Unknown Quotes

Context

Um, Gandhi didn't say those words exactly. They are paraphrased from his 98 volumes of writings. In Vol. 13, Ch. 153, page 241, published in 1913, the actual text is: "We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. […] We need not wait to see what others do."

As you can see, reducing Gandhi's original text demonstrates how, well, less is more. If you want to make an impact, the message should fit on a bumper sticker.

Gandhi was trying to lead his people out of British rule without waving pistols and sabers. While he knew that changing individual hearts to be non-violent was necessary, he also knew it would take an army of these freshly minted pacifists to make the British go home. You can flick one ant off your picnic blanket. What're you going to do when millions of ants invade your blanket chanting the Hare Krishna? Run!

Where you've heard it

Change your underwear every day? We hope so. Change your oil every 3,000 miles? The car thanks you. Change your style whenever you want? Sure thing. Change your heart? That's a bit tougher. Scratch that—it's a lot tougher.

Let us illustrate. Think of things that are really hard to do: climbing mountains, competing in the Olympics, rowing with one oar, speaking in public, getting gum off the sofa. Yeah, personal change is that hard. But the good news is that the results can be spectacular.

Additional Notable References

• Referenced in a New York Times article on misquotes
• Wall art 
• Video tribute

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

You're most likely to encounter this on the bumper of a Volkswagen van or a Volvo station wagon. Sure, we'd all rather sit in traffic without being reminded that "if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." At the same time, Shmoopers, we've seen far worse bumper stickers out there. We're looking at you, "Keep honking. I'm reloading."