--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No 'we' should be taken for granted when…" description: "\"No 'we' should be taken for granted when the subject is looking at other people's pain.\" — Susan Sontag" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/susan-sontag-332_granted_no-we-should-be-taken-for-granted-when-t_1952791.jpg" --- # No 'we' should be taken for granted when the subject is… ![“No 'we' should be taken for granted when the subject is looking at other people's pain.” quote by Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/susan-sontag-332_granted_no-we-should-be-taken-for-granted-when-t_1952791.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/susan-sontag-332_granted_no-we-should-be-taken-for-granted-when-t_1952791.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/susan-sontag-332_granted_no-we-should-be-taken-for-granted-when-t_1952791.jpg) > “No 'we' should be taken for granted when the subject is looking at other people's pain.” [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Empathy should not be taken for granted; we must recognize others’ suffering without assuming shared experience. **In simple terms:** Don’t assume others share your perspective on pain. Key Takeaway Cultivate genuine empathy. Themes empathy ethics humanity awareness responsibility Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - Humanitarian work - media consumption - social activism - education Key Concepts Moral philosophy social consciousness Questions to Reflect On - How can we acknowledge pain without appropriating it? - What responsibilities arise from recognizing others’ suffering? A Different Perspective May lead to over‑identification with suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Taken for granted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken-for-granted/) ## Related quotes > [What I aspire to is to have the viewer look directly at the subject, as if they're looking through a window at the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-jordan/what-i-aspire-to-is-to-have-the-viewer-look-directly-at-the-subject/) [Chris Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-jordan/) > [For something to be great, there has to be some kind of trial or some type of struggle that actually makes it special or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayley-williams/for-something-to-be-great-there-has-to-be-some-kind-of-trial-or-some/) [Hayley Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayley-williams/) > [I now know that things I always thought I could depend on can crash in an instant. Because of the love that I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-wells/i-now-know-that-things-i-always-thought-i-could-depend-on-can-crash/) [Rebecca Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-wells/) > [I hate being taken for granted...but that's okay, when I'm gone you'll realize how important I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-being-taken-for-granted-but-that-s-okay-when-i-m-gone-you-ll/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every gain made by individuals or society is almost instantly taken for granted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/every-gain-made-by-individuals-or-society-is-almost-instantly-taken/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [For as long as anyone can remember, reliable, cheap electricity has been taken for granted in the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/for-as-long-as-anyone-can-remember-reliable-cheap-electricity-has/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) > [Nothin' taken for granted, just learn from my mistakes. My will too strong, my spirit's somethin' they can't take.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slim-the-mobster/nothin-taken-for-granted-just-learn-from-my-mistakes-my-will-too/) Slim the Mobster > [Never let yourself be taken for granted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/never-let-yourself-be-taken-for-granted/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [I've never taken for granted what we've had, not for one single game, not one single practice...I've truly been blessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peyton-manning/i-ve-never-taken-for-granted-what-we-ve-had-not-for-one-single-game/) [Peyton Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peyton-manning/) > [When I give, it does not come with strings, I'm not keeping track of what you owe me. When I give I choose to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley/when-i-give-it-does-not-come-with-strings-i-m-not-keeping-track-of/) [Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley/) > [Being taken for granted can be a compliment. It means that you've become a comfortable, trusted element in another person's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/being-taken-for-granted-can-be-a-compliment-it-means-that-you-ve/) [Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) > [Nothing could be taken for granted. Women who loved you tried to cut your throat, while women who didn't even know your name scrubbed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/nothing-could-be-taken-for-granted-women-who-loved-you-tried-to-cut/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [You traitor,I will never be taken for granted again.!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-the-veil/you-traitor-i-will-never-be-taken-for-granted-again/) [Pierce The Veil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-the-veil/) > [You know that you are being taken for granted when you are no longer being asked to do something. But you are still expected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-higgins/you-know-that-you-are-being-taken-for-granted-when-you-are-no-longer/) Rebecca Higgins > [Being taken for granted is an unpleasant but sincere form of praise. Ironically, the more reliable you are and the less you complain, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/being-taken-for-granted-is-an-unpleasant-but-sincere-form-of-praise/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) ## More by Susan Sontag > [the appetite for thinking must be regulated, as all sensible people know, for it may stifle one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-appetite-for-thinking-must-be-regulated-as-all-sensible-people/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [We are ruled by quotations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/we-are-ruled-by-quotations/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Unfortunately, moral beauty in art - like physical beauty in a person - is extremely perishable. It is nowhere so durable as artistic or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/unfortunately-moral-beauty-in-art-like-physical-beauty-in-a-person-is/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Like the collector, the photographer is animated by a passion that, even when it appears to be for the present, is linked to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/like-the-collector-the-photographer-is-animated-by-a-passion-that/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [ Anthropology has always struggled with an intense, fascinated repulsion towards its subject… \[The anthropologist\] submits himself to the exotic to confirm his own inner… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/anthropology-has-always-struggled-with-an-intense-fascinated/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“Why not eliminate schooling between age 12-16? It’s biologically + psychologically too turbulent a time to be cooped up inside, made to sit all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/why-not-eliminate-schooling-between-age-12-16-it-s-biologically/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [To