A lawyer is either a social engineer or he is a parasite on society.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that a lawyer can play a constructive role in society or be detrimental to it, depending on their choices and actions.
Charles Hamilton Houston's quote encapsulates the dual nature of a lawyer's role in society. It emphasizes that lawyers hold a significant position where they can either contribute positively as social engineers, working to enhance justice and equity, or negatively as parasites, exploiting legal systems for personal gain without regard for societal well-being. This highlights the ethical responsibilities that come with the profession and encourages lawyers to choose the path of serving the community.
In practice
This quote can be used during a legal ethics seminar to inspire young lawyers to consider their impact on society.
The hate and scorn showered on us Negro officers by our fellow Americans convinced me that there was no sense in my dying for a world ruled by them. I made up my mind that if I got through this war I would study law and use my time fighting for men who could not strike back.
A lawyerβs either a social engineer or β¦ a parasite on society β¦ A social engineer [is] a highly skilled, perceptive, sensitive lawyer who [understands] the Constitution of the United States and [knows] how to explore its uses in the solving of problems of local communities and in bettering conditions of the underprivileged citizens.
Without education, there is no hope for our people and without hope, our future is lost
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We beg you to save young America from the blight of race prejudice. Do not bind the children within the narrow circles of your own lives.
There is no health in those who are displeased by an element in Your creation, just as there was none in me when I was displeased by many things You had made. Because my soul didn't dare to say that my God displeased me, it refused to attribute to You whatever was displeasing.
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The flip side of suicide is that it leaves a lingering question in the minds of the people who survived. It's like a cancer that's metastasized. The suicide is the cancer and the metastasis is all these people saying, Why? Why? Why?
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An opponent is entitled to the same regard for his principles as we would expect others to have for ours. Non-violence demands that we should see every opportunity to win over opponents.
Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute.
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