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
One section of our country believes slavery is right, and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong, and ought not to be extended.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the deep division in moral perspectives regarding slavery in the United States.
Abraham Lincoln's quote underscores the stark contrast in beliefs about slavery during his time. On one side, there were those who viewed slavery as justifiable and worthy of expansion, while on the opposing side stood those who condemned it as morally wrong, advocating for its restriction. This ideological divide reflects not only a political conflict but also profound ethical disagreements that shaped the course of American history.
In practice
During a debate on human rights, one might quote Lincoln to illustrate the moral complexities of differing beliefs.
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.
A message came from my youth of vanished days, saying, 'I wait for you among the quivering of unborn May, where smiles ripen for tears and hours ache with songs unsung.' It says, 'Come to me across the worn-out track of age, through the gates of death. For dreams fade, hopes fail, the fathered fruits of the year decay, but I am the eternal truth, and you shall meet me again and again in your voyage of life from shore to shore.
There's little of the melancholy element in her, my lord: she is never sad but when she sleeps; and not ever sad then; for I have heard my daughter say, she hath often dreamt of unhappiness, and waked herself with laughing.
Maher Arar's case stands as a sad example of how we have been too willing to sacrifice our core principles to overarching government power in the name of security, when doing so only undermines the principles we stand for and makes us less safe.
Only morality in our actions can give beauty and dignity to life.
The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.
Religion is a very scary thing, because a pastor is in a position of power. And if you use that power badly, you ruin people's lives, and you ruin your own life.
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