Minds do not act together in public; they simply stick together; and when their private activities are resumed, they fly apart again.
PoliticsUnityIndividualIndividualityPublicPublic opinionSocial dynamicsSociety
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Public collaboration is often superficial and temporary. True private interactions resume separately when public gatherings end.
- In plain terms
- People only work together publicly when their private lives stay separate.
- What can you take from it?
- Public unity often masks private individuality.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is public agreement ever real?
- Do we sacrifice privacy for public unity?
Another view
It overlooks cases where public consensus leads to lasting private change.
More from Grover Cleveland
It is better to be defeated standing for a high principle than to run by committing subterfuge.
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