When cowardice is made respectable, its followers are without number both from among the weak and the strong; it easily becomes a fashion.
Interpretation
This quote highlights how cowardice can become normalized and accepted in society, attracting both the weak and those who appear strong.
Eric Hoffer's quote suggests that when society condones or glamorizes cowardice, it loses its stigma, leading many individuals, regardless of their inherent strength or weakness, to adopt such behavior. This normalization can create an environment where bravery is undervalued, and the fear of taking risks or standing up for one's beliefs becomes commonplace.
In practice
In a discussion about societal values, one might quote Hoffer to illustrate how cultural trends can influence behavior.
Language was invented to ask questions. Answers may be given by grunts and gestures, but questions must be spoken. Humanness came of age when man asked the first question. Social stagnation results not from a lack of answers but from the absence of the impulse to ask questions.
Faith in humanity, in posterity, in the destiny of one's religion, nation, race, party or family-what is it but the visualization of that eternal something to which we attach the self that is about to be annihilated?
You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.
Our frustration is greater when we have much and want more than when we have nothing and want some. We are less dissatisfied when we lack many things than when we seem to lack but one thing.
Our credulity is greatest concerning the things we know least about.
Perhaps a modern society can remain stable only by eliminating adolescence, by giving its young, from the age of ten, the skills, responsibilities, and rewards of grownups, and opportunities for action in all spheres of life. Adolescence should be a time of useful action, while book learning and scholarship should be a preoccupation of adults.
I'm a gay, undocumented immigrant; I have to be optimistic.
When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future.
Fear is a healthy instinct, not a sign of weakness. It is a natural self-defense mechanism that is common to felines, wolves, hyenas, and most humans. Even fruit bats know fear, and I salute them for it. If you think the world is weird now, imagine how weird it would be if wild beasts had no fear.
The movement for equality and justice can only be a success if it has both a mass and militant character; the barriers to be overcome require both.
My father told me about American democracy. And he said you have to be actively engaged in the political process to make our democracy work. So I've been doing that my entire life. Civil rights movement. The peace movement during the Vietnam conflict. The movement to get an apology and redress for Japanese-Americans.
It was a very vulnerable time going from being insecure about my body and who I am to becoming comfortable with me. I had to tune out what the hell everybody else had to say about who I was. When I was able to do that, I felt free.
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