We will be judged. There will be an accounting; there will be a reckoning sooner or later. It will either come from ourselves and our own conscience, or it will come from our kids when they ask that inconvenient question: 'What were you doing when they turned those kids back from the border?'
Interpretation
We are all accountable for our actions, and this accountability will manifest either through our own conscience or through future generations.
This quote from Beto O'Rourke speaks to the inevitability of accountability for our actions, particularly in a moral context. He suggests that we will be judged, not just by ourselves but also by our children, who will question our decisions and actions regarding significant social issues like immigration. The quote serves as a reminder to consider the long-term impacts of our actions and decisions on future generations, highlighting the importance of ethical responsibility.
In practice
In a speech about social justice, one might quote this to highlight the importance of moral responsibility.
We can either be governed by fear - fear of immigrants, fear of Muslims, call the press the enemy of the people, tear kids away from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border - or we can be governed by our ambitions and our aspirations and our desire to make the most out of all of us. And that's America at its best.
I can think of nothing more American than to peacefully stand up or take a knee for your rights - anytime, anywhere, anyplace.
Seek not abroad, for in the inner man dwells the truth.
The foundation of justice is good faith.
None but a good man is really a living man, and the more good any man does, the more he really lives. All the rest is death, or belongs to it.
How can you tell when a political ideology has become the equivalent of a religion?
Winter is not a season, it's an occupation.
My father was a man of great charity towards the poor, and compassion for the sick, and also for servants; so much so, that he never could be persuaded to keep slaves, for he pitied them so much: and a slave belonging to one of his brothers being once in his house, was treated by him with as much tenderness as his own children.
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