--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was realism that told Kelly he…" description: "\"“It was realism that told Kelly he couldn’t fix all the problems of the world; it was idealism that told him his inability to do so did not preclude hi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/tom-clancy-1751_quote_it-was-realism-that-told-kelly-he-couldn_1750934.jpg" --- # It was realism that told Kelly he couldn’t fix all the… ![“It was realism that told Kelly he couldn’t fix all the problems of the world; it was idealism that told him his inability to do so did not preclude him from addressing individual imperfections.” quote by Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/tom-clancy-1751_quote_it-was-realism-that-told-kelly-he-couldn_1750934.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/tom-clancy-1751_quote_it-was-realism-that-told-kelly-he-couldn_1750934.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/tom-clancy-1751_quote_it-was-realism-that-told-kelly-he-couldn_1750934.jpg) > ““It was realism that told Kelly he couldn’t fix all the problems of the world; it was idealism that told him his inability to do so did not preclude him from addressing individual imperfections.”” [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Realism limits expectations to what can be fixed; idealism encourages action despite personal limits. **In simple terms:** Realism sets limits; idealism pushes action. Key Takeaway Act on what you can change. Themes idealism action personal responsibility realism optimism Mood hopeful determined Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - personal challenges - community projects - policy advocacy - volunteering Key Concepts philosophy psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance realistic limits with idealistic goals? - When does idealism become impractical? A Different Perspective Idealism may overlook systemic barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Idealism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealism/) [Idealism Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealism-told-1605542/) [Kelly Couldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kelly-couldn-1605544/) [Realism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realism/) [Realism Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realism-told-1605543/) [World Idealism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-idealism-926904/) ## Related quotes > [The energy of the Kennedy years was completely compelling... I had a sense of a generous society eager to change the world. Idealism was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-stringer/the-energy-of-the-kennedy-years-was-completely-compelling-i-had-a/) [Howard Stringer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-stringer/) > [If you want to accomplish something in the world, idealism is not enough - you need to choose a method that works to achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stallman/if-you-want-to-accomplish-something-in-the-world-idealism-is-not/) [Richard Stallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stallman/) > [“It is not materialism that is the chief curse of the world, but idealism. Men get into trouble by taking all their gaudy visions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken-2/it-is-not-materialism-that-is-the-chief-curse-of-the-world-but/) [H.L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken-2/) > [My mother learned that she was carrying me at about the same time the Second World War was declared; with the family talent for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/my-mother-learned-that-she-was-carrying-me-at-about-the-same-time-the/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [The Gospel worldview equips the artist with a unique combination of optimism and realism about life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-gospel-worldview-equips-the-artist-with-a-unique-combination-of/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Art is beauty, and every exposition of art, whether it be music, painting, or the drama, should be subservient to that one great end.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-marlowe/art-is-beauty-and-every-exposition-of-art-whether-it-be-music/) [Julia Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-marlowe/) > [“Anton Chekhov tells the truth neither out of love or respect for the truth, nor yet because, in the Kantian manner, a high duty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/anton-chekhov-tells-the-truth-neither-out-of-love-or-respect-for-the/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [“Realism arises from the maturity of the minds, while Idealism arises from their conformity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/realism-arises-from-the-maturity-of-the-minds-while-idealism-arises/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Realism is in the work when idealism is in the soul, and it is only through idealism that we resume contact with reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/realism-is-in-the-work-when-idealism-is-in-the-soul-and-it-is-only/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [I am convinced that love is the most durable power in the world. It is not an expression of impractical idealism, but of practical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-am-convinced-that-love-is-the-most-durable-power-in-the-world-it-is/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [All of Koons's best art - the encased vacuum cleaners, the stainless-steel Rabbit (the late-twentieth century's signature work of Simulationist sculpture), the amazing gleaming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/all-of-koons-s-best-art-the-encased-vacuum-cleaners-the-stainless/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Idealism and realism meet in the actual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-parker-follett/idealism-and-realism-meet-in-the-actual/) [Mary Parker Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-parker-follett/) > [Idealism leads to realism if it is strictly thought out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/idealism-leads-to-realism-if-it-is-strictly-thought-out/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [By the artificial separation of soul and body men have invented a Realism that is vulgar and an Idealism that is void.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/by-the-artificial-separation-of-soul-and-body-men-have-invented-a/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [There is no realism without an element of idealism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/there-is-no-realism-without-an-element-of-idealism/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) ## More by Tom Clancy > [“The most important lesson that came out of Vietnam for me was that Marines take care of Marines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-most-important-lesson-that-came-out-of-vietnam-for-me-was-that/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [I understand why we do that now. It’s a help, not a threat. It’s something to remind you how important words are. Ideas are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/i-understand-why-we-do-that-now-it-s-a-help-not-a-threat-it-s/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [People, I am actually fairly smart. Why has this not occurred to anyone? The information is all out there, if you go looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/people-i-am-actually-fairly-smart-why-has-this-not-occurred-to-anyone/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Sunday was the normal day for the political awareness session at sea. Ordinarily Putin would have officiated, reading some Pravada editorials, followed by selected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/sunday-was-the-normal-day-for-the-political-awareness-session-at-sea/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Fix your eyes forward on what you can do, not back on what you cannot change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/fix-your-eyes-forward-on-what-you-can-do-not-back-on-what-you-cannot/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Speak your dialogue out loud. If it sounds like the way people talk, then write it down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/speak-your-dialogue-out-loud-if-it-sounds-like-the-way-people-talk/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Two questions form the foundation of all novels: "What if?" and "What next?" (A third question, "What now?", is one the author asks himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/two-questions-form-the-foundation-of-all-novels-what-if-and-what-next/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [The smaller the mind, the greater the ego.