Is it not a grotesque civilization which sends missionaries across the sea to save the souls of the heathen, and yet permits conditions at home that debauch the children at our very doors?
Interpretation
This quote critiques the hypocrisy of a society that is eager to assist others abroad while neglecting its own issues.
Edwin Markham's quote highlights the absurdity of a civilization that prioritizes sending missionaries to 'save' distant populations while turning a blind eye to the moral and social decay occurring within its own borders, particularly as it affects vulnerable children. It urges reflection on the values of society and questions the sincerity of its philanthropic efforts when local problems remain unaddressed.
In practice
In a speech about community service, one might introduce this quote to discuss the importance of addressing local social issues.
Greed and Gain, grim guardians of the great god Mammon, continually cry in the ears of the poor, 'Give us your little ones!' And forever do the poor push out their little ones at the imperious ukase, feeding the children to a blind Hunger that is never filled.
Sorrows come to stretch out places in the heart for joy.
There is a destiny which makes us brothers; none goes his way alone. All that we send into the lives of others comes back into our own.
The crest and crowning of all good, life's final star, is Brotherhood.
He drew a circle that shut me out- Heretic , rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle and took him In ! From the poem " Outwitted
The sequoias belong to the silences of the milleniums. Many of them have seen a hundred human generations rise, give off their little clamors and perish. They seem indeed to be forms of immortality standing here amoing the transitory shapes of time.
Our tolerance for forms of religious expression we disagree with is a precise barometer of our own spiritual security.
Man has no right to kill his brother. It is no excuse that he does so in uniform: he only adds the infamy of servitude to the crime of murder.
Nothing changes; we humans repeat the same sins over and over, eternally.
Creative capitalism takes this interest in the fortunes of others and ties it to our interest in our own fortunes in ways that help advance both. This hybrid engine of self-interest and concern for others can serve a much wider circle of people than can be reached by self-interest or caring alone.
Even on the cross He did not hide Himself from sight; rather, He made all creation witness to the presence of its Maker.
When you run into someone who is disagreeable to others, you may be sure he is uncomfortable with himself; the amount of pain we inflict upon others is directly proportional to the amount we feel within us.
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