Category: courage
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Politics and conscience
Lincoln’s motives were moral as well as political—a reminder that our finest presidents are those committed to bringing a flawed nation closer to the light, a mission that requires an understanding that politics divorced from conscience is fatal to the American experiment in liberty under law. That’s what Jon Meacham concludes in his book And…
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Common rights and respect
In his book about Abraham Lincoln–And There Was Light, John Meacham writes: “This book charts Lincoln’s struggle as he defined it within the political universe he and his country inhabited—not to celebrate him for moral perfection, for he was morally imperfect, but to illustrate that progress comes when Americans recognize that all, not just some,…
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Independent thinker?
No many of us are independent thinkers, concludes Bret Stephens in The New York Times. “There are very few people who don’t see themselves as independent thinkers. There are even fewer people who are. Most people just want to belong, and the most essential elements of belonging are agreeing and conforming.”
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Moral courage
“Moral cowardice is something which I think I never had,” Abraham Lincoln once said. Lincoln had moral courage. I found this quote in Jon Meacham’s book And There Was Light—Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle. Lincoln’s story has meaning for us today. –Joy
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Let there be light
“I do not despair this country….The fiat of the Almighty—“let there be light”—has not yet spent its force,” Frederick Douglas once said. I found this quote in Jon Meacham’s book And There Was Light—Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle. Lincoln’s story has meaning for us today. –Joy
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Solid ground
Qian Julie Wang, author of Beautiful Country, came to the United States in 1994 when she was seven years old. She often went to school hungry and was put in special education classes because she didn’t speak English. Eventually, she graduated from Yale Law School. Her mother was a professor who taught math and computer…
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The perfect affirmative-action baby
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor says that she is “a product of affirmative action. I am the perfect affirmative action baby. I am Puerto Rican, born and raised in the south Bronx. My test scores were not comparable to my colleagues at Princeton and Yale. Not so far off so that I wasn’t able to…
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Trust and fear
In the early 1970s, surveys showed that about half of the people in this country believed most people were trustworthy. By 2020, the number had fallen to less than one-third. And, many people who don’t trust others fear them. However, fear has to be justified by the circumstances, says Geoffrey Corn, chair of criminal law…
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A single drop
Manal Al-Sharif was put in prison in Saudi Arabia when she dared to drive in 2011. It was seven years later, in 2018, when women finally were allowed to drive in the country. As Manal Al-Sharif says in her book Daring to Drive, “The rain begins with a single drop.”
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Don’t be afraid
“Don’t be afraid,” says Naguib Mahfouz. “Fear won’t prevent death; it prevents life.” I found this quote in Manal Al-Sharif’s book Daring to Drive. –Joy