I am like a man so busy in letting rooms in one end of his house, that he can't stop to put out the fire that is burning the other.
Abraham LincolnRead
We must free the slaves or be ourselves subdued.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the moral obligation to fight against oppression or face the consequences of submission.
Abraham Lincoln's quote reflects the profound belief in the necessity of promoting freedom and combating slavery. It conveys that the struggle for the liberation of enslaved individuals is not only a matter of justice but a direct reflection of one's own integrity and humanity; to ignore this fight is to risk becoming complicit in the very oppression that one aims to eliminate.
In practice
This quote would be powerful in a speech advocating for social justice.
I am like a man so busy in letting rooms in one end of his house, that he can't stop to put out the fire that is burning the other.
Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.
How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
For it has been said, all that a man hath will he give for his life; and while all contribute of their substance the soldier puts his life at stake, and often yields it up in his country's cause. The highest merit, then is due to the soldier.
And having thus chosen our course, without guile, and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear, and with manly hearts.
When a man attempts to deal with me by force, I answer him, by force.
Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved.
As far as I was concerned, the Panthers were 'baaaaaad.' The Party was more than bad; it was bodacious. The sheer audacity of walking onto the California Senate floor with rifles, demanding that Black people have the right to bear arms and the right to self-defense, made me sit back and take a long look at them.
I had build up false pictures in my mind and sat before them. I had never had the courage to demand the truth.
Better to die fighting for freedom then be a prisoner all the days of your life.
A 30-year-old rock climber is an old man. At 40, one is in the middle of his high-altitude power. At 50, a crosser of deserts is at his best age. But at 60, each of us is out of the game.
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