--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The hope for a messiah puts too much on…" description: "\"The hope for a messiah puts too much on that one person. And you think that absolves you of personal responsibility and you don't have to act because t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/091/sara-paretsky-8563_hope_the-hope-for-a-messiah-puts-too-much-on_2488546.jpg" --- # The hope for a messiah puts too much on that one person… ![“The hope for a messiah puts too much on that one person. And you think that absolves you of personal responsibility and you don't have to act because that person will do it for you.” quote by Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/091/sara-paretsky-8563_hope_the-hope-for-a-messiah-puts-too-much-on_2488546.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/091/sara-paretsky-8563_hope_the-hope-for-a-messiah-puts-too-much-on_2488546.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/091/sara-paretsky-8563_hope_the-hope-for-a-messiah-puts-too-much-on_2488546.jpg) > “The hope for a messiah puts too much on that one person. And you think that absolves you of personal responsibility and you don't have to act because that person will do it for you.” [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Relying on a savior shifts blame away from personal duty, discouraging proactive effort. **In simple terms:** Don't expect a hero to fix everything. Key Takeaway Take responsibility yourself. Themes responsibility hero worship agency Mood reflective critical Type ethical motivational When to use this quote - personal decisions - community projects - leadership roles Key Concepts psychology social expectation Questions to Reflect On - Who can you empower instead of waiting for a savior? - How does shared responsibility improve outcomes? A Different Perspective Over-reliance on a single figure can cause collective inaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolves Personal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolves-personal-939635/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hope Messiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope-messiah-939633/) [Messiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messiah/) [Messiah Puts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messiah-puts-939634/) [Personal responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-responsibility/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [That one person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/that-one-person/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much/) ## Related quotes > [Don't tell me I have latent sexism or racism that I need to confront. I don't believe that. 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Burger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-e-burger/) ## More by Sara Paretsky > [Rule number something or other -- never tell anybody anything unless you're going to get something better in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/rule-number-something-or-other-never-tell-anybody-anything-unless-you/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [Heart surgeons do not have the world's smallest egos: when you ask them to name the world's three leading practitioners, they never can remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/heart-surgeons-do-not-have-the-world-s-smallest-egos-when-you-ask/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [I always wrote; my first story was published in the magazine The American Girl when I was 11](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/i-always-wrote-my-first-story-was-published-in-the-magazine-the/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [I'm a grandmother, and a mighty proud one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/i-m-a-grandmother-and-a-mighty-proud-one/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [Organizer is kind of a grand term for what I was doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/organizer-is-kind-of-a-grand-term-for-what-i-was-doing/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [I thought it was time for a tough, smart, likable female private investigator, and that's how VI came to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/i-thought-it-was-time-for-a-tough-smart-likable-female-private/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [Don't tell me I have latent sexism or racism that I need to confront. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“What can we do in any hardship? We can hope with prayerful praise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/what-can-we-do-in-any-hardship-we-can-hope-with-prayerful-praise/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. 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I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/) [Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Give me love, give me peace on earth, give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth, give me hope, help me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-love-give-me-peace-on-earth-give-me-light-give-me-life-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pray, hope, don't worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-don-t-worry/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. 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