
A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury.
quote by John Stuart Mill

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Related quotes
Never Judge A Person
never judge a person's soul,
for the judgement returns.
judge only actions
whether give or take.
whether an act of compassion,
or the act of ignorance...
yet beneath every action
there lies a reason,
that more often than not
you will never see.
actions have a cost,
inaction, even more.
even choice exacts a toll,
be careful of your path.
never judge a person,
leave that to infinity,
and when you look at actions,
see both source and result!
poem by Eric Cockrell

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In the World of Good and Evil
In the world of good and evil
One often categorizes them as one or the other
Simply put, it is not always the case:
I may kill someone for hurting you
I may hate someone for crying
I may love someone regardless
Of it being deserved or not
One may love and hate another equally
Is this good, or is this bad?
Something we often forget to remember
Is which category we would place ourselves in
If you are good, what qualifications have you?
If you are bad, is it by choice or force?
Is it the world you live in to make you one way or the other?
Or perhaps the people you are often around?
Don't call someone evil without first understanding
What and why
Don't assume all is good
Without proof that there lies no harm
The difficult truth is that
One cannot be either good or evil
It is a mix, with one outweighing the other
In certain aspects
Perhaps my thoughts are evil
And my actions good
Or my actions evil
But my mind repentant
One would believe that we had figured this out long ago
But no, this is not the case
For we try to classify as one or the other
To categorize, in order to ignore flaws and differences
Between stereotypes and truths
So which are you?
poem by Gwenevere Cornwell

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The individual is not accountable to society for his actions in so far as these concern the interests of no person but himself.
quote by John Stuart Mill

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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What About My Image?
But you've graduated from high school.
Why is it that you desire to go back?
'I felt safe in those days.
It was easy for me not to be accountable,
For anything.
And when I blamed someone else for something I did...
At least I could hide my deceit and was believed.
But today...
People are trying to make me responsible,
For my own actions.
And...
I have 'never' done that before!
I'm not use to having fingers pointed at me.'
Well...
You know eventually that is going to happen.
'I know.
I can't even blame 'them' for anything anymore.'
Just be prepared to fix everything you've done.
'Are you kidding?
Be responsible for my own actions?
Be accountable and admit my faults?
But...but...
What about my image? '
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

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Held Accountable
We all are held accountable
On the things we do in our life
From the deeds we do, and the words we say
And from the actions that we leave behind.
As our paths they cannot be forgotten
Nor the walks or the steps we have taken
And the things we done or felt or said
They will become the future that we have been making.
As a rock that is tossed into the ocean
And as it hits upon it’s surface
The ripple effect for that rock has began
Then later we will see its effect and its purpose.
And we too are all held accountable
As that is the way that it should be,
From the things we done and the words we said
As that will become part of our history.
We all are held accountable
For our endeavors that became our past
And should we not also be made to stand up and own
All our actions and deeds that formed and shaped our life.
We must stand up and accept our past
As that is the way that it truly should be
So we can't run or even hide away
Like life, that is our destiny.
As one day we all will be held accountable
From the deeds and actions that we have done
So we must be prepared to accept them all
As like from death, from it we cannot run.
So watch the steps that you do take
And think closely on the path you do choose
As that will be the destiny you chose for yourself
And one day it will come back to visit you.
Randy L. McClave
poem by Randy McClave

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What I argue is that if I'm going to be held accountable for my actions that I should be allowed to record... my actions. Especially if somebody else is keeping a record of my actions.
quote by Steve Mann

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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That person has to be accountable for himself. I think that's what we have to do in society today is to be accountable for yourself. I think we have the tendency to always want to live someone else's life.
quote by Herschel Walker

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Well, I - all cases to me have interest. Every case is important to somebody, the people litigating that case. But the most difficult case for me is the case where one person says a, the other person says b, and you just don't know for certain who is not telling you the truth.
quote by Judge Mills Lane

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I'm amazed that there is such misunderstanding of what our country is about, that people would hate us. I am like most Americans. I just can't believe it, because I know how good we are, and we've got to do a better job of making our case. We've got to do a better job of explaining to the people in the Middle East, for example, that we don't fight a war against Islam or Muslims. We don't hold any religion accountable. We're fighting evil. And these murderers have hijacked a great religion in order to justify their evil deeds. And we cannot let it stand.
quote by George W. Bush

Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Clear Karmic Debt
Some people use the phrase Born Again
to justify their actions
before their mean action begins.
They can justify actions like never before
but their mean actions can't be ignored.
For every action there is karma at stake
you will experience the same experience
likewise which you did create.
Everyone is accountable for their actions
no matter how small—
if you transgressed and hurt another
send them blessing least of all.
Or say your "Sorry" and give them a hug
it doesn't matter if you are not a thug.
So clear your karmic debt—
rethink through your actions
to live with no future regrets.
Written by Christina Sunrise on July 14,2012
www.christinapoems.com www.christinasunrise.com
poem by Christina Sunrise

