It may help to understand human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people.

Neil Gaiman
About This Quote

The theme of the quote is that people are complex. Not everyone is good or bad. Instead, most people are misunderstood because they are complex. Instead of making decisions based on what they actually do, people are often judged for their actions, even though they did not actually mean to do something.

For example, a teacher who does not give a student a passing grade may be judged for doing so. A parent who tells his child that he is going to leave soon may be judged for doing so. In reality, both of these parents did not want to do anything wrong.

In each case, the parent was trying to do the right thing for their child, but it was misconstrued as doing something wrong. The issue with the word “fundamentally” here is that it is often used incorrectly in modern times to suggest that there is a right or wrong behind what a person does or does not do. If a person wants to take credit for something they did not do, then “fundamentally” everything is okay and they should be completely forgiven for their actions.

Source: Good Omens: The Nice And Accurate Prophecies Of Agnes Nutter, Witch

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