"We can destroy ourselves by cynicism and disillusion, just as effectively as by bombs"
- Kenneth Clark
About this Quote
This quote by Kenneth Clark is a warning about the threats of cynicism and disillusionment. He is suggesting that these lack of confidences can be simply as devastating as physical weapons. Cynicism and disillusionment can cause a lack of hope and a feeling of vulnerability, which can avoid people from acting to enhance their lives. This can cause a sense of lethargy and a lack of inspiration, which can have a disastrous result on people and society as a whole. Clark is recommending that we ought to strive to keep a positive outlook and remain enthusiastic, even in the face of adversity, in order to prevent ourselves from being ruined by our own lack of confidences.
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"On the eighteenth of December 1972, when we thought we were getting another of the hundreds of little tactical air raids, we heard the bombs going in out there in the railroad yards and this went on for about thirty minutes"
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"I do not believe that civilization will be wiped out in a war fought with the atomic bomb. Perhaps two-thirds of the people of the earth will be killed"
