"What's right is what's left if you do everything else wrong"

Robin Williams’s playful twist of language reveals an unexpectedly profound truth about morality and human error. By suggesting that “what’s right is what’s left if you do everything else wrong,” he encourages the notion that even amidst a sea of mistakes or misjudgments, a core of goodness persists. When all possibilities for error have been exhausted, the remaining choice, whatever endures after all the failures and missteps, represents what is genuine and true.

This idea reflects the persistent nature of rightness or virtue: it is not necessarily the first or easiest path taken, but rather what remains resilient after trial, error, and reflection. It subverts any rigid reliance on predetermined rules or external authority, proposing instead that learning and understanding often happen through our willingness to fail, to try different avenues, and to confront our imperfections. The right path, then, is not always obvious; it sometimes emerges only after others have been proven inadequate or harmful.

Intrinsically linked to ideas of resilience and redemption, the phrase holds a subtle message of hope, suggesting that no matter how many mistakes we make, the possibility for right action always remains. The journey toward “what’s right” is not linear; it often involves making wrong choices and then recognizing them for what they are. Through this process of elimination or refinement, we arrive at something authentic, actions or principles that stand strong when others have fallen away.

Williams’s words gently acknowledge our humanity and our fallibility. Perfection is not required. If we approach life open to learning from missteps, then eventually, what remains, what’s left, after our errors will be worthy and sufficient. It is a call to humility, perseverance, and an ultimate faith in the endurance of what’s right, no matter how circuitous the path we travel to find it.