I put one questions. For whom I compose? My answer is I wanted to address to all my people. And if I write music for the Greek people because I'm Greek, I compose for all the people.
Mikis TheodorakisRead
The established politicians, who before the war preached national pride and Christian love, were the first to collaborate with the Germans. But the communists, who as children we'd been taught to fear, kept a resistance movement alive, living and dying true to their ideals.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the hypocrisy of politicians who preach values but betray them, contrasting them with the integrity of those who resist oppression.
Mikis Theodorakis’s quote reflects on the moral failure of established politicians during wartime, who professed ideals of national pride and love yet chose collaboration with the enemy. In stark contrast, he praises the communists, portrayed as the 'other' during his upbringing, for their unwavering commitment to resistance and their ideals, symbolizing true patriotism and sacrifice.
Themes
PoliticsResistanceHypocrisyIntegrityWar
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about civic responsibility, one could reference this quote to illustrate the importance of standing true to one's values.
More from Mikis Theodorakis
All quotes →I've been uprooted. I don't think a tree that's been uprooted as a happy tree and I'm not very happy. I can't be. I do not accept to be.
Mikis TheodorakisRead
A man who goes to jail for his ideas is much freer than his keepers.
Mikis TheodorakisRead
Similar quotes
It is a matter of record that in the German Election of 1933, the Communist Party was ordered by its leaders to vote for the Nazis - with the explanation that they could later fight the Nazis for power, but first they had to help destroy their common enemy : capitalism and its parliamentary form of government.
Ayn RandRead
The rules and reasons the political system employs to enforce status relations of any kind, including racial hierarchy, evolve and change as they are challenged.
Michelle AlexanderRead
Rising political tribalism, shamelessly exaggerating our opponents' claims or behavior, is leaving us vulnerable: No one loves America's internal fighting - and our increasingly siloed news consumption - more than Vladimir Putin.
Ben SasseRead
Voting is merely a labor-saving device for ascertaining on which side force lies and bowing to the inevitable... It is neither more nor less than a paper representative of the bayonet, the bully, and the bullet.
Benjamin TuckerRead
Our democracy is not a product but a continual process. It is preserved not by monuments but deeds. Sometimes it needs refining; sometimes it needs amending; sometimes it needs defending. Always, it needs improving.
Lee H. HamiltonRead
Why should Iran have a deterrent strategy? Well, it's surrounded by hostile enemies. Both of its borders have been under occupation by a hostile superpower, the United States, which is constantly violating the U.N. charter by leaving open what they call the saying, 'all options are open' - meaning the threat of war.
Noam ChomskyRead