Exactly this
Dear The Good Place gif makers:
It’s “moral desert.” I know it’s pronounced like “dessert,” but it’s got nothing to do with sweets after a meal. Nor does it have anything to do with those places with all the sand.
No, it’s about what you deserve. Literally–“desert” pronounced this way means “that which is deserved.” “Moral desert” is the reward you earn by being good–and the whole point the show is making is that there’s no such thing. Being good is a net loss for the good person.
And yet we want to be in a good place, and the only way to get one is to fill it with good people.
So the question is… how? Do good people exist? If so, why? How do we get more? How do we surround ourselves with good people? How–and why–do we try to become good ourselves?
(It’s such a fucking good show.)
Point is… Literally every gif set I’ve seen, every quote site, makes this same mistake, and it’s a big one–the difference between getting a bonus (dessert) and earning a paycheck (desert). The point is that, when it comes to morality, you get neither.