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-smaller-the-mind-the-greater-the-ego/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Nothing is as real as a dream. The world can change around you, but your dream will not... Responsibilities need not erase it. Duties…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/nothing-is-as-real-as-a-dream-the-world-can-change-around-you-but/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [An overnight success is ten years in the making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/an-overnight-success-is-ten-years-in-the-making/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Bill Clinton is a man who thinks international affairs means dating a girl from out of town.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/bill-clinton-is-a-man-who-thinks-international-affairs-means-dating-a/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [The objective of a terrorist is to create political change in the society he targets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-objective-of-a-terrorist-is-to-create-political-change-in-the/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [“The Good of the People was a laudable enough goal, but in denying a man's soul, an enduring part of his being, Marxism stripped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-good-of-the-people-was-a-laudable-enough-goal-but-in-denying-a/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [(Stereotyping) is only for those without the imagination to see people as they are instead of being like someone else they understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/stereotyping-is-only-for-those-without-the-imagination-to-see-people/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [“The dead were gone and didn't know or care what they left behind.. If the dead still lived on the surface of this earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-dead-were-gone-and-didn-t-know-or-care-what-they-left-behind-if/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) [Explore all 209 Tom Clancy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) ## More Idealism quotes > [“I'm an idealist who has outgrown my idealism I have nothing to do the rest of my life but do it and the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-an-idealist-who-has-outgrown-my-idealism-i-have-nothing-to-do-the/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [What the nostalgic past and the imaginary future seem to share in common is a form of idealism, perhaps a dream of wholeness. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/what-the-nostalgic-past-and-the-imaginary-future-seem-to-share-in/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [In a democracy, the one thing that cannot be done is to destroy its trust, its hope, its idealism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-heinz/in-a-democracy-the-one-thing-that-cannot-be-done-is-to-destroy-its/) [Teresa Heinz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-heinz/) > [Love your country, not for her power or wealth, but for her selflessness and her idealism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/love-your-country-not-for-her-power-or-wealth-but-for-her/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“David Hume, in a moment of acute skepticism, felt panicky in the solitude of his study and had to go out and join his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/david-hume-in-a-moment-of-acute-skepticism-felt-panicky-in-the/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [I see history as really cyclical in terms of the intense idealism, and the desire to create a better life outside of societal norms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/i-see-history-as-really-cyclical-in-terms-of-the-intense-idealism-and/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [I unconsciously decided that, even if it wasn't an ideal world, it should be. So I painted only the ideal aspects of it -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rockwell/i-unconsciously-decided-that-even-if-it-wasn-t-an-ideal-world-it/) [Norman Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rockwell/) > [Only the broken-hearted idealist can become a cynic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-clifton/only-the-broken-hearted-idealist-can-become-a-cynic/) [Mark Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-clifton/) > [Without magic, there is no art. Without art, there is no idealism. Without idealism, there is no integrity. Without integrity, there is nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/without-magic-there-is-no-art-without-art-there-is-no-idealism/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Women have been charged with deviousness and duplicity since the dawn of civilization so they have never been able to pretend that their masks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/women-have-been-charged-with-deviousness-and-duplicity-since-the-dawn/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuri-orlov/they-say-evil-prevails-when-good-men-fail-to-act-what-they-ought-to/) [Yuri Orlov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuri-orlov/) > [“The biggest catch need not be grandest at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-harglesis/the-biggest-catch-need-not-be-grandest-at-all/) [Andy Harglesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-harglesis/) > [“You know, the whole thing about perfectionism. The perfectionism is very dangerous. Because of course if your fidelity to perfectionism is too high, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/you-know-the-whole-thing-about-perfectionism-the-perfectionism-is/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“An idealist is someone who helps other people to be prosperous”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-henry-ford/an-idealist-is-someone-who-helps-other-people-to-be-prosperous/) [Ford Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-henry-ford/) > [Could beauty be beaten out, O youth the cities have sent to strike at each other's strength, it is you who have kept her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilda-doolittle/could-beauty-be-beaten-out-o-youth-the-cities-have-sent-to-strike-at/) [Hilda Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilda-doolittle/) [Browse all 584 Idealism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was realism that told Kelly he couldn’t fix all the problems of the world; it was idealism that told him his inability to do so did not preclude him from addressing individual imperfections.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Clancy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/it-was-realism-that-told-kelly-he-couldn-t-fix-all-the-problems-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Idealism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/it-was-realism-that-told-kelly-he-couldn-t-fix-all-the-problems-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/tom-clancy-1751_quote_it-was-realism-that-told-kelly-he-couldn_1750934.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/tom-clancy-1751_quote_it-was-realism-that-told-kelly-he-couldn_1750934.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/tom-clancy-1751_quote_it-was-realism-that-told-kelly-he-couldn_1750934.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was realism that told Kelly he couldn’t fix all the problems of the world; it was idealism that told him…” — Tom Clancy", "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": "Tom Clancy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It was realism that told Kelly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/it-was-realism-that-told-kelly-he-couldn-t-fix-all-the-problems-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/it-was-realism-that-told-kelly-he-couldn-t-fix-all-the-problems-of/#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 } } ] } ```