--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We all inherit damage from the past. We…" description: "\"“We all inherit damage from the past. We spread it like a virus and don't generally think about it.”\" — Thomas Norman DeWolf" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/thomas-norman-dewolf-84238_history_we-all-inherit-damage-from-the-past-we-s_1221420.jpg" --- # We all inherit damage from the past. We spread it like a… ![“We all inherit damage from the past. We spread it like a virus and don't generally think about it.” quote by Thomas Norman DeWolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/thomas-norman-dewolf-84238_history_we-all-inherit-damage-from-the-past-we-s_1221420.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/thomas-norman-dewolf-84238_history_we-all-inherit-damage-from-the-past-we-s_1221420.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/thomas-norman-dewolf-84238_history_we-all-inherit-damage-from-the-past-we-s_1221420.jpg) > ““We all inherit damage from the past. We spread it like a virus and don't generally think about it.”” [Thomas Norman DeWolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-norman-dewolf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Past harms are inherited and spread like a virus, often unnoticed. **In simple terms:** We inherit and spread past damage unknowingly. Key Takeaway Recognize and break harmful cycles. Themes history trauma inheritance Mood somber hopeful Type psychological social When to use this quote - family dynamics - community health - education curricula - policy reform Key Concepts intergenerational trauma social contagion Questions to Reflect On - What inherited patterns benefit you? - How can you transform harmful legacies? A Different Perspective Not all past influences are negative; some are protective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Damage Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damage-past-3741840/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Inherit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inherit/) [Inherit Damage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inherit-damage-3741841/) [Like Virus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-virus-520251/) [Past Spread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-spread-772312/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“all my past spread out laid bare I trample on it what else to do”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-rosenstock/all-my-past-spread-out-laid-bare-i-trample-on-it-what-else-to-do/) [Gabriel Rosenstock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-rosenstock/) > [There are people who are just suicidal, regardless. They are built to self-destruct. It seems, in my family, like a virus that's resistant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/there-are-people-who-are-just-suicidal-regardless-they-are-built-to/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [One by one, I could find a house that somebody had restored properly, and then another one, and now it's like a virus. Everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-krisel/one-by-one-i-could-find-a-house-that-somebody-had-restored-properly/) [William Krisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-krisel/) > [Sometimes, a word succeeds beyond the wildest dreams of its creators, like a virus sent into the world to infect common speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/sometimes-a-word-succeeds-beyond-the-wildest-dreams-of-its-creators/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [Ignorance is venomous and it murders the soul, spreading like a virus, running rampant, out of control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immortal-technique/ignorance-is-venomous-and-it-murders-the-soul-spreading-like-a-virus/) [Immortal Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immortal-technique/) > [“Fear, left unchecked, can spread like a virus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lish-mcbride/fear-left-unchecked-can-spread-like-a-virus/) [Lish McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lish-mcbride/) > [Pseudoscience is like a virus. At low levels, it's no big deal, but when it reaches a certain threshold it becomes sickening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-plait/pseudoscience-is-like-a-virus-at-low-levels-it-s-no-big-deal-but-when/) [Phil Plait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-plait/) > [“An idea is like a virus. Resilient. Highly contagious. The smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define...or destroy you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-k-abdelnour/an-idea-is-like-a-virus-resilient-highly-contagious-the-smallest-seed/) [Ziad K. Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-k-abdelnour/) > [The joke is that U2's new record only looked like a virus. Enjoy mining bitcoins for me losers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/the-joke-is-that-u2-s-new-record-only-looked-like-a-virus-enjoy/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [To some degree, it seems like around the country people are just living life like there is no virus. And that's scary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monty-williams/to-some-degree-it-seems-like-around-the-country-people-are-just/) [Monty Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monty-williams/) > [Love is like a virus. It can happen to anybody at any time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/love-is-like-a-virus-it-can-happen-to-anybody-at-any-time/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I wanted to build something that was a system - that was mechanical and would propagate itself like a virus. I needed a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-birch/i-wanted-to-build-something-that-was-a-system-that-was-mechanical-and/) [Michael Birch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-birch/) > [“blood as well. The thing is, shit like this—well, it’s a virus you can’t ever get rid of. I feel myself failing. I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-j-cole/blood-as-well-the-thing-is-shit-like-this-well-it-s-a-virus-you-can-t/) [Stevie J. Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-j-cole/) > [Money is like any other virus: once it has rotted the soul of the person who houses it, it sets off in search of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/money-is-like-any-other-virus-once-it-has-rotted-the-soul-of-the/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Spiritual joy is devotion, it's like a virus you know? It's a benevolent virus, but it spreads. It's infectious. Ram Dass was like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/spiritual-joy-is-devotion-it-s-like-a-virus-you-know-it-s-a/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) ## More by Thomas Norman DeWolf > [“The lessons are in the quest. The answers are found in the journey. These are ripples on a pond. They spread outward. And on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-norman-dewolf/the-lessons-are-in-the-quest-the-answers-are-found-in-the-journey/) [Thomas Norman DeWolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-norman-dewolf/) > [“Today's youth cannot escape the shadow of racism that has been passed down organically from parents and others who cling to a distorted image…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-norman-dewolf/today-s-youth-cannot-escape-the-shadow-of-racism-that-has-been-passed/) [Thomas Norman DeWolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-norman-dewolf/) [Explore all 3 Thomas Norman DeWolf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-norman-dewolf/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. 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It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) [C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/) > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We all inherit damage from the past. 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