--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The contest is not between us and them…" description: "\"The contest is not between us and them, but between good and evil, and if those who would fight evil adopt the ways of evil, evil wins.\" — Thomas Jeffe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/thomas-jefferson-43_contests_the-contest-is-not-between-us-and-them-b_2898019.jpg" --- # The contest is not between us and them, but between good… ![“The contest is not between us and them, but between good and evil, and if those who would fight evil adopt the ways of evil, evil wins.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/thomas-jefferson-43_contests_the-contest-is-not-between-us-and-them-b_2898019.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/thomas-jefferson-43_contests_the-contest-is-not-between-us-and-them-b_2898019.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/thomas-jefferson-43_contests_the-contest-is-not-between-us-and-them-b_2898019.jpg) > “The contest is not between us and them, but between good and evil, and if those who would fight evil adopt the ways of evil, evil wins.” [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Good vs. evil is the true conflict; adopting evil tactics to fight evil ensures its victory. **In simple terms:** Using evil to fight evil leads to evil's triumph. Key Takeaway Maintain moral integrity in conflict. Themes ethics politics conflict resolution Mood thoughtful principled Type political philosophical When to use this quote - political campaigns - social movements - legal battles - personal dilemmas Key Concepts moral philosophy strategic ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can one fight evil without compromising values? - What alternatives exist to violent confrontation? A Different Perspective Moral compromise can erode purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Good and evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-and-evil/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [To fight evil is to fight ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/to-fight-evil-is-to-fight-ourselves/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The world of superheroes is black and white; the world of monsters is not. Sometimes you need evil to fight evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-langley/the-world-of-superheroes-is-black-and-white-the-world-of-monsters-is/) [Donna Langley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-langley/) > [I like the Slam Dunk contest when it's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-johnson-jr/i-like-the-slam-dunk-contest-when-it-s-good/) [Ernie Johnson Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-johnson-jr/) > [“. . . being on the wrong side of a pissing contest is never a good thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-m-bello/being-on-the-wrong-side-of-a-pissing-contest-is-never-a-good-thing/) [Mark M. Bello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-m-bello/) > [We sometimes feel the shadows have got hold of us, the shadows of evil. But still, it's up to us to fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-totheroh/we-sometimes-feel-the-shadows-have-got-hold-of-us-the-shadows-of-evil/) Dan Totheroh > [But what is the greatest evil? If you are going to epitomize evil, what is it? Is it the bomb? The greatest evil that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-mcgooha/but-what-is-the-greatest-evil-if-you-are-going-to-epitomize-evil-what/) Patrick McGooha > [The greatest evil that one has to fight constantly, every minute of the day until one dies, is the worst part of oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-mcgoohan/the-greatest-evil-that-one-has-to-fight-constantly-every-minute-of/) [Patrick McGoohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-mcgoohan/) > [The spread of evil is the symptom of a vacuum. Whenever evil wins, it is only by default: by the moral failure of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-spread-of-evil-is-the-symptom-of-a-vacuum-whenever-evil-wins-it/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [If evil wins in a Bollywood film, it is bound to flop. 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The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/states-and-the-federal-government-are-coordinate-departments-of-one/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-to-the-accidental-opinion-of-a/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Perceiving the order of nature to be that individual happiness shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue, I am willing to hope it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/perceiving-the-order-of-nature-to-be-that-individual-happiness-shall/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Though you cannot see, when you take one step, what will be the next, yet follow truth, justice, and plain dealing, and never fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/though-you-cannot-see-when-you-take-one-step-what-will-be-the-next/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-well-informed-citizenry-is-the-best-defense-against-tyranny/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded are justice and fear. 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The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Nothing but free argument, raillery and even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/nothing-but-free-argument-raillery-and-even-ridicule-will-preserve/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [When the people are afraid of the government, that's tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that's liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-the-people-are-afraid-of-the-government-that-s-tyranny-but-when/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-that-all-men-are-created/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Explore all 2,098 Thomas Jefferson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## More Contests quotes > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. 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It is all about tolerance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-franz/elections-are-not-a-beauty-contest-it-is-all-about-tolerance/) Vladimir Franz > [Competing is intense among humans, and within a group, selfish individuals always win. But in contests between groups, groups of altruists always beat groups…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/competing-is-intense-among-humans-and-within-a-group-selfish/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [My family was musical on both sides. My father's family had a famous flautist and a classical pianist. My mother won a contest to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-estefan/my-family-was-musical-on-both-sides-my-father-s-family-had-a-famous/) [Gloria Estefan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-estefan/) > [I didn't get hurt in the contest. I hurt it the next day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-piersall/i-didn-t-get-hurt-in-the-contest-i-hurt-it-the-next-day/) [Jimmy Piersall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-piersall/) > [To try something longer, I entered a half-hour radio drama contest with the national public broadcaster, CBC. To my surprise, I won. And that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-walton/to-try-something-longer-i-entered-a-half-hour-radio-drama-contest/) [Karen Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-walton/) > [In the case of The Thin Blue Line, I was surprised actually by many things. I was shooting down in Texas where the actual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/in-the-case-of-the-thin-blue-line-i-was-surprised-actually-by-many/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [I wouldn't support Limp Bizkit being on some snuff backyard brawling, fighting contest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/i-wouldn-t-support-limp-bizkit-being-on-some-snuff-backyard-brawling/) [Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/) > [People understand contests. You take a bunch of kids throwing rocks at random and people look askance, but if you go and hold a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-murray/people-understand-contests-you-take-a-bunch-of-kids-throwing-rocks-at/) [Don Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-murray/) > [If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/if-we-are-to-have-another-contest-in-the-near-future-of-our-national/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [And we shall most likely be defeated, and you will most likely be victors in the contest, if you learn so to order your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/and-we-shall-most-likely-be-defeated-and-you-will-most-likely-be/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It used to happen in villages and towns in China that they would have - I guess you'd call them beauty contests - where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-see/it-used-to-happen-in-villages-and-towns-in-china-that-they-would-have/) [Lisa See](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-see/) > [That was exactly why people didn't want to give us any kind of life, because we were threatening their status quo, and they just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-jett/that-was-exactly-why-people-didn-t-want-to-give-us-any-kind-of-life/) [Joan Jett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-jett/) Browse all 545 Contests quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The contest is not between us and them, but between good and evil, and if those who would fight evil adopt the ways of evil, evil wins.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Jefferson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-contest-is-not-between-us-and-them-but-between-good-and-evil-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contests" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-contest-is-not-between-us-and-them-but-between-good-and-evil-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/thomas-jefferson-43_contests_the-contest-is-not-between-us-and-them-b_2898019.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/thomas-jefferson-43_contests_the-contest-is-not-between-us-and-them-b_2898019.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3e/thomas-jefferson-43_contests_the-contest-is-not-between-us-and-them-b_2898019.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The contest is not between us and them, but between good and evil, and if those who would fight evil adopt…” — Thomas Jefferson", "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": "Thomas Jefferson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The contest is not between us...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-contest-is-not-between-us-and-them-but-between-good-and-evil-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-contest-is-not-between-us-and-them-but-between-good-and-evil-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 } } ] } ```