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We haven't the power to change men's hearts. We're not responsible. It isn't our fault. Your hands are clean aren't they? Out here where the sun keeps everything pure. But you're not pure! Because if you could stop the suffering and dying, and didn't stop it, the you are guilty. It is your fault. We kill no one. We do not let them kill us. We have nothing to do with them

Orson Scott Card#907

SufferingActionResponsibilityGuiltMoral

About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker argues that inaction in the face of suffering makes one guilty.
In plain terms
If you could stop suffering and do not, it is your fault.
What can you take from it?
Failing to act against known suffering is moral guilt.

Where it applies

  • ethical dilemmas
  • social activism
  • personal accountability

Putting it to work

  • act against injustice
  • accept responsibility
  • stop blaming others

Questions to consider

  • When are you responsible for others' pain?
  • Does inaction equal action?

Another view

The quote does not specify if stopping suffering is possible.

More from Orson Scott Card

  1. Unfree as the world was. They didn't really know it, and they were at peace. Who was I to think that this peace was worse than war?

    Permalink to quote #906
  2. How would we be different from them, killing those whose actions we don't like? I don't know! Maybe there's a measuring rod somewhere in the universe where men…

    Permalink to quote #908
  3. Faithfulness had taken me by surprise. I wondered how long the phase would last.

    Permalink to quote #905

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