--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The truth is that people who pull…" description: "\"The truth is that people who pull triggers are ultimately responsible, whether they're following orders or not. An army of people making individual mor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/joel-stein-12345_army_the-truth-is-that-people-who-pull-trigge_2580620.jpg" --- # The truth is that people who pull triggers are ultimately… ![“The truth is that people who pull triggers are ultimately responsible, whether they're following orders or not. An army of people making individual moral choices may be inefficient, but an army of people ignoring their morality is horrifying.” quote by Joel Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/joel-stein-12345_army_the-truth-is-that-people-who-pull-trigge_2580620.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/joel-stein-12345_army_the-truth-is-that-people-who-pull-trigge_2580620.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/joel-stein-12345_army_the-truth-is-that-people-who-pull-trigge_2580620.jpg) > “The truth is that people who pull triggers are ultimately responsible, whether they're following orders or not. An army of people making individual moral choices may be inefficient, but an army of people ignoring their morality is horrifying.” [Joel Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-stein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that individuals bear moral responsibility for violent acts, regardless of orders, highlighting collective moral failure. **In simple terms:** People are responsible for their violent actions. Key Takeaway Hold individuals accountable. Themes ethics military responsibility Mood critical serious Type political ethical When to use this quote - war crimes tribunals - whistleblowing - education curricula Key Concepts politics philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How can societies enforce personal moral accountability? - What role should orders play in ethical judgment? A Different Perspective Complex chain of command can dilute personal blame. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Army](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/army/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Following](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/following/) [Following orders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/following-orders/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Individual Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual-moral-646372/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-choices/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Responsible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsible/) [Responsible Following](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsible-following-1773337/) [Triggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triggers/) [Triggers Ultimately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triggers-ultimately-1773336/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-is/) ## Related quotes > [You don't really want an army of people making individual decisions. 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The weak and uneducated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larissa-ione/we-ve-always-assumed-the-aegis-is-all-knowing-highly-trained-and/) [Larissa Ione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larissa-ione/) > [Is there anybody here who thinks that following the orders takes away the blame Is there anybody here who wouldn't mind a murder by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/is-there-anybody-here-who-thinks-that-following-the-orders-takes-away/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) ## More by Joel Stein > [I want to be heavily tied to a city that I write for every week, that knows my stuff and I can interact with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-stein/i-want-to-be-heavily-tied-to-a-city-that-i-write-for-every-week-that/) [Joel Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-stein/) > [I never thought to look at the New York Times one, even though I knew people were pissed off. 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Maybe if my loved one had died of some disease and someone was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-stein/i-can-t-imagine-what-someone-would-write-that-would-infuriate-me/) [Joel Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-stein/) > [People would ask if I wanted to host things and I was like, "No, I'm a writer, I don't host things." Just thinking I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-stein/people-would-ask-if-i-wanted-to-host-things-and-i-was-like-no-i-m-a/) [Joel Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-stein/) > [I don't like to be in the forest. It's a weird thing. I've learned to have a general appreciation for nature, which has taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-stein/i-don-t-like-to-be-in-the-forest-it-s-a-weird-thing-i-ve-learned-to/) [Joel Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-stein/) > [Early on, even in college, I figured out that it was just more interesting to me to create content than to write about other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-stein/early-on-even-in-college-i-figured-out-that-it-was-just-more/) [Joel Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-stein/) > [I think I realized that Dave Barry was funnier than I'll ever be, and he made no attempt to make any actual points. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-stein/i-think-i-realized-that-dave-barry-was-funnier-than-i-ll-ever-be-and/) [Joel Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-stein/) > [I always thought that being at Time and tweaking your bosses and exploiting your expense account was just fun. 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But now I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-stein/i-can-t-imagine-deer-hunting-i-used-to-think-i-couldn-t-imagine-deer/) [Joel Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-stein/) [Explore all 55 Joel Stein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-stein/) ## More Army quotes > [There are no more worlds to conquer!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/there-are-no-more-worlds-to-conquer/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/it-is-the-rule-in-war-if-our-forces-are-ten-to-the-enemy-s-one-to/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... 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