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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe History of those with Principle
Henry David Thoreau, 1848, "Civil Disobedience":
An interesting quote from Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States". As I've been reading through it, something keeps standing out to me. Every person mentioned that will be remembered not for the atrocities they committed or the terrible actions of others that they supported, but instead for their stand against such things, refused to let the authority of the time sway them from principle.
Principle--not winning an election, not compromising with cruelty and inhumanity, not relenting in hopes of a promise to be fulfilled, not trusting in a higher authority to do what is right, nor remaining silent while there are wrongs to be righted--has been the cornerstone of progress.
The women and men who we remember today for their humanity and cherished human dignity are the ones who refused to give in. The ones who were told they would be quieted and forgotten; who were told that they had no right to speak up; the ones who were beaten, raped, tortured, killed, suffered for what their ideas. They stood on principle, and despite all odds, they succeeded on occasion.
Let us not forget that Principle is all we have; without it, we are liable to become one of the soldiers Thoreau speaks of. Colonel Ethan Allen Hitchcock was one (speaking about the 1846 war of aggression with Mexico):
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)- Mark Twain
leveymg
(36,418 posts)RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)"Let us not forget that Principle is all we have; without it, we are liable to become one of the soldiers Thoreau speaks of. "
F4lconF16
(3,747 posts)He wrote this two years after he went to jail for refusing to pay his taxes because of the war. His friends bailed him out without him knowing.
One of the things I really like about this book is that in addition to the excellent writing throughout, he provides figures where he can who managed to win, even for the briefest of moments, a battle against their oppressors. The indentured servant who passively resists his master's orders through "laziness", the slave rebellion that managed to take fire for a while, Angelina Grimké killing it at the Boston Opera house 6 nights in a row for women's rights, (that's all my examples--I've only gotten to Andrew Jackson so far).
These moments, while not considered particularly important in the public education system, are nevertheless a critical part of history. In addition to the massive and systematic oppressions that people have suffered under for the last 500 years or so, we don't learn about the people who really make change, who make movements. For the most part, they have been left out of the history books in our schools, and have slipped into the past.
These were the common men and women, the activists, the few lucky and not-so lucky minorities who were able to rise above their situation and challenge an oppressive system. They were the people who made up global change, and they're the most important people in the world, if you ask me. This book does a fine job reminding us of them.
F4lconF16
(3,747 posts)woo me with science
(32,139 posts)Both parties, all three branches.
Thank you for this.