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We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.

— Kurt Vonnegut Mother Night (1962)

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Notes from Wikiquote

Sometimes misquoted as: Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.

More quotes by Kurt Vonnegut

Maybe God has let everybody who ever lived be reborn — so he or she can see how it ends.

Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1970)

Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile.

Mother Night (1962)

Belief is nearly the whole of the Universe, whether based on truth or not.

Bluebeard (1987)

I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center.

Player Piano (1952)

I wish that people who are conventionally supposed to love each other would say to each other, when they fight, "Please — a little less love, and a little more common decency."

Slapstick (1976)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Kurt Vonnegut (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.