Quotes about ethics

Ethical fading begins when doing what’s right conflicts with getting ahead - Simon Sinek
At its core, this quote describes the process where the *desire to win* slowly erodes our ethical boundaries. It’s not about a sudden, conscious choice to be bad; it's about a gradual, almost imperceptible slide.

Connection Quote

A society that isolates individuals is one that forgets its own survival depends on connection - Sebastian Junger
At its core, this quote means that a society's strength and its very ability to endure is a direct result of the quality of connections between its people. Isolation isn't just a personal tragedy; it's a collective failure that undermines our shared resilience.

What connection means

In the absence of the tribe, people turn to substitute communities that may not sustain them - Sebastian Junger
At its core, this quote means that our fundamental human need for a close-knit, interdependent group is so strong that if we don't have one, we'll desperately try to fill that void with whatever's available, even if those replacements are ultimately hollow and unsatisfying.

What loneliness means

The modern world has greatly diminished our sense of belonging and purpose, leaving many to search for community in all the wrong places - Sebastian Junger
At its core, this quote means that our contemporary, individualistic society has fractured the deep, tribal connections humans naturally crave, and our attempts to rebuild that sense of community are often misguided and ultimately unsatisfying.

Quotes about autonomy principles

When citizens take responsibility for each other, institutions become less necessary - John McKnight
The core idea is that informal, neighbor-to-neighbor care can reduce our dependence on formal, professionalized systems. It's about rediscovering the power we already have in our own backyards.

Quotes about empowerment principles

A competent community is not one that consumes services but one that creates the capacities of its members - John McKnight
The core message is that real community strength comes from empowering its members to solve their own problems, not from passively consuming services provided by outside institutions.