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Quotes about responsibility

87 quotes from 73 people

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There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.
Marshall McLuhan1911–1980Lecture “Living in an Acoustic World”, University of South Florida (1970)
- Nature
Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.
John Stuart Mill1806–1873Inaugural Address Delivered to the University of St. Andrews, Feb. 1st 1867 (1867) p. 36.
- Good & Evil
If ill opinions cannot be quite rooted out, and you cannot cure some received vice according to your wishes, you must not, therefore, abandon the commonwealth, for the same reasons as you should not forsake the ship in a storm because you cannot command the winds.
Thomas More1478–1535Utopia (1516), Book IIn context
- Government
- Politics
No one can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices.
Edward R. Murrow1908–1965CBS television broadcast, on See It Now (7 March 1954)
- Fear
Freedom and power bring responsibility.
Jawaharlal Nehru1889–1964A Tryst With Destiny (1947)
- Freedom
The writer’s responsibility is to increase, develop our senses, expand our vision, heighten our awareness and enrich our articulateness.
Anaïs Nin1903–1977The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 5, as quoted in Moving to Antarctica: An Anthology of Women’s Writing (1975) by Margaret Kaminski
- Writing
There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.
POP. J. O'Rourke1947–2022The Liberty Manifesto (1993)
- Freedom
One of the annoying things about believing in free will and individual responsibility is the difficulty of finding somebody to blame your problems on.
POP. J. O'Rourke1947–2022Rolling Stone (30 November 1989)
If you’re tired of arguing with strangers on the internet, try to talk with one in real life. If something needs fixing, lace up your shoes and do some organizing. If you’re disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clipboard, get some signatures, and run for office yourself.
Barack Obamaborn 1961Barack Obama’s Farewell Address (2017)
- Democracy
- Politics
Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift. But it’s really just a piece of parchment. It has no power on its own. We, the people, give it power⁠—with our participation, and the choices we make.
Barack Obamaborn 1961Barack Obama’s Farewell Address (2017)
- Democracy
- Government
It is the duty of every man, so far as his ability extends, to detect and expose delusion and error.
Thomas Paine1737–1809The Theophilanthropist: Containing Critical, Moral, Theological and Literary Essays, in Monthly Numbers, p. 387
- Truth & Lies
We may become the makers of our fate when we have ceased to pose as its prophets.
Karl Popper1902–1994The Open Society and Its Enemies (1945), Introduction
Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.
Colin Powell1937–2021The Powell Principles (2003)
We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.
Ronald Reagan1911–2004Speech at the Republican National Convention, Platform Committee Meeting, Miami, Florida” (31 July 1968)
- Laws
For freedom is not the property of one generation; it’s the obligation of this and every generation. It’s our duty to protect it and expand it and pass it undiminished to those still unborn.
Ronald Reagan1911–2004Final speech as President (1989)
- Freedom