--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Parents wonder why the streams are…" description: "\"Parents wonder why the streams are bitter, when they themselves have poisoned the fountain.\" — John Locke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/john-locke-814_bitter_parents-wonder-why-the-streams-are-bitte_2882226.png" --- # Parents wonder why the streams are bitter, when they… ![“Parents wonder why the streams are bitter, when they themselves have poisoned the fountain.” quote by John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/john-locke-814_bitter_parents-wonder-why-the-streams-are-bitte_2882226.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/john-locke-814_bitter_parents-wonder-why-the-streams-are-bitte_2882226.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/john-locke-814_bitter_parents-wonder-why-the-streams-are-bitte_2882226.png) > “Parents wonder why the streams are bitter, when they themselves have poisoned the fountain.” [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People blame external problems while ignoring their own role in creating them, highlighting personal responsibility for societal issues. **In simple terms:** People cause the problems they blame. Key Takeaway Take responsibility for your impact. Themes responsibility society corruption Mood reflective serious Type ethical motivational When to use this quote - policy making - community activism - personal accountability Key Concepts government environmental health Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize your own contributions? - What steps can you take to improve? A Different Perspective Denial can hinder solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [“Parents wonder why the streams are bitter, when they themselves poison the fountain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/parents-wonder-why-the-streams-are-bitter-when-they-themselves-poison/) [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) > [From the respect paid to property flow, as from a poisoned fountain, most of the evils and vices which render this world such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/from-the-respect-paid-to-property-flow-as-from-a-poisoned-fountain/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is fountain of joy; but where the rabble also gather to drink, all wells are poisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/life-is-fountain-of-joy-but-where-the-rabble-also-gather-to-drink-all/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Sometimes, I look at my parents now and wonder what happened to make them the way they are](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-look-at-my-parents-now-and-wonder-what-happened-to-make/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Before marriage, her parents wonder when he will go home; after marriage, she wonders when he will come home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/before-marriage-her-parents-wonder-when-he-will-go-home-after/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength. 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We just didn't have the same values. But I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-pleshette/troy-was-a-sweet-good-man-we-just-were-never-destined-to-be-married/) [Suzanne Pleshette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-pleshette/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [One may have been a fool, but there's no foolishness like being bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/one-may-have-been-a-fool-but-there-s-no-foolishness-like-being-bitter/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [“I doubt taking in a sullen, bitter, teenage girl with more issues than National Geographic is at the center of the vision board for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katja-millay/i-doubt-taking-in-a-sullen-bitter-teenage-girl-with-more-issues-than/) [Katja Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katja-millay/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Life is too bitter already, without territories and wars and noble feuds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-too-bitter-already-without-territories-and-wars-and-noble/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With every interview you feel like you lose a piece of yourself, and with every bad review you become just that little bit more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-march/with-every-interview-you-feel-like-you-lose-a-piece-of-yourself-and/) [Jane March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-march/) > [“Without the bitter, the sweet ain’t as sweet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-the-bitter-the-sweet-ain-t-as-sweet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I refuse to be one of those artists who, 10 years from now, they're bitter about the rise and the fall of their career.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-refuse-to-be-one-of-those-artists-who-10-years-from-now-they-re/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [“In these days in which we live, when existence has become a thing of infinite complexity and fate, if it slips us a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/in-these-days-in-which-we-live-when-existence-has-become-a-thing-of/) [P.G. 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