Who said, "Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people"?

smartie806

Eleanor Roosevelt. http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/146 Sep 07 06, 2:07 PM

smartypants82

Eleanor Roosevelt probably did not have the American ideal in mind when she said this. "All men are created equal" does not extend past constitutional rights, even today. The greater lesson here is idea that great minds have no need to gossip or belittle others. Small minds discuss people in a selfish, jealous, or narcissistic sense. They put others down in order to bring themselves up. That's probably more what Eleanor Roosevelt had in mind. Average minds may reflect on, for instance, events in history, but great minds may discuss the causes and effects of those events as a means to avoid making the same mistakes in the future, to find reason, to heal wrongs. Most people are average, having both "great" and "small" qualities at times. No one fits completely into one category. Eleanor Roosevelt had "average" and "small" times in her life. Even the "smallest" human being is likely to have moments, however fleeting, of greatness within them. May 29 07, 1:34 AM