photograph people is to violate them, by seeing them as they never see themselves, by having knowledge of them that they can never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/to-photograph-people-is-to-violate-them-by-seeing-them-as-they-never/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [One set of messages of the society we live in is: Consume. Grow. Do what you want. Amuse yourselves. The very working of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/one-set-of-messages-of-the-society-we-live-in-is-consume-grow-do-what/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Currently intellectuals in Western Europe and North America are extremely demoralized and shaken by the rise of a virulent conservative tendency (which some have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/currently-intellectuals-in-western-europe-and-north-america-are/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [With the modern diseases (once TB, now cancer) the romantic idea that the disease expresses the character is invariably extended to assert that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/with-the-modern-diseases-once-tb-now-cancer-the-romantic-idea-that/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [As objects of contemplation, images of the atrocious can answer to several different needs. To steel oneself against weakness. To make oneself more numb.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/as-objects-of-contemplation-images-of-the-atrocious-can-answer-to/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The creative phase of an idea coincides with the period during which it insists, cantankerously, on its boundaries, on what makes it different; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-creative-phase-of-an-idea-coincides-with-the-period-during-which/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Photographs objectify: they turn an event or a person into something that can be possessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/photographs-objectify-they-turn-an-event-or-a-person-into-something/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I'm not interested in giving aid and comfort to the neo­-Conservatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/i-m-not-interested-in-giving-aid-and-comfort-to-the-neo-conservatives/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The feminist movement has been important to me because it's made me feel less odd and also because it has made me understand some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-feminist-movement-has-been-important-to-me-because-it-s-made-me/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) [Explore all 644 Susan Sontag quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## More Granted quotes > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [I love trade magazines - any trade's magazine: by entering into what is taken for granted in a world not your own, you better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perlstein/i-love-trade-magazines-any-trade-s-magazine-by-entering-into-what-is/) [Rick Perlstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perlstein/) > [It's strange that those we miss the most Are those we take for granted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/it-s-strange-that-those-we-miss-the-most-are-those-we-take-for-granted/) [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) > [This time, there were no drugs involved. The hours were completely normal daytime hours. I think we were able to appreciate the interplay, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-buckingham/this-time-there-were-no-drugs-involved-the-hours-were-completely/) [Lindsey Buckingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-buckingham/) > [I can say across Europe that many principles that have been taken for granted here around free speech, and around civil liberties and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-can-say-across-europe-that-many-principles-that-have-been-taken-for/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Everyday is a gift never take it for granted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyday-is-a-gift-never-take-it-for-granted/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This position is untenable, and there can be no pause in the agitation for full political power and responsibility until these are granted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-kelley/this-position-is-untenable-and-there-can-be-no-pause-in-the-agitation/) [Florence Kelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-kelley/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [A favor is half granted, when graciously refused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-favor-is-half-granted-when-graciously-refused/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Great God of the Ants, thou hast granted victory to thy servants. I appoint thee honorary Colonel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-capek/great-god-of-the-ants-thou-hast-granted-victory-to-thy-servants-i/) [Karel Capek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-capek/) > [If I could be granted a wish, I'd shine in your eye like a jewel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/if-i-could-be-granted-a-wish-i-d-shine-in-your-eye-like-a-jewel/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [End-of-the-world stories tend to ring true. I've always been drawn to them, but as I wrote my own, I found surprising pleasure in creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/end-of-the-world-stories-tend-to-ring-true-i-ve-always-been-drawn-to/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Never Take Happiness For Granted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mr-stiegelbauer/never-take-happiness-for-granted/) Mr Stiegelbauer > [Nothing evades our attention as persistently as that which we take for granted... the decades roll on without even a suggestion that perhaps the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-brady/nothing-evades-our-attention-as-persistently-as-that-which-we-take/) Marion Brady Browse all 1,933 Granted quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No 'we' should be taken for granted when the subject is looking at other people's pain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susan Sontag" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/no-we-should-be-taken-for-granted-when-the-subject-is-looking-at/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Granted" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/no-we-should-be-taken-for-granted-when-the-subject-is-looking-at/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/susan-sontag-332_granted_no-we-should-be-taken-for-granted-when-t_1952791.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/susan-sontag-332_granted_no-we-should-be-taken-for-granted-when-t_1952791.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/susan-sontag-332_granted_no-we-should-be-taken-for-granted-when-t_1952791.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No 'we' should be taken for granted when the subject is looking at other people's pain.” — Susan Sontag", "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": "Susan Sontag", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "No 'we' should be taken for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/no-we-should-be-taken-for-granted-when-the-subject-is-looking-at/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/no-we-should-be-taken-for-granted-when-the-subject-is-looking-at/#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 } } ] } ```