door before entering into the public square. Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/secularists-are-wrong-when-they-ask-believers-to-leave-their-religion/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Christians got a lot of work to do. But, the spirit of Dorothy Day is alive. Martin Luther King is still alive. Malcolm X…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/christians-got-a-lot-of-work-to-do-but-the-spirit-of-dorothy-day-is/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The answer comes to me through studying the lives of the Rosa Parks and the Vaclav Havels and the Nelson Mandelas and the Dorothy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/the-answer-comes-to-me-through-studying-the-lives-of-the-rosa-parks/) [Parker J. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) > [Sometimes people call folks here at the Simple Way saints. Usually they either want to applaud our lives and live vicariously through us, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/sometimes-people-call-folks-here-at-the-simple-way-saints-usually/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [Dorothy Day, of blessed memory, did not like to be called (as she often was, for good reason) a saint, because it usually meant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stringfellow/dorothy-day-of-blessed-memory-did-not-like-to-be-called-as-she-often/) [William Stringfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stringfellow/) > [I truly believe that God brought this, Dorothy Day script to me, because for a long time up until I was in eight grade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moira-kelly/i-truly-believe-that-god-brought-this-dorothy-day-script-to-me/) [Moira Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moira-kelly/) > [“Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were first at the Cradle and last at the Cross. They had never known a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-bessey/perhaps-it-is-no-wonder-that-the-women-were-first-at-the-cradle-and/) [Sarah Bessey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-bessey/) ## More by Studs Terkel > [My epitaph? My epitaph will be, 'Curiosity did not kill this cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/my-epitaph-my-epitaph-will-be-curiosity-did-not-kill-this-cat/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [“It was in ’35—we had this campaign to raise a million tax dollars. In the town of Phillips, one evening, during a blizzard, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/it-was-in-35-we-had-this-campaign-to-raise-a-million-tax-dollars-in/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [I read somewhere that when a person takes part in community action, his health improves. Something happens to him or to her biologically. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-read-somewhere-that-when-a-person-takes-part-in-community-action/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [Don't be an examiner, be the interested inquirer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/don-t-be-an-examiner-be-the-interested-inquirer/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [Hope never trickles down. It always springs up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/hope-never-trickles-down-it-always-springs-up/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [I never drove a car. I'm hopeless that way. I press the wrong buttons on the tape recorder. But if the person I'm interviewing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-never-drove-a-car-i-m-hopeless-that-way-i-press-the-wrong-buttons/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [To survive the day is triumph enough for the walking wounded among the great many of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/to-survive-the-day-is-triumph-enough-for-the-walking-wounded-among/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [“I’ll never forget that Depression Easter Sunday. Our son was four years old. I bought ten or fifteen cents’ worth of eggs. You didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-ll-never-forget-that-depression-easter-sunday-our-son-was-four/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [All you need in life is truth and beauty and you can find both at the Public Library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/all-you-need-in-life-is-truth-and-beauty-and-you-can-find-both-at-the/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [Reading a book should not be a passive exercise, but rather a raucous conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/reading-a-book-should-not-be-a-passive-exercise-but-rather-a-raucous/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [I hope for peace and sanity - it's the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-hope-for-peace-and-sanity-it-s-the-same-thing/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [“The total cost of the Federal Arts Project was only $23 million. Many of these paintings, sculptures and prints were given to museums, courthouses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/the-total-cost-of-the-federal-arts-project-was-only-23-million-many/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [I find labels "liberal" and "conservative" of little meaning. Our language has become perverted along with the thoughts of many of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-find-labels-liberal-and-conservative-of-little-meaning-our-language/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [“Who knows Bob’s name in this outfit—let alone his lame child’s? (“The last place I worked for, I was let go,” recalls the bank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/who-knows-bob-s-name-in-this-outfit-let-alone-his-lame-child-s-the/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [The trouble with censorship is that once it starts it is hard to stop. Just about every book contains something that someone objects to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/the-trouble-with-censorship-is-that-once-it-starts-it-is-hard-to-stop/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) [Explore all 142 Studs Terkel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) ## More Behave quotes > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) Burne Hogarth > [You can behave as badly as you like in America. Nobody notices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/you-can-behave-as-badly-as-you-like-in-america-nobody-notices/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Then Olympus it is. But do try to behave. I know it’s hard for you, but… (Delphine) I won’t piss on the floor. (Jericho)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/then-olympus-it-is-but-do-try-to-behave-i-know-it-s-hard-for-you-but/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [The possibility of saying anything about a thing rests on the assumption that it preserves its identity, or continues to be the same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-knight/the-possibility-of-saying-anything-about-a-thing-rests-on-the/) [Frank Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-knight/) > [Why does man behave like perfect idiot? This is the problem I wish to deal with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-szent-gyorgyi/why-does-man-behave-like-perfect-idiot-this-is-the-problem-i-wish-to/) [Albert Szent-Gyorgyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-szent-gyorgyi/) > [This is a time in my life where I'm gonna behave like an elegant human being. Or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-stritch/this-is-a-time-in-my-life-where-i-m-gonna-behave-like-an-elegant/) [Elaine Stritch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-stritch/) > [Most people, even in simple risky situations, don't behave the way the theory of utility would have them behave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-raiffa/most-people-even-in-simple-risky-situations-don-t-behave-the-way-the/) [Howard Raiffa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-raiffa/) > [As a club, we have an educational purpose: to give back to those people who love Arsenal so that they learn moral values from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arsene-wenger/as-a-club-we-have-an-educational-purpose-to-give-back-to-those-people/) [Arsene Wenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arsene-wenger/) > [What astonishes many of us is not so much that human nature is fundamentally corrupt; we are astonished rather that it does not behave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-irving-seiden/what-astonishes-many-of-us-is-not-so-much-that-human-nature-is/) Morton Irving Seiden > [Do we behave out of fear of punishment, or out of the demands of our heart? For me, it is the latter, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-we-behave-out-of-fear-of-punishment-or-out-of-the-demands-of-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you are in hard labor, remember that the length of labor is usually proportional to the number of people around. Avoid the presence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-odent/when-you-are-in-hard-labor-remember-that-the-length-of-labor-is/) [Michel Odent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-odent/) > [The superpowers often behave like two heavily armed blind men feeling their way around a room, each believing himself in mortal peril from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-superpowers-often-behave-like-two-heavily-armed-blind-men-feeling/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For political and bureaucratic reasons, governments at all levels are telling far less to the public than to insiders about how to prepare for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/for-political-and-bureaucratic-reasons-governments-at-all-levels-are/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) Browse all 1,587 Behave quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Dorothy Day said - and I'm sure that Kathy Kelly would say the same thing - 'I'm working toward a world in which it will be easier for people to behave decently.' 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