--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There’s always been someone watching the…" description: "\"“There’s always been someone watching the borders. They didn’t decide to. It was decided for them. Someone has to care. Sometimes, they have to fight. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/terry-pratchett-19_quote_there-s-always-been-someone-watching-the_1934248.jpg" --- # There’s always been someone watching the borders. They… ![“There’s always been someone watching the borders. They didn’t decide to. It was decided for them. Someone has to care. Sometimes, they have to fight. Someone has to speak for that which has no voice … She” quote by Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/terry-pratchett-19_quote_there-s-always-been-someone-watching-the_1934248.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/terry-pratchett-19_quote_there-s-always-been-someone-watching-the_1934248.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/terry-pratchett-19_quote_there-s-always-been-someone-watching-the_1934248.jpg) > ““There’s always been someone watching the borders. They didn’t decide to. It was decided for them. Someone has to care. Sometimes, they have to fight. Someone has to speak for that which has no voice … She”” [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights that borders are policed by unseen forces, often imposed without consent, and that vigilance, advocacy, and sometimes conflict are needed to protect the voiceless. **In simple terms:** Borders are watched, often without choice; we must protect those without a voice. Key Takeaway Recognize and act against imposed surveillance. Themes responsibility justice advocacy Mood concerned determined Type ethical political When to use this quote - human rights activism - community organizing - policy reform - personal vigilance Key Concepts surveillance power dynamics ethical duty Questions to Reflect On - Who are the unseen watchers in your life? - How can you support the voiceless? A Different Perspective It may overlook the agency of those enforcing borders. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Borders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borders/) [Borders Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borders-didn-3044943/) [Care Fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care-fight-924193/) [Didn Decide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/didn-decide-1050998/) [Watching Borders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watching-borders-3044944/) ## Related quotes > [I do not care where I fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oleksandr-usyk/i-do-not-care-where-i-fight/) [Oleksandr Usyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oleksandr-usyk/) > [“Because we’re like strangers living in the same house. We don’t even care enough about each other to fight anymore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kasie-west/because-we-re-like-strangers-living-in-the-same-house-we-don-t-even/) [Kasie West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kasie-west/) > [I don't really care who I fight as long as it's the better guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cain-velasquez/i-don-t-really-care-who-i-fight-as-long-as-it-s-the-better-guy/) [Cain Velasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cain-velasquez/) > [I don't care if I ever fight for the belt or get the belt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-lewis/i-don-t-care-if-i-ever-fight-for-the-belt-or-get-the-belt/) [Derrick Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-lewis/) > [In California, we play a different tune. We take care of our own. We fight, and we win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laphonza-butler/in-california-we-play-a-different-tune-we-take-care-of-our-own-we/) [Laphonza Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laphonza-butler/) > [Progressive candidates don't hesitate when it comes to supporting universal health care, or the fight for $15 minimum wage, or the right to vote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karine-jean-pierre/progressive-candidates-don-t-hesitate-when-it-comes-to-supporting/) [Karine Jean-Pierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karine-jean-pierre/) > [I do not care where I fight; I just want to fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oleksandr-usyk/i-do-not-care-where-i-fight-i-just-want-to-fight/) [Oleksandr Usyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oleksandr-usyk/) > [“But they fight in the name of the creator." "I don't care if they fight in the name of broccoli. The goal remains the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/but-they-fight-in-the-name-of-the-creator-i-don-t-care-if-they-fight/) [Maria V. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-v-snyder/) > [“Why didn’t I decide to drink a glass of juice? The thought never occurred to me. Am I free to do that which does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/why-didn-t-i-decide-to-drink-a-glass-of-juice-the-thought-never/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [I didn't decide to be a character actress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-kane/i-didn-t-decide-to-be-a-character-actress/) [Carol Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-kane/) > [I didn't decide on what college I was going to go to until the day I had to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-rogers/i-didn-t-decide-on-what-college-i-was-going-to-go-to-until-the-day-i/) [Maggie Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-rogers/) > [A common question asked of writers is "When did you decide to become a writer?" The answer, of course, is that we didn't decide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-higgins-clark/a-common-question-asked-of-writers-is-when-did-you-decide-to-become-a/) [Mary Higgins Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-higgins-clark/) > [I didn't 'decide' to write YA, per se. But every time I thought of a story, it featured characters 15, 16, 17.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-zarr/i-didn-t-decide-to-write-ya-per-se-but-every-time-i-thought-of-a/) [Sara Zarr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-zarr/) > [I didn't decide to become a musician until the age of 15, which is quite late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-glennie/i-didn-t-decide-to-become-a-musician-until-the-age-of-15-which-is/) [Evelyn Glennie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-glennie/) > [I didn't decide that I want to be an actor because my plan was to pursue dance as a career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakti-mohan/i-didn-t-decide-that-i-want-to-be-an-actor-because-my-plan-was-to/) [Shakti Mohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakti-mohan/) ## More by Terry Pratchett > [“This one’s mental.’ ‘Eccentric.’ ‘What’s the difference?’ ‘A bag of cash.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/this-one-s-mental-eccentric-what-s-the-difference-a-bag-of-cash/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“But I did not return until half past four this morning and I distinctly remember stubbing my toe on the stairs. I am as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/but-i-did-not-return-until-half-past-four-this-morning-and-i/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Someone broke from the scrum and, punching and kicking, staggered towards the Klatchian goal. "Isn't that man your butler?" said Ahmed. "Yes." "One of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/someone-broke-from-the-scrum-and-punching-and-kicking-staggered/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [It's an interesting fact that fewer than 17 % of Real cats end their lives with the same name they started with. Much family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-s-an-interesting-fact-that-fewer-than-17-of-real-cats-end-their/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [You can't trust folk songs. They always sneak up on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-can-t-trust-folk-songs-they-always-sneak-up-on-you/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Either dragons should exist completely or fail to exist at all, he felt. A dragon only half-existing was worse than the extremes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/either-dragons-should-exist-completely-or-fail-to-exist-at-all-he/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Magrat wondered what it was like, spending your whole life doing something you didn’t want to do. Like being dead, she considered, only worse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/magrat-wondered-what-it-was-like-spending-your-whole-life-doing/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [A hardback's harder at Christmas time because that's a good hardback buying time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/a-hardback-s-harder-at-christmas-time-because-that-s-a-good-hardback/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“There were more old people. The world was full of them,' said the wizard. 