It is one thing to decry the rat race.… That is the good and honorable work of moralists. It is quite another thing to quit the rat race, to drop out, to refuse to run any further—that is the work of the individualist. It is offensive because it is impolite; it makes the rebuke personal; the individualist calls not his or her behavior into question, but mine.

About Paul Gruchow

Paul Gruchow (May 23, 1947 – February 22, 2004) was an American author, editor, and conservationist from Montevideo, Minnesota. A student of poet John Berryman, he is well known for his strong support of rural communities, as expressed in his first book, "Journal of a Prairie Year" published by University...

More quotations tagged with “politeness”

Politeness doesn't require actual humanity. It's just cultural ritual. Kindness means you actually care and have good intentions toward a person. It means you think about them as much as you think about yourself.

—Karen Kilgariff in Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered

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Good breeding consists of concealing how much we think of ourselves and how little we think of the other person.

—Mark Twain

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You must be very polite with yourself when you are learning something new.

—Elizabeth Gilbert in Love

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If cats could talk, they wouldn’t.

—Nan Porter

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History

29 Mar 2014 Added
26 Oct 2026 Wording changed

Previous wording

It is one thing to decry the rat race. … That is the good and honorable work of moralists. It is quite another thing to quit the rat race, to drop out, to refuse to run any further — that is the work of the individualist. It is offensive because it is impolite; it makes the rebuke personal; the individualist calls not his or her behavior into question, but mine.