Responsibility Quotes

“No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.”
― Stanisław Jerzy Lec

“Why was I chosen?'

'Such questions cannot be answered,' said Gandalf. 'You may be sure that it was not for any merit that others do not possess. But you have been chosen, and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“Don't let the rain drive you to the wrong shelter; the shade can turn out to be your protector and also your destroyer, and sometimes the rain is the perfect protector from the rain.”
― Michael Bassey Johnson

“Why, oh why must one grow up, why must one inherit this heavy, numbing responsibility of living an undiscovered life? Out of the nothingness and the undifferentiated mass, to make something of herself! But what? In the obscurity and pathlessness to take a direction! But whither? How take even one step? And yet, how stand still? This was torment indeed, to inherit the responsibility of one’s own life.”
― D.H. Lawrence, The Rainbow

“When you accept a leadership role, you take on extra responsibility for your actions toward others.”
― Kelley Armstrong, The Calling

“It's hard enough for a person to keep their own socks pulled up, let alone someone else's.”
― Stephen King, The Stand

“Good is never accomplished except at the cost of those who do it, truth never breaks through except through the sacrifice of those who spread it.”
― John Henry Newman

“All stories have a curious and even dangerous power. They are manifestations of truth -- yours and mine. And truth is all at once the most wonderful yet terrifying thing in the world, which makes it nearly impossible to handle. It is such a great responsibility that it's best not to tell a story at all unless you know you can do it right. You must be very careful, or without knowing it you can change the world.”
― Vera Nazarian, Dreams Of The Compass Rose

“The writer’s job is to write with rigor, with commitment, to defend what they believe with all the talent they have. I think that’s part of the moral obligation of a writer, which cannot be only purely artistic. I think a writer has some kind of responsibility at least to participate in the civic debate. I think literature is impoverished, if it becomes cut from the main agenda of people, of society, of life.”
― Mario Vargas Llosa

“I realized that conservatism was the philosophy that best suited me, with its emphasis on individual liberty, personal responsibility, and merit.”
― Mark R. Levin

“The capacity for love that makes dogs such rewarding companions has a flip-side: They find it difficult to cope without us. Since we humans programmed this vulnerability, it's our responsibility to ensure that our dogs do not suffer as a result.”
― John Bradshaw, Dog Sense: How the New Science of Dog Behavior Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet

“He is among those beings of great scope who spread their leafy branches willingly over broad horizons. To be a man is, precisely, to be responsible. It is to know shame at the sight of poverty which is not of our making. It is to be proud of a victory won by our comrades. It is to feel, as we place our stone, that we are contributing to the building of the world.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wind, Sand and Stars

“‎With adulthood comes responsibility.”
― Mary Lydon Simonsen, The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy

“Make not, when you work a deed of shame, The scoundrel's plea, 'My forbears did the same.”
― Abu'l-Ala-Al-Ma'arri

“Not all Muslims become involved in acts of violence. Yet all might be held culpable. THis is because that section of Muslim--in fact, the majority--who are not personally involved, neither disown those members of their community who are engaged in violence, nor even condemn them. In such a case, according to the Islamic Shariah itself, if the involved Muslims are directly responsible, the uninvolved Muslims are also indirectly responsible. (p. 91)”
― Wahiduddin Khan, The True Jihad: The Concept of Peace, Tolerance and Non Violence in Islam

“Was die Menschen täglich ihre Entscheidungen nennen, ist nichts weiter als ein gut einstudiertes Spiel.”
― Juli Zeh, Spieltrieb

“We make the choice . . . and then the choice makes us”
― Jaco Strydom, Confessions oor kerkwees

“She, too, spoke only when the queen or king addressed her first, but she looked searchingly at every supplicant, and her clear face said that she had opinions about everything she heard, and that it was her proud duty to think out those opinions, and make them responsible and coherent.”
― Robin McKinley, Deerskin

“Until you accept responsibility for your life, someone else runs your life.”
― Orrin Woodward, LIFE

“If you want to be free, there is but one way; it is to guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your neighbors. There is no other.”
― Carl Schurz

“I keep what I know about Sarah Lynn and Lawrence to myself. I also remind myself that even if Sarah Lynn does have a scary strict father, that doesn't release her from the responsibility of treating others with respect. Abuse of power is wrong, no matter the context, no matter the history.
What is "power" anyway? Power is an ego trip. Power is a way to rise yourself up by lowering others, and I want nothing of it.”
― Lauren Myracle, Bliss

“Why are we so desperate to escape the material world? Is it really so bleak? Or could it be, rather, that we have made it bleak: obscured its vibrant mystery with our ideological blinders, severed its infinite connectedness with our categories, suppressed its spontaneous order with our pavement, reduced its infinite variety with our commodities, shattered its eternity with our time-keeping, and denied its abundance with our money system?”
― Charles Eisenstein, The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible

“The tombstone over the grave of the conscience always reads: "Human Nature".”
― Stefan Molyneux

“To abandon a child, she had once said to someone, when she thought Cassandra couldn't hear, was an act so cold, so careless, it refused forgiveness.”
― Kate Morton, The Forgotten Garden

“Unless society came out past Flat Rock Crossroads, kept on past Booker T. High School, hung two rights, a left, turned in on Milk Farm Road and found Roland plowing a tobacco field, jerked him off the tractor, warped him and set him back up there without anybody riding by and noticing, blame can't be laid on society.”
― Kaye Gibbons, A Virtuous Woman

“That is surely childhood's end, when you look at a thing like a rabbit needing skinned and have to say: "Nobody else is going to do this.”
― Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible

“I believe that no matter what situation in life you find yourself, there is room for you to take control of little things, which ultimately adds up to big things.”
― Lisa J. Shultz, Lighter Living: Declutter. Organize. Simplify.

“If you choose not to live self-responsibly, you count on others to make up your default. No one abjures self-responsibility on a desert island.”
― Nathaniel Branden

“A peculiar idea. Once you’re alive in this world, you’re responsible.”
― Zadie Smith, Swing Time

“...sometimes it's best not to know, because even when you know, it doesn't matter anyway. Ignorance is bliss. Knowledge is often a responsibility nobody wants.”
― Cecelia Ahern, Flawed