--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men with power had the responsibility to…" description: "\"“Men with power had the responsibility to know what was best, and they so rarely did.”\" — Beck Sherman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/beck-sherman-52195_ethics_men-with-power-had-the-responsibility-to_2655580.jpg" --- # Men with power had the responsibility to know what was… ![“Men with power had the responsibility to know what was best, and they so rarely did.” quote by Beck Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/beck-sherman-52195_ethics_men-with-power-had-the-responsibility-to_2655580.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/beck-sherman-52195_ethics_men-with-power-had-the-responsibility-to_2655580.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/beck-sherman-52195_ethics_men-with-power-had-the-responsibility-to_2655580.jpg) > ““Men with power had the responsibility to know what was best, and they so rarely did.”” [Beck Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck-sherman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Those in power often assume they know the best course, yet frequently lack true insight. **In simple terms:** Powerful people think they know best but often don’t. Key Takeaway Question authority and seek diverse perspectives. Themes responsibility knowledge power humility Mood skeptical reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - political leadership - corporate governance - community activism Key Concepts leadership decisionmaking epistemic humility Questions to Reflect On - How can leaders ensure they truly understand what is best? - What mechanisms can check power’s assumptions? A Different Perspective Authority can be blind to reality without feedback. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) ## Related quotes > [“Being the best is rarely within our reach. Doing our best is always within our reach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-f-glassman/being-the-best-is-rarely-within-our-reach-doing-our-best-is-always/) [Charles F. Glassman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-f-glassman/) > [I believe that in every circumstance I have been able to see rather clearly the most advantageous course I could follow, which is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/i-believe-that-in-every-circumstance-i-have-been-able-to-see-rather/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“Because everyone wanted something, and when someone coveted a thing enough, rarely did they question the price.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joelle-charbonneau/because-everyone-wanted-something-and-when-someone-coveted-a-thing/) [Joelle Charbonneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joelle-charbonneau/) > [Sometimes I looked at them and sometimes they looked at me, but rarely did we look at one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/sometimes-i-looked-at-them-and-sometimes-they-looked-at-me-but-rarely/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [The fact was I loved my wife to a degree that I found impossible to express, and so rarely did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/the-fact-was-i-loved-my-wife-to-a-degree-that-i-found-impossible-to/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“the Starkadders rarely did what was obvious though they were only too embarrassingly ready to do what was natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/the-starkadders-rarely-did-what-was-obvious-though-they-were-only-too/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) > [She was fully, painfully aware that very rarely did midnight strike in two hearts at once, very rarely did midnight arouse two different equal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/she-was-fully-painfully-aware-that-very-rarely-did-midnight-strike-in/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“Tod Donald rarely did anything voluntarily, or with planning, or even with intent acknowledged to himself; he found himself doing one thing, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/tod-donald-rarely-did-anything-voluntarily-or-with-planning-or-even/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [She didn't even have to smile, and she rarely did outside her house--it was the eyes, her dancer's carriage, the way she seemed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/she-didn-t-even-have-to-smile-and-she-rarely-did-outside-her-house-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [If I felt like not saying what was on the cue card, I would. We rarely did retakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jancee-dunn/if-i-felt-like-not-saying-what-was-on-the-cue-card-i-would-we-rarely/) [Jancee Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jancee-dunn/) > [People everywhere enjoy believing things that they know are not true. It spares them the ordeal of thinking for themselves and taking responsibility for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/people-everywhere-enjoy-believing-things-that-they-know-are-not-true/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [An actor's most important responsibility is to know lines well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-morgan/an-actor-s-most-important-responsibility-is-to-know-lines-well/) [Harry Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-morgan/) > [“There is a social responsibility for those in the know to protect those that do not know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/there-is-a-social-responsibility-for-those-in-the-know-to-protect/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I believe that in this new world that we live in, we often have a responsibility, you know, to actually go beyond the thou…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/i-believe-that-in-this-new-world-that-we-live-in-we-often-have-a/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [An actors most