We wait till now? Now, when we're old men, we get to be brave?
Ernest GainesRead
Don't tell me to believe. Don't tell me to believe in the same God or laws that men believe in who commit these murders. Don't tell me to believe that God can bless this country and that men are judged by their peers. Who among his peers judged him? Was I there? Was the minister there? Was Harry Williams there? Was Farrell Jarreau? Was my aunt? Was Vivian? No, his peers did not judge him, and I will not believe.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote questions the validity of belief in a system that allows injustice and wrongdoing.
In this powerful statement, Ernest Gaines expresses a deep skepticism about faith in societal structures and divine justice when such systems show clear failings. The speaker challenges the notion of believing in a God or social order that permits violence and wrongful judgments by those who are supposed to administer justice, highlighting the need for personal accountability and the flaws in collective beliefs that condone suffering and injustice.
Themes
BeliefJusticeInjusticeFaithSocietySuffering
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be a powerful opening for a discussion on moral philosophy in a classroom setting.
More from Ernest Gaines
All quotes →I was raised by a lady that was crippled all her life but she did everything for me and she raised me. She washed our clothes, cooked our food, she did everything for us. I don't think I ever heard her complain a day in her life. She taught me responsibility towards my brother and sisters and the community.
Ernest GainesRead
...my heart may have been in it but my soul was not.
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Everything's been said, but it needs saying again.
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Question everything. Every stripe, every star, every word spoken. Everything.
Ernest GainesRead
The Six Golden Rules of Writing: Read, read, read, and write, write, write.
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