--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We had been given a great and terrible…" description: "\"“We had been given a great and terrible power. For a moment we contemplated responsibility, then gleefully tossed it aside in favor of posting pictures..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/232/kelly-weill-253061_internet-humor_we-had-been-given-a-great-and-terrible-p_2810906.jpg" --- # We had been given a great and terrible power. For a moment… ![“We had been given a great and terrible power. For a moment we contemplated responsibility, then gleefully tossed it aside in favor of posting pictures of cats.” quote by Kelly Weill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/232/kelly-weill-253061_internet-humor_we-had-been-given-a-great-and-terrible-p_2810906.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/232/kelly-weill-253061_internet-humor_we-had-been-given-a-great-and-terrible-p_2810906.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/232/kelly-weill-253061_internet-humor_we-had-been-given-a-great-and-terrible-p_2810906.jpg) > ““We had been given a great and terrible power. For a moment we contemplated responsibility, then gleefully tossed it aside in favor of posting pictures of cats.”” [Kelly Weill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-weill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Power can be misused; people briefly consider responsibility but then frivolously ignore it for trivial distractions like cat pictures. **In simple terms:** Power is often wasted on trivialities. Key Takeaway Take responsibility seriously. Themes power responsibility distraction humor technology Mood humorous critical thoughtful Type Internet humor:0 Responsibility:1 Time:0 Pictures Cats:0 Terrible Power:0 Responsibility Gleefully:0 Gleefully Tossed:0 Contemplated Responsibility:0 When to use this quote - online behavior - leadership decisions - ethical training - personal conduct Key Concepts ethical use of power digital distraction social media impact Questions to Reflect On - How does humor affect responsibility? - What safeguards prevent power misuse? A Different Perspective Some may argue distractions relieve stress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contemplated Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplated-responsibility-3519026/) [Gleefully Tossed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gleefully-tossed-3519025/) [Internet humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet-humor-93601/) [Pictures Cats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pictures-cats-1554301/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Responsibility Gleefully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility-gleefully-3519024/) [Terrible Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-power-2390664/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Money holds terrible power when it is loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/money-holds-terrible-power-when-it-is-loved/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [I found all these stupid pictures of cats at the beach, and I was like, "They get it, man. They totally get it."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethany-cosentino/i-found-all-these-stupid-pictures-of-cats-at-the-beach-and-i-was-like/) [Bethany Cosentino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethany-cosentino/) > [They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/they-carried-all-they-could-bear-and-then-some-including-a-silent-awe/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [What's so funny is people are like, 'Why do you just post pictures of cats?' I said, 'If you don't want to see cats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ostrosky-stern/what-s-so-funny-is-people-are-like-why-do-you-just-post-pictures-of/) [Beth Ostrosky Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ostrosky-stern/) > [“But this is the internet. The men are men, the women are men, and the 12 year olds are FBI agents.- RamzaHevenlyKinght”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramzahevenlykinght/but-this-is-the-internet-the-men-are-men-the-women-are-men-and-the-12/) [RamzaHevenlyKinght](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramzahevenlykinght/) > [“If you're Microsoft, you can prevent a porn site using microsoft.xxx. Although that would be ironic since micro and soft probably aren't at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-corby/if-you-re-microsoft-you-can-prevent-a-porn-site-using-microsoft-xxx/) [Gary Corby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-corby/) > [“Looking through my internet history you'd think I'm trying to kill someone but really I just want cool names from dragons. #this week on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurokotesuya/looking-through-my-internet-history-you-d-think-i-m-trying-to-kill/) [Kurokotesuya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurokotesuya/) > [“S.P.A.M. S.enseless P.eople A.always M.essaging”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/s-p-a-m-s-enseless-p-eople-a-always-m-essaging/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [Life would be easier if you could mark people as spam...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-would-be-easier-if-you-could-mark-people-as-spam/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Getting sort of offended when you're signing up for something and the website tells you that your password is weak...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/getting-sort-of-offended-when-you-re-signing-up-for-something-and-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Internet humor quotes > [Getting sort of offended when you're signing up for something and the website tells you that your password is weak...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/getting-sort-of-offended-when-you-re-signing-up-for-something-and-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life would be easier if you could mark people as spam...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-would-be-easier-if-you-could-mark-people-as-spam/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Looking through my internet history you'd think I'm trying to kill someone but really I just want cool names from dragons. #this week on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurokotesuya/looking-through-my-internet-history-you-d-think-i-m-trying-to-kill/) [Kurokotesuya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurokotesuya/) > [“If you're Microsoft, you can prevent a porn site using microsoft.xxx. Although that would be ironic since micro and soft probably aren't at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-corby/if-you-re-microsoft-you-can-prevent-a-porn-site-using-microsoft-xxx/) [Gary Corby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-corby/) > [“But this is the internet. The men are men, the women are men, and the 12 year olds are FBI agents.- RamzaHevenlyKinght”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramzahevenlykinght/but-this-is-the-internet-the-men-are-men-the-women-are-men-and-the-12/) [RamzaHevenlyKinght](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramzahevenlykinght/) > [“S.P.A.M. S.enseless P.eople A.always M.essaging”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/s-p-a-m-s-enseless-p-eople-a-always-m-essaging/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) [Browse all 7 Internet humor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet-humor-93601/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We had been given a great and terrible power. For a moment we contemplated responsibility, then gleefully tossed it aside in favor of posting pictures of cats.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kelly Weill" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-weill/we-had-been-given-a-great-and-terrible-power-for-a-moment-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Internet humor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-weill/we-had-been-given-a-great-and-terrible-power-for-a-moment-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/232/kelly-weill-253061_internet-humor_we-had-been-given-a-great-and-terrible-p_2810906.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/232/kelly-weill-253061_internet-humor_we-had-been-given-a-great-and-terrible-p_2810906.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/232/kelly-weill-253061_internet-humor_we-had-been-given-a-great-and-terrible-p_2810906.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We had been given a great and terrible power. For a moment we contemplated responsibility, then gleefully…” — Kelly Weill", "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": "Kelly Weill", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-weill/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We had been given a great...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-weill/we-had-been-given-a-great-and-terrible-power-for-a-moment-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-weill/we-had-been-given-a-great-and-terrible-power-for-a-moment-we/#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 } } ] } ```