important responsibility is to know lines well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-morgan/an-actors-most-important-responsibility-is-to-know-lines-well/) [Harry Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-morgan/) ## More by Beck Sherman > [“Linda felt small. The houses aroung her were mostly two-stories, not big by any means, but it wasn't her surroundings making her feel this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck-sherman/linda-felt-small-the-houses-aroung-her-were-mostly-two-stories-not/) [Beck Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck-sherman/) > [“A long time ago, the act of another put the dark in his veins, and it's been there ever since. The night he lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck-sherman/a-long-time-ago-the-act-of-another-put-the-dark-in-his-veins-and-it-s/) [Beck Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck-sherman/) > [“I feel like I spend half the time trying to get away from people and the other half searching them out to prove that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck-sherman/i-feel-like-i-spend-half-the-time-trying-to-get-away-from-people-and/) [Beck Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck-sherman/) > [“The human heart will clock approximately 3 billion beats over an average lifetime. Not Johnny here, though. Just seven hundred and nineteen million, eight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck-sherman/the-human-heart-will-clock-approximately-3-billion-beats-over-an/) [Beck Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck-sherman/) > [“He had no soul, for God's sake. He was an anomaly...of the worst kind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck-sherman/he-had-no-soul-for-god-s-sake-he-was-an-anomaly-of-the-worst-kind/) [Beck Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck-sherman/) > [“While one family blew apart, the other flourished. It seemed that the immortal soul could be a maker and a destroyer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck-sherman/while-one-family-blew-apart-the-other-flourished-it-seemed-that-the/) [Beck Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck-sherman/) [Explore all 7 Beck Sherman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck-sherman/) ## More Ethics quotes > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) Rabelaise > [He who mistrusts most should be trusted least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theognis-of-megara/he-who-mistrusts-most-should-be-trusted-least/) [Theognis of Megara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theognis-of-megara/) > [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [Ethics is the activity of man directed to secure the inner perfection of his own personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/ethics-is-the-activity-of-man-directed-to-secure-the-inner-perfection/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [Records, radio, television, movies, magazines-all are monopolized by the money managers who are guided by one ethic, the words wealth and power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/records-radio-television-movies-magazines-all-are-monopolized-by-the/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/) [Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/there-is-no-perfect-justice-just-as-there-is-no-absolute-in-ethics/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spottiswoode/i-think-the-ethics-and-morals-of-genetic-engineering-are-very/) [Roger Spottiswoode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spottiswoode/) > [What our species needs, above all else, is a generally accepted ethical system that is compatible with the scientific knowledge we now possess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-our-species-needs-above-all-else-is-a-generally-accepted-ethical/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ethics is not definable, is not implementable, because it is not conscious; it involves not only our thinking, but also our feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valdemar-w-setzer/ethics-is-not-definable-is-not-implementable-because-it-is-not/) Valdemar W Setzer > [Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-hayes/any-time-you-give-a-man-something-he-doesn-t-earn-you-cheapen-him-our/) [Woody Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-hayes/) [Browse all 4,548 Ethics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Men with power had the responsibility to know what was best, and they so rarely did.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Beck Sherman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck-sherman/men-with-power-had-the-responsibility-to-know-what-was-best-and-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ethics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck-sherman/men-with-power-had-the-responsibility-to-know-what-was-best-and-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/beck-sherman-52195_ethics_men-with-power-had-the-responsibility-to_2655580.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/beck-sherman-52195_ethics_men-with-power-had-the-responsibility-to_2655580.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/beck-sherman-52195_ethics_men-with-power-had-the-responsibility-to_2655580.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Men with power had the responsibility to know what was best, and they so rarely did.” — Beck Sherman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Beck Sherman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck-sherman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Men with power had the responsibility...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck-sherman/men-with-power-had-the-responsibility-to-know-what-was-best-and-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck-sherman/men-with-power-had-the-responsibility-to-know-what-was-best-and-they/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```