If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning.

The quip turns moral instruction into dark comedy: if someone cannot manage to model admirable behavior, their failures can still serve a social purpose by warning others what not to do. It plays on the familiar expectation that people—especially public figures, parents, or leaders—should “set a good example,” then undercuts it with a sardonic fallback. The line’s bite lies in its implied self-awareness: it acknowledges human weakness while insisting that actions inevitably teach, whether through inspiration or cautionary tale. As an epigram, it also critiques performative virtue, suggesting that consequences, not intentions, are what ultimately educate observers.