--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Among the wise and high-minded people who…" description: "\"Among the wise and high-minded people who in self-respecting and genuine fashion strive earnestly for peace, there are the foolish fanatics always to b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/theodore-roosevelt-218_fanatics_among-the-wise-and-high-minded-people-wh_294166.jpg" --- # Among the wise and high-minded people who in… ![“Among the wise and high-minded people who in self-respecting and genuine fashion strive earnestly for peace, there are the foolish fanatics always to be found in such a movement and always discrediting it the men who form the lunatic fringe in all reform movements.” quote by Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/theodore-roosevelt-218_fanatics_among-the-wise-and-high-minded-people-wh_294166.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/theodore-roosevelt-218_fanatics_among-the-wise-and-high-minded-people-wh_294166.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/theodore-roosevelt-218_fanatics_among-the-wise-and-high-minded-people-wh_294166.jpg) > “Among the wise and high-minded people who in self-respecting and genuine fashion strive earnestly for peace, there are the foolish fanatics always to be found in such a movement and always discrediting it the men who form the lunatic fringe in all reform movements.” [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even noble movements attract extreme, disruptive elements that undermine credibility. **In simple terms:** Peaceful movements can be tainted by fanatics. Key Takeaway Guard movements movements from radical fringe. Themes politics reform extremism Mood cautious critical Type strategic philosophical When to use this quote - activism - policy making - community organizing Key Concepts social dynamics movement integrity Questions to Reflect On - How can movements stay true to core values? - What safeguards prevent radical takeover? A Different Perspective Extremists may hijack well‑meaning causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fanatics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fanatics/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Fringe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fringe/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reform](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reform/) [Reform movements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reform-movements/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > [The lunatic fringe in all reform movements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-lunatic-fringe-in-all-reform-movements/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [We must see the great distinction between a reform movement and a revolutionary movement. We are called upon to raise certain basic questions about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-must-see-the-great-distinction-between-a-reform-movement-and-a/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I don't think polarization is some kind of grand distraction. It's real. People have different commitments, believe in different things and principles, different visions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/i-don-t-think-polarization-is-some-kind-of-grand-distraction-it-s/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [The Constitution is not a panacea for every blot upon the public welfare. Nor should this Court, ordained as a judicial body, be thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marshall-harlan/the-constitution-is-not-a-panacea-for-every-blot-upon-the-public/) [John Marshall Harlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marshall-harlan/) > [Scaling back the campaign finance reform bill may get more Republicans aboard, but it leaves many of us who have been involved in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-torricelli/scaling-back-the-campaign-finance-reform-bill-may-get-more/) [Robert Torricelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-torricelli/) > [“In every revival of truth, the pendulum tendency to extremes finds abundant illustration. All reform movements, including the present one, are characterized by "a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-ford/in-every-revival-of-truth-the-pendulum-tendency-to-extremes-finds/) [Desmond Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-ford/) > [Although the church has often been far too slow to follow his lead, Jesus' insistence that women, as well as men, bear the full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/although-the-church-has-often-been-far-too-slow-to-follow-his-lead/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [Radical thought has inspired many of the great political and social reform movements in American history, from ending slavery to establishing the minimum wage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-bernstein/radical-thought-has-inspired-many-of-the-great-political-and-social/) [Carl Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-bernstein/) > [What is needed is a move beyond tradition, nothing less than a reform movement to bring the core concepts of Islam into the modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/what-is-needed-is-a-move-beyond-tradition-nothing-less-than-a-reform/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you look at the way all of the new reform movements dedicated to the public interest are living and thriving on the Internet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/if-you-look-at-the-way-all-of-the-new-reform-movements-dedicated-to/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [Look at what the Omar of Qatar is doing, for example - the King of Morocco, Jordan, Bahrain. There are reform movements taking place,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-carlucci/look-at-what-the-omar-of-qatar-is-doing-for-example-the-king-of/) [Frank Carlucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-carlucci/) > [The leadership lost its nerve. Instead of taking the lead in the reform movement... they pulled the plug on it. They tried and are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-greeley/the-leadership-lost-its-nerve-instead-of-taking-the-lead-in-the/) [Andrew Greeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-greeley/) > [Governments have always tried to crush reform movements, to destroy ideas, to kill the thing that cannot die. Without regard to history, which shows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmeline-pankhurst/governments-have-always-tried-to-crush-reform-movements-to-destroy/) [Emmeline Pankhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmeline-pankhurst/) > [Middle-class-led reform movements, from the Progressive Era to the War on Poverty, have been marred by an elitist distance from the would-be beneficiaries of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/middle-class-led-reform-movements-from-the-progressive-era-to-the-war/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [Many of the received models of modern architecture and planning owe their ultimate origin to the building code and public health reform movements of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-frampton/many-of-the-received-models-of-modern-architecture-and-planning-owe/) [Kenneth Frampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-frampton/) ## More by Theodore Roosevelt > [No people is wholly civilized where a distinction is drawn between stealing an office and stealing a purse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/no-people-is-wholly-civilized-where-a-distinction-is-drawn-between/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [There can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/there-can-be-no-effective-control-of-corporations-while-their/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Get action. Seize the moment. Man was never intended to become an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/get-action-seize-the-moment-man-was-never-intended-to-become-an-oyster/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Argument weak; speak loudly!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/argument-weak-speak-loudly/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Let the watchwords of all our people be the old familiar watchwords of honesty, decency, fair-dealing, and commonsense."