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One who is injured ought not to return the injury, for on no account can it be right to do an injustice; and it is not right to return an injury, or to do evil to any man, however much we have suffered from him.
We Make These Choices!
who makes the choices
that change the world?
that decide who eats,
who has shelter,
who has medical care?
the choices...
whether or not to bomb,
whether to pull the trigger.
whether to see that justice is done,
or to turn the head,
and walk away...
whether to accept
people for who they are,
and what they are...
whether to stand up
for the other person's rights,
the other person's beliefs,
the other person's way of life...
whether to walk in dignity,
and respect,
or to take at all costs.
we make these choices,
each of us every moment
of every day.
what we do or dont do,
say or dont say,
give or dont give,
changes the world!
actions and inaction,
hidden thoughts and feelings,
who we vote for,
and whether we vote...
whether we're willing
to share what we have...
we change the world,
moment by moment...
for better, or worse?
poem by Eric Cockrell

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A Granting Of An Escape
When does it become one's duty,
To be held accountable for their own actions?
When does that border between,
Allowing one to locate excuses...
Separates that from one's denying,
Of making habitual mistakes...
To find fault to place blame on others,
With a granting of an escape.
When does it become one's duty,
To be held accountable for their own actions?
When does that border between,
Allowing one to locate excuses...
Separates that from one's denying,
Of making habitual mistakes.
And when will people awaken,
To discover their dishonesty...
Offers their children,
No respect or identity.
Or a dignity they pride for the rest of their lives.
What will it take...
For those with pretentions to have them erased?
More hiding places?
Or the appearance of guilty looks,
Adorning their pitiful faces?
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

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By Not Caring...
who did we kill today...
by our actions, by inaction,
by our thoughts, by our desires?
whose bread did we eat?
whose shelter did we take?
whose hope did we steal
by not caring?
poem by Eric Cockrell

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This president has been reluctant to hold anybody accountable. No one was held accountable after September the 11th. Nobody's been held accountable after the clear flaws in intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq.
quote by Bob Graham

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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With All Due Respect
We have come to tell you,
We find your actions to be...
Despicable, distasteful to our policies.
Disrespectful to our rules.
Offensive and totally nonconforming.
And...
You have rubbed us the wrong way.
'Whew!
That's a relief.
When I saw the two of you,
Approaching me with those huge smiles...
I thought you were about to deliver,
Well...
Bad news.
You see,
For the record...
I tried to tell you that myself when we first met.
But during that initial meeting,
When asked...
If anyone had anything further to discuss,
My raised hand was ignored.
And that meeting you ended.
You have to remember that?
I was then new on the scene.'
That's not the issue here.
What is it that you intend to do?
'Have I been honest? '
Too honest.
: 'Have I been direct? '
Too direct.
'Have I been accountable? '
Well...
'Have I or have I not been accountable? '
Well, yes.
And that's the one thing,
That is the most embarrassing to us.
You seem not to care you are ruining our reputations.
'You''ll get over it.
You think it's easy for me,
Getting up every morning...
'Knowing' that's the kind of person I am.
Do you know how I struggle through the day,
With that kind of guilt on my mind?
And not have a deceiving thought to share all day long?
Do you know how hard that is?
And to live with happiness around here, too?
You've asked me what I intend to do.
Is this correct? '
Yes.
What are your intentions.
'With all due respect.
My intentions are to ignore you.
Just like you did me when we first met.
I am sure that should be familiar.
Don't you all do that to yourselves as well? '
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

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Do we exert our own liberties without injury to others - we exert them justly; do we exert them at the expense of others - unjustly. And, in thus doing, we step from the sure platform of liberty upon the uncertain threshold of tyranny.
quote by Frances Wright

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Let me be clear - no one is above the law. Not a politician, not a priest, not a criminal, not a police officer. We are all accountable for our actions.
quote by Antonio Villaraigosa

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The downside isn't really injury, fear of injury or the process of fighting back from injury. The downside, the very worst thing in the world, is surgery.
quote by Greg Rusedski

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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You Can Easily Recognize
You can easily recognize
Those who have never dealt with evil at all
And those who who have been down
Knee deep in it, and on familiar ground-
Evil squeezing you like a lover;
It's hands where they shouldn't be,
Because evil is already on too close terms
With those who don't by nature fear and abhor it.
But a person who has avoided at all costs
The cold stare of evil, and those clutching fingers;
Who has run squealing, from anywhere
That evil has ever appeared:
That person will be destroyed
Almost before the first shot is fired off,
While at the same time, the well-seasoned soldier
Is starting to warm up to the fully acceptable notion
That maybe this won't be
Just another boring day, after all-
Hand already itching at the trigger..
poem by Patti Masterman

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