“In all of our society, but especially in Hollywood, there is an obsession with perfection that can lead to self-loathing and neurosis and all that kind of stuff.”
Society is the agreement we all live under without ever signing a contract. These quotes examine culture, community, inequality, progress, and the ongoing negotiation between individual freedom and collective responsibility.
“If you want a free society, teach your children what oppression tastes like. Tell them how many miracles it takes to get from here to there. Above all, encourage them to ask questions. Teach them to think for themselves.”
“In all of our society, but especially in Hollywood, there is an obsession with perfection that can lead to self-loathing and neurosis and all that kind of stuff.”
“What I work hard at doing is staying on a path of being kind and showing and proving that I'm a good person to society. That's hard. The talent, that's a gift. I just came here like that.”
“My foundations support people in the country who care about an open society. It's their work that I'm supporting. So it's not me doing it. But I can empower them. I can support them, and I can help them.”
“You've got all these books on self help, getting to know yourself, doing the right thing, eating the so-called right foods, even down to what books you have on your shelves. People are encouraged to look to themselves first as opposed to being a part of society.”
“If you look at the footballers, you look at our celebrity culture, we seem to be saying, 'This is the way you want to be'. We seem to be a society that celebrates all the wrong people.”
“For too long in this society, we have celebrated unrestrained individualism over common community.”
“I think every artist should follow their vision, their hearts is what they need to reveal, not something that society is looking out for.”
“The human being is in the most literal sense a political animal, not merely a gregarious animal, but an animal which can individuate itself only in the midst of society.”
“Travel and society polish one, but a rolling stone gathers no moss, and a little moss is a good thing on a man.”
“Corporate executives need to re-frame their responsibilities to include the interests of all the stakeholders in society at large not just shareholders, but also employees, the citizens of our communities, and those who care about the environment.”
“Individual rights are the means of subordinating society to moral law.”
“Property is not the sacred right. When a rich man becomes poor it is a misfortune, it is not a moral evil. When a poor man becomes destitute, it is a moral evil, teeming with consequences and injurious to society and morality.”
“Society is at odds with itself.”
“But hey, when you live in Watts, you need a little smack to get by, you know what I mean? You need something soft and comfortable in your life, 'cause you're not going to get it from what's around you. And society isn't going to give it to you.”
“Our society is dependent on some precarious mechanisms, and they are very dicey. They can easily collapse.”