... "We must treat each man on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/let-the-watchwords-of-all-our-people-be-the-old-familiar-watchwords/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [The forces that tend for evil are great and terrible, but the forces of truth and love and courage and honesty and generosity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-forces-that-tend-for-evil-are-great-and-terrible-but-the-forces/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Every reform movement has a lunatic fringe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/every-reform-movement-has-a-lunatic-fringe/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Conservation and rural-life policies are really two sides of the same policy; and down at the bottom this policy rests upon the fundamental law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/conservation-and-rural-life-policies-are-really-two-sides-of-the-same/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [It is a great mistake to think that the extremist is a better man than the moderate. Usually the difference is not that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/it-is-a-great-mistake-to-think-that-the-extremist-is-a-better-man/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [I am a strong individualist by personal habit, inheritance, and conviction; but it is a mere matter of common sense to recognize that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/i-am-a-strong-individualist-by-personal-habit-inheritance-and/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Alone of human beings the good and wise mother stands on a plane of equal honor with the bravest soldier; for she has gladly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/alone-of-human-beings-the-good-and-wise-mother-stands-on-a-plane-of/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [The greatest privilege and greatest duty for any man is to be happily married, and no other form of success or service, for either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-greatest-privilege-and-greatest-duty-for-any-man-is-to-be-happily/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [For unflagging interest and enjoyment, a household of children, if things go reasonably well, certainly all other forms of success and achievement lose their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/for-unflagging-interest-and-enjoyment-a-household-of-children-if/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [There can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains. To put an end to it will be neither a short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/there-can-be-no-effective-control-of-corporations-while-their-2/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [If elected, I shall see to it that every man has a square deal, no less and no more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/if-elected-i-shall-see-to-it-that-every-man-has-a-square-deal-no-less/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) [Explore all 876 Theodore Roosevelt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) ## More Fanatics quotes > [You don't have to be Sigmund Freud to surmise that war has a perverse appeal for the human race, nor is the attraction limited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/you-don-t-have-to-be-sigmund-freud-to-surmise-that-war-has-a-perverse/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [I'm pretty much an open book. I am a fanatic golfer and golf nut. If I have three free hours any day, my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/i-m-pretty-much-an-open-book-i-am-a-fanatic-golfer-and-golf-nut-if-i/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [ Harvey \[Weinstein\] didn't want to release \[MY SON THE FANATIC\]; he held it for two years because he wanted a happy ending, although I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/harvey-weinstein-didn-t-want-to-release-my-son-the-fanatic-he-held-it/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [Very few minds are strictly normal, and all religious fanatics are marked with abnormalities of various sorts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/very-few-minds-are-strictly-normal-and-all-religious-fanatics-are/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Fanatics are picturesque, mankind would rather see gestures than listen to reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/fanatics-are-picturesque-mankind-would-rather-see-gestures-than/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Fanatics are those who, when following a doctrine becomes inconvenient, make up rules of their own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathryn-louis/fanatics-are-those-who-when-following-a-doctrine-becomes-inconvenient/) [Cathryn Louis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathryn-louis/) > [“Don't assume you understand Naskar, unless you've left your seat to the elderly on a bus, joined the religious festivities of a neighbor from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/don-t-assume-you-understand-naskar-unless-you-ve-left-your-seat-to/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Don't assume you understand Naskar (Sonnet 2972) Naskar Science is Naskar Theology is Naskar Poetry is Naskar Philosophy - and do not even dare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/don-t-assume-you-understand-naskar-sonnet-2972-naskar-science-is/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [I'm a London fanatic. That's my city. I love being from there, you don't appreciate it until you go out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/i-m-a-london-fanatic-that-s-my-city-i-love-being-from-there-you-don-t/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [“Fanatics don't wanna see anything from another standpoints.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/fanatics-don-t-wanna-see-anything-from-another-standpoints/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [One thing is clear, the president of North Vietnam is not a fanatic. He is a very strong and determined man, but capable of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-niemoller/one-thing-is-clear-the-president-of-north-vietnam-is-not-a-fanatic-he/) [Martin Niemoller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-niemoller/) > [Fanatics can justify practically any atrocity to themselves. The more untenable their position becomes, the harder they hold to it, and the worse the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-lackey/fanatics-can-justify-practically-any-atrocity-to-themselves-the-more/) [Mercedes Lackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-lackey/) > [How do we deal with not just the acts of violence, but the extremist ideology that lies behind them? Because though the numbers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/how-do-we-deal-with-not-just-the-acts-of-violence-but-the-extremist/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [Living more lives than one, knowing people of all classes, all shades of opinion, monarchists, republicans, socialists, anarchists, has had a salutary effect on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/living-more-lives-than-one-knowing-people-of-all-classes-all-shades/) [Rheta Childe Dorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rheta-childe-dorr/) > [If you go looking for loonies and religious fanatics and dropouts and freaks, I dare say you'll find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/if-you-go-looking-for-loonies-and-religious-fanatics-and-dropouts-and/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) [Browse all 294 Fanatics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fanatics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Among the wise and high-minded people who in self-respecting and genuine fashion strive earnestly for peace, there are the foolish fanatics always to be found in such a movement and always discrediting it the men who form the lunatic fringe in all reform movements.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Theodore Roosevelt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/among-the-wise-and-high-minded-people-who-in-self-respecting-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fanatics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/among-the-wise-and-high-minded-people-who-in-self-respecting-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/theodore-roosevelt-218_fanatics_among-the-wise-and-high-minded-people-wh_294166.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/theodore-roosevelt-218_fanatics_among-the-wise-and-high-minded-people-wh_294166.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/theodore-roosevelt-218_fanatics_among-the-wise-and-high-minded-people-wh_294166.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Among the wise and high-minded people who in self-respecting and genuine fashion strive earnestly for peace…” — Theodore Roosevelt", "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": "Theodore Roosevelt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Among the wise and high-minded people...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/among-the-wise-and-high-minded-people-who-in-self-respecting-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/among-the-wise-and-high-minded-people-who-in-self-respecting-and/#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 } } ] } ```