The History of those with Principle

[F4lconF16]

Henry David Thoreau, 1848, "Civil Disobedience":

It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. . . . Law never made men a whit more just; and, by means of their respect for it, even the well disposed are daily made the agents of injustice. A common and natural result of undue respect see a file of soldiers . . . marching in admirable order over hill and dale to the wars, against their wills, ay, against their common sense and consciences, which makes it very steep marching indeed, and produces a palpitation of the heart."

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):

"I have said from the first that the United States are the aggressors. . . . We have not one particle of right to be here. . . . It looks as if the government sent a small force on purpose to bring on a war, so as to have a pretext for taking California and as much of this country as it chooses, for, whatever becomes of this army, there is no doubt of a war between the United States and Mexico. . . . My heart is not in this business...but, as a military man, I am bound to execute orders."

[Fumesucker]

1. "It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare."

- Mark Twain

[leveymg]

2. 5th rec for Thoreau, Zinn, and Col. Hitchcock. n/t

[RobertEarl]

3. DU, at its best, has progressive principles

"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]

4. An interesting side note about Thoreau.

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]

5. Kick nt

[woo me with science]

6. We live in a time of deep corruption of our government.

Both parties, all three branches.

Thank you for this.