A Few Quotables

Here are a few quotes I think are worthy of passing along. Some of my thoughts about them might also be worth passing along, so I'll include a few of them. At some point I think I'll pontificate on what to do when the rule of law clashes (apparently) with the Golden Rule. Which do you follow? Is it possible that the Golden Rule should be "rejected" in favor of something else? But my thoughts on that will have to wait for another time (don't worry, I'm really not a heretic).

Now for the quotes:
1. "I am aware, that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. No! no! Tell a man whose house is on fire, to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hand of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; -- but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I am in earnest -- I will not equivocate -- I will not excuse -- I will not retreat a single inch -- AND I WILL BE HEARD. The apathy of the people is enough to make every statue leap from its pedestal, and to hasten the resurrection of the dead."--William Lloyd Garrison, The Liberator, January 1, 1831

Pro-life people should be able to find inspiration from such language, and could appropriately appropriate it for their cause. Of course, for Garrison, the cause was ending slavery. I admire the guy for having the guts to stand up against the horrific system that slavery was in the American South, at a time when few people dared or cared to take such a radical stand as Garrison, who demanded the immediate abolition of slavery. Say what you want against Garrison for some of his other views, which may be less admirable. But he was a man who saw slavery for what it was, and sacrificed a lot to sound a clarion call against it, decades before a political party--the Republicans, who mostly just wanted to stop its expansion, and were not nearly as bold as Garrison--dared to adopt a plank that could lead to the institution's eventual extinction. (By the way, in case you missed the memo, slavery was a VERY EVIL institution in the American South, and as such very much corrupted the culture of the South. I will not digress too much here by detailing the overwhelming evidence that supports this claim. But any wannabe pro-South defenders will have to do better than to say that "slavery is in the Bible" or use ad hominem arguments such as "the North was corrupt too" to justify the slave system. But this is another topic, perhaps worthy of a very long post sometime, so I'll stop now.)

2. "Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive."—C.S. Lewis, in "The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment," in God in the Dock.
This could be good thought fodder in the classroom, when contemplating government intervention to improve people's lives.

3. "Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one's labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward." Ecclesiastes 5:18
I read this the other day, and was struck by how much it summarizes my vocation. Sometimes I can't believe I get paid to teach. My job is almost too good to be true! Of course, there is a warning label that should accompany the dose of sentiment of which you have just partaken.
Here it is:

Contextual warning--Readers should be aware of the fact that I am about 10 days removed from my most recent classroom experience, so time may have dulled the memories of frustration and exasperation that also frequently accompany my job.

Even so, I am glad to say that I enjoy myself in all my labor--er, at least most of it!