--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Therefore, it is we who are responsible…" description: "\"Therefore, it is we who are responsible for much of the evil in the world; and we are each morally required to accept rather than project that ponderou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/stephen-a-diamond-59030_accepting_therefore-it-is-we-who-are-responsible-f_2423817.png" --- # Therefore, it is we who are responsible for much of the… ![“Therefore, it is we who are responsible for much of the evil in the world; and we are each morally required to accept rather than project that ponderous responsibility-lest we prefer instead to wallow in a perennial state of powerless, frustrated, furious, victimhood. For what one possesses the…” quote by Stephen A. Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/stephen-a-diamond-59030_accepting_therefore-it-is-we-who-are-responsible-f_2423817.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/stephen-a-diamond-59030_accepting_therefore-it-is-we-who-are-responsible-f_2423817.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/stephen-a-diamond-59030_accepting_therefore-it-is-we-who-are-responsible-f_2423817.png) > “Therefore, it is we who are responsible for much of the evil in the world; and we are each morally required to accept rather than project that ponderous responsibility-lest we prefer instead to wallow in a perennial state of powerless, frustrated, furious, victimhood. For what one possesses the power to bring about, one has also the power to limit, Mitigate, counteract, or transmute.” [Stephen A. Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-a-diamond/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Individuals hold both the power to cause and to prevent harm; moral responsibility requires active mitigation rather than passive victimhood. **In simple terms:** We can both create and stop harm; we must act. Key Takeaway Use power to reduce harm. Themes responsibility ethics agency Mood thoughtful motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - political activism - personal decision‑making - conflict resolution Key Concepts moral agency power dynamics mitigation strategies Questions to Reflect On - What actions can you take to counteract harm? - How do you balance responsibility with self‑care? A Different Perspective Power alone does not guarantee good outcomes; intentions matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Existential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existential/) [Frustrated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frustrated/) [Furious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/furious/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Ponderous Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ponderous-responsibility-6143371/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Powerless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerless/) [Projects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/projects/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Responsibility Lest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility-lest-6143370/) [Responsible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsible/) [Responsible Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsible-evil-3071101/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Victimhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victimhood/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Morally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-morally-633090/) ## Related quotes > [If you see a better world, you're morally obligated to create it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-bell/if-you-see-a-better-world-you-re-morally-obligated-to-create-it/) [Genevieve Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-bell/) > [So while I can't tell you if bringing a child into this world is the morally-responsible to do, I can say that the future,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-diamandis/so-while-i-can-t-tell-you-if-bringing-a-child-into-this-world-is-the/) [Peter Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-diamandis/) > [“The question that wins the world is not, how can we get our “morally superior” way enforced in the world? The question that wins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/the-question-that-wins-the-world-is-not-how-can-we-get-our-morally/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) > [We are each of us responsible for the evil we may have prevented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-martineau/we-are-each-of-us-responsible-for-the-evil-we-may-have-prevented/) [James Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-martineau/) > [To say that God permits evil in the world may not be pleasing to the ear. But if He is held responsible for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/to-say-that-god-permits-evil-in-the-world-may-not-be-pleasing-to-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [War with evil; but show no spirit of malignity toward the man who may be responsible for the evil. Put it out of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/war-with-evil-but-show-no-spirit-of-malignity-toward-the-man-who-may/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [We are no more responsible for the evil thoughts that pass through our minds than a scarecrow for the birds which fly over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-churton-collins/we-are-no-more-responsible-for-the-evil-thoughts-that-pass-through/) [John Churton Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-churton-collins/) > [You can’t stand in gratitude if you’re stuck in victimhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-can-t-stand-in-gratitude-if-you-re-stuck-in-victimhood/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [There's a grip we sometimes some of us get on our pain and suffering and our past and our wounding that we over-identify with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-carlin-mccall/there-s-a-grip-we-sometimes-some-of-us-get-on-our-pain-and-suffering/) [Kelly Carlin-McCall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-carlin-mccall/) > [Forgiveness is the key to breaking the cycle of karma and reincarnation. Forgiveness doesn't mean: "What you did was okay." It simply means, "I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/forgiveness-is-the-key-to-breaking-the-cycle-of-karma-and/) [Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/) > [I don't reverberate to victimhood, probably because of my own life. I refused to become a victim myself, so it's not one of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-starr/i-don-t-reverberate-to-victimhood-probably-because-of-my-own-life-i/) [Kevin Starr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-starr/) > [The cultivation - even celebration - of victimhood by intellectuals, tort lawyers, politicians and the media is both cause and effect of today's culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-cultivation-even-celebration-of-victimhood-by-intellectuals-tort/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [If multiculturalism succeeds in making us a nation of independently empowered tribes, each tribe will be deprived of the comfort of victimhood and be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/if-multiculturalism-succeeds-in-making-us-a-nation-of-independently/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“Liberals are more likely to see people as victims of circumstance and oppression, and doubt whether individuals can climb without governmental help. My own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-brooks/liberals-are-more-likely-to-see-people-as-victims-of-circumstance-and/) [Arthur C. Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-brooks/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) ## More by Stephen A. Diamond > [What makes us most human is not whether we are or are not biologically driven and determined beings; but, rather, how we respond to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-a-diamond/what-makes-us-most-human-is-not-whether-we-are-or-are-not/) [Stephen A. Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-a-diamond/) > [Integrity is unity of the personality; it implies being brutally honest with ourselves about our intentionality. Since intentionality is inextricably bound up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-a-diamond/integrity-is-unity-of-the-personality-it-implies-being-brutally/) [Stephen A. Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-a-diamond/) > [Like most human behavior, violence has meaning: it only seems 'senseless' or 'meaningless' to the extent we are unable-or unwilling-to decode it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-a-diamond/like-most-human-behavior-violence-has-meaning-it-only-seems-senseless/) [Stephen A. Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-a-diamond/) > [Science, is the creation by humans of a particular paradigm and methodology for discovering truth and understanding reality. 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I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. 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Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. 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I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Therefore, it is we who are responsible for much of the evil in the world; and we are each morally required to accept rather than project that ponderous responsibility-lest we prefer instead to wallow in a perennial state of powerless, frustrated, furious, victimhood. For what one possesses the power to bring about, one has also the power to limit, Mitigate, counteract, or transmute.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen A. 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