--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We don't know what kills polio germs,\"…" description: "\"“We don't know what kills polio germs,\" Dr. Steinberg said. \"We don't know who or what carries polio, and there's still some debate about how it enters..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/philip-roth-681_conscience_we-don-t-know-what-kills-polio-germs-dr_1078019.jpg" --- # We don't know what kills polio germs," Dr. Steinberg said… ![“We don't know what kills polio germs," Dr. Steinberg said. "We don't know who or what carries polio, and there's still some debate about how it enters the body. But what's important is that you cleaned up an unhygienic mess and reassured the boys by the way you took charge. ... You must understand…” quote by Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/philip-roth-681_conscience_we-don-t-know-what-kills-polio-germs-dr_1078019.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/philip-roth-681_conscience_we-don-t-know-what-kills-polio-germs-dr_1078019.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/philip-roth-681_conscience_we-don-t-know-what-kills-polio-germs-dr_1078019.jpg) > ““We don't know what kills polio germs," Dr. Steinberg said. "We don't know who or what carries polio, and there's still some debate about how it enters the body. But what's important is that you cleaned up an unhygienic mess and reassured the boys by the way you took charge. ... You must understand that a lot of us who are much older and more experienced with illness than you are also shaken by it. To stand by as a doctor unable to stop the spread of this dreadful disease is painful for all of us. A crippling disease that attacks mainly children and leaves some of them dead -- that's difficult for any adult to accept. You have a conscience, and a conscience is a valuable attribute, but not if it begins to make you think you're to blame for what is far beyond the scope of your responsibility." He thought to ask: Doesn't God have a conscience? ... But instead he asked, "Should the playground be shut down?" "You're the director. Should it?" Dr. Steinberg asked.”” [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A doctor confronts the limits of responsibility when disease spreads, emphasizing the need for decisive action despite personal guilt and moral uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Doctors must act decisively despite feeling guilty. Key Takeaway Take decisive action, accept limits of control. Themes responsibility ethics leadership Mood serious empathetic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - hospital management - policy decisions - crisis response - community health Key Concepts public health moral psychology decision‑making Questions to Reflect On - What actions can you take when faced with systemic health threats? - How do you balance personal conscience with professional duty? A Different Perspective Guilt may paralyze decision‑making, and external factors often lie beyond control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carries Polio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carries-polio-2721751/) [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Kills Polio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kills-polio-2721750/) [Polio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polio/) [Polio Debate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polio-debate-2721749/) [Polio Germs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polio-germs-2721752/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) ## Related quotes > [“Though I'd never forgotten Alan, I hadn't uttered his name aloud in the many years since he'd died, back in that decade when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/though-i-d-never-forgotten-alan-i-hadn-t-uttered-his-name-aloud-in/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“They sat on fold-up beach chairs and were talking about polio. 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I don't care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-threadgill/that-is-why-we-have-the-polio-vaccine-people-are-blazing-their-own/) [Henry Threadgill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-threadgill/) > [Fear is the polio of the soul. Faith is the life based on unseen realities; it is the word become flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-jordan/fear-is-the-polio-of-the-soul-faith-is-the-life-based-on-unseen/) [Clarence Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-jordan/) > [We are ever on the threshold of new journeys and new discoveries. Can you imagine the excitement of the Wright brothers on the morning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/we-are-ever-on-the-threshold-of-new-journeys-and-new-discoveries-can/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [Ninety percent of the cases of polio are in security-vulnerable areas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/ninety-percent-of-the-cases-of-polio-are-in-security-vulnerable-areas/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [I am the daughter of Nigerian immigrants. My mother is a survivor of both polio and of the Igbo genocide during her country's civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uzo-aduba/i-am-the-daughter-of-nigerian-immigrants-my-mother-is-a-survivor-of/) [Uzo Aduba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uzo-aduba/) > [Reply when questioned on the safety of the polio vaccine he developed: It is safe, and you can't get safer than safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-salk/reply-when-questioned-on-the-safety-of-the-polio-vaccine-he-developed/) [Jonas Salk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-salk/) > [Because I could dance, my folks went through hell so I could be in movies. But I didn't dance in pictures. I cried! At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-holt/because-i-could-dance-my-folks-went-through-hell-so-i-could-be-in/) [David Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-holt/) > [If you give us a safe vaccine, we'll use it. It shouldn't be polio versus autism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-mccarthy/if-you-give-us-a-safe-vaccine-we-ll-use-it-it-shouldn-t-be-polio/) [Jenny McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-mccarthy/) ## More by Philip Roth > [“The old intergenerational give-and-take of the country-that-used-to-be, when everyone knew his role and took the rules dead seriously, the acculturating back-and-forth that all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-old-intergenerational-give-and-take-of-the-country-that-used-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [You be greater than your feelings. I don't demand this of you - life does. Otherwise you'll be washed away by feelings. 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Reasons are in books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/there-are-no-reasons-she-is-obliged-to-be-as-she-is-we-all-are/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“As far as I can see there is no conquering or exorcising the past with words - words born either of imagination or forthrightness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/as-far-as-i-can-see-there-is-no-conquering-or-exorcising-the-past/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [The book really comes to life in the rewriting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-book-really-comes-to-life-in-the-rewriting/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“What is astonishing is that we, who had no idea how anything was going to turn out, now know exactly what happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-is-astonishing-is-that-we-who-had-no-idea-how-anything-was-going/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Good Christ, a Jewish man with parents alive is a fifteen-year-old boy, and will remain a fifteen-year-old boy till they die!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/good-christ-a-jewish-man-with-parents-alive-is-a-fifteen-year-old-boy/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [I am the Raskolnikov of jerking off – the sticky evidence is everywhere!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/i-am-the-raskolnikov-of-jerking-off-the-sticky-evidence-is-everywhere/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Better for real things to be uncontrollable, better for one's life to be undecipherable and intellectually impenetrable than to attempt to make casual sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/better-for-real-things-to-be-uncontrollable-better-for-one-s-life-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Doctor Spielvogel, it alleviates nothing fixing the blame - blaming is still ailing, of course, of course - but nonetheless, what was it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/doctor-spielvogel-it-alleviates-nothing-fixing-the-blame-blaming-is/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [My God! The English language is a form of communication! Conversation isn't just crossfire where you shoot and get shot at! Where you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/my-god-the-english-language-is-a-form-of-communication-conversation/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [You asked if I thought my fiction had changed anything in the culture and the answer is no. Sure, there's been some scandal, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-asked-if-i-thought-my-fiction-had-changed-anything-in-the-culture/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) [Explore all 388 Philip Roth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) ## More Conscience 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabelaise/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [The God in whose hands are all our days and ways, did cast into my hand one day a book of Martin Luthers; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-god-in-whose-hands-are-all-our-days-and-ways-did-cast-into-my/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [My morals are important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-parrish/my-morals-are-important-to-me/) [Hunter Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-parrish/) > [Being tolerant does not mean that I share another ones belief. 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Without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/d-on-t-grow-old-with-age-comes-caution-which-is-another-name-for/) [Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/) [Browse all 3,490 Conscience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We don't know what kills polio germs,\" Dr. Steinberg said. \"We don't know who or what carries polio, and there's still some debate about how it enters the body. But what's important is that you cleaned up an unhygienic mess and reassured the boys by the way you took charge. ... You must understand that a lot of us who are much older and more experienced with illness than you are also shaken by it. To stand by as a doctor unable to stop the spread of this dreadful disease is painful for all of us. A crippling disease that attacks mainly children and leaves some of them dead -- that's difficult for any adult to accept. 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