'Yes, I know. And now it's full of young people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-were-more-old-people-the-world-was-full-of-them-said-the-wizard/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Hobson was big and heavyset, but not exactly fat; he was probably what you’d get if you shaved a bear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/hobson-was-big-and-heavyset-but-not-exactly-fat-he-was-probably-what/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“There is a night that never comes to an end… The clock of the world turns under its own shadow. Midnight is a moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-is-a-night-that-never-comes-to-an-end-the-clock-of-the-world/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“You'd like Freedom, Truth, and Justice, wouldn't you, Comrade Sergeant?' said Reg encouragingly. 'I'd like a hard-boiled egg,' said Vimes, shaking the match out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-d-like-freedom-truth-and-justice-wouldn-t-you-comrade-sergeant/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“You are not apprehensive, are you? I can't detect no trace of fear none whatsoever Roomy cranium all possible videos of all possible outcomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-are-not-apprehensive-are-you-i-can-t-detect-no-trace-of-fear-none/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Imagination, not intelligence, made us human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/imagination-not-intelligence-made-us-human/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) [Explore all 3,328 Terry Pratchett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) ## More Borders quotes > [We have to get control of our borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-coffman/we-have-to-get-control-of-our-borders/) [Mike Coffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-coffman/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [Preemptive war is what Israel did in '67 with Arab armies on its borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/preemptive-war-is-what-israel-did-in-67-with-arab-armies-on-its/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [When I went to law school, which after all was back in the dark ages, we never looked beyond our borders for precedents. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/when-i-went-to-law-school-which-after-all-was-back-in-the-dark-ages/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [Schengen cannot survive without the most dramatic reform, and the external borders of Europe must be rapidly strengthened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-soames/schengen-cannot-survive-without-the-most-dramatic-reform-and-the/) [Nicholas Soames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-soames/) > [The troops were occasionally occupied in pursuing scattered bands going north or south, and on three occasions the large camp of Sitting Bull ventured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-a-miles/the-troops-were-occasionally-occupied-in-pursuing-scattered-bands/) [Nelson A. Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-a-miles/) > [The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-characters-in-my-novels-are-my-own-unrealized-possibilities-that/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [When we talk about contemporary art and contemporary artists, we usually imagine artists who are alive. But I feel very uncomfortable about placing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/when-we-talk-about-contemporary-art-and-contemporary-artists-we/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [Photography... unites the obvious and the unconscious at the level of the limimal - the border between what we see and what we suspect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-lorca-dicorcia/photography-unites-the-obvious-and-the-unconscious-at-the-level-of/) [Philip-Lorca diCorcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-lorca-dicorcia/) > [When you have the Chief of Staff of the Republican National Committee and the political director of the Romney campaign, and their two companies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-caddell/when-you-have-the-chief-of-staff-of-the-republican-national-committee/) [Patrick Caddell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-caddell/) > [Fifty thousand people in Mexico have been murdered. Puerto Penasco, 60 miles south of our border, just had five people and a police officer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-brewer/fifty-thousand-people-in-mexico-have-been-murdered-puerto-penasco-60/) [Jan Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-brewer/) > [The unpleasant truth is that some borders are untenable and preserving them causes conflict, not peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mearsheimer/the-unpleasant-truth-is-that-some-borders-are-untenable-and/) [John Mearsheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mearsheimer/) > [Interesting things happen along borders - transitions - not in the middle where everything is the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/interesting-things-happen-along-borders-transitions-not-in-the-middle/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [At no other time (than autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/at-no-other-time-than-autumn-does-the-earth-let-itself-be-inhaled-in/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [House Republicans want to pass a strong border security, illegal immigration bill. We want a bill. There is no ifs, ands or buts about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boehner/house-republicans-want-to-pass-a-strong-border-security-illegal/) [John Boehner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boehner/) [Browse all 1,650 Borders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borders/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There’s always been someone watching the borders. They didn’t decide to. It was decided for them. Someone has to care. Sometimes, they have to fight. Someone has to speak for that which has no voice … She”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terry Pratchett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-s-always-been-someone-watching-the-borders-they-didn-t-decide/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Borders" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-s-always-been-someone-watching-the-borders-they-didn-t-decide/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/terry-pratchett-19_quote_there-s-always-been-someone-watching-the_1934248.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/terry-pratchett-19_quote_there-s-always-been-someone-watching-the_1934248.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/terry-pratchett-19_quote_there-s-always-been-someone-watching-the_1934248.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There’s always been someone watching the borders. They didn’t decide to. It was decided for them. Someone…” — Terry Pratchett", "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": "Terry Pratchett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There’s always been someone watching the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-s-always-been-someone-watching-the-borders-they-didn-t-decide/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-s-always-been-someone-watching-the-borders-they-didn-t-decide/#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 } } ] } ```