Sydney J. Harris Quotes

I'm always being realistic.

You can't be idealistic in this world and not be crazy.

I'm a realist.

I consider myself a realist.

The problem with Raven is that she's so smart, so sometimes it's hard for her to be hopeful or idealistic, because she's so realistic. So even if she's working on a solution, she's not proud of it until it's concrete.

I'm very much a realist.

God save me from idealists.

I'm an idealist without illusions.

Let hope inspire you, but let not idealism blind you. Don't look back, you can never look back.

I am not an idiot, and I'm not a Pollyanna sort of kumbaya type.

Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive.

I'm a hopeful cynic.

Idealist: a cynic in the making.

I've never understood the division between so-called realists and so-called idealists.

We suppose mankind more honest than they are.

Hope is a tease designed to prevent us from accepting reality.

I went around in my teens and early 20s thinking that life was a con trick. I had managed to grow up believing in all sorts of romantic ideas about hard work and justice and truth, and it seemed the real world was much more complicated and shaded than I wanted to believe.

I'm a dreamer and a realist.

'Realistic dreamer' is not an oxymoron.

I just have a different impression of the human race. I think we're really resilient. I think there are a lot of cynical people out there right now, and probably for good reason. But I think that ever cynic is really a damaged romantic, and they really, really, really want things to be good. And if that's the case, I don't need to tell a story that says, "Humanity, look what you've done. Now you can't go out. There's no sun. Look how you've wrecked the world." That's not me. That's not my job.

I think I probably hoped for it a little bit, but I'm not an optimist. I'm a realist... or maybe even a pessimist.

When I was younger, I was somewhat of an idealist. I guess I'm a little bit more of a realist now. I think there's a lot that can be done to make the world a better place, but it's more about choosing your battles.

I would say that I am a jaded man beyond most expectations, but, like everyone else, I still have hope.

Don't make me into this airy-fairy, moralist, idealist because I'm not.

I'm capable of looking on the bright side. I just don't do it very often.