Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Physical safety is more important than religious or cultural symbols.
In plain terms
Saving your life matters more than saving your headgear.
What can you take from it?
Prioritize survival over symbols.

Where it applies

  • threatening situations
  • moral dilemmas
  • religious persecution

Putting it to work

  • risk assessment
  • decision making
  • conflict resolution

Questions to consider

  • What symbols would you sacrifice to survive?
  • When does identity risk safety?

Another view

It simplifies complex identity choices into binary survival.

More from Mel Brooks

  1. King Louis XVI [prior to his arrest]: 'It's good to be the king. (Also used in Robin Hood- Men In Tights and The Producers [Musical])'

    Permalink to quote #12
  2. Moses (Mel Brooks): 'God has given us these fifteen- (after dropping one of the tablets)Oy. Ten-ten commandments!'

    Permalink to quote #14
  3. Other Street Merchant:'Nothing, I have absolutely nothing for sale!'

    Permalink to quote #11

Related quotes

  1. I won't open boxes That I am told not to. I'm not a Pandora. I'm much more like That girl in the mirror. Between you and me She don't stand a chance of getting…

    Kate BushKate Bush quote #103
  2. We pretend to be whatever we must in order to survive.

    Orson Scott CardOrson Scott Card quote #167
  3. I would rather dance as a ballerina, though faultily, than as a flawless clown.

    Margaret AtwoodMargaret Atwood quote #1