We should not forget that our tradition is one of protest and revolt, and it is stultifying to celebrate the rebels of the past ... while we silence the rebels of the present.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of recognizing and supporting current dissenters as much as we celebrate historical ones.
Henry Steele Commager's quote highlights a critical viewpoint about the nature of tradition in relation to rebellion and protest. It suggests that while society often honors the rebels of the past for their courageous actions, it simultaneously tends to silence or overlook the voices of contemporary rebels who strive for change. The essence of the quote calls for a continuous acknowledgment of modern dissent and the necessity of supporting those who challenge the status quo, thereby ensuring that the spirit of protest remains alive and relevant.
In practice
In a speech about social justice, you could use this quote to emphasize the importance of supporting current movements for change.
The justification and the purpose of freedom of speech is not to indulge those who want to speak their minds. It is to prevent error and discover truth. There may be other ways of detecting error and discovering truth than that of free discussion, but so far we have not found them.
It is sobering to recall that though the Japanese relocation program, carried through at such incalculable cost in misery and tragedy, was justified on the ground that the Japanese were potentially disloyal, the record does not disclose a single case of Japanese disloyalty or sabotage during the whole war.
If our democracy is to flourish, it must have criticism; if our government is to function it must have dissent.
The greatest danger we face is not any particular kind of thought. The greatest danger we face is absence of thought.
America was born of revolt, flourished in dissent, became great through experimentation.
Men in authority will always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find criticism subversive.
I believe in a religion that believes in freedom. Any time I have to accept a religion that won't let me fight a battle for my people, I say to hell with that religion.
[I]t seems that the Cannibals of Europe are going to eat one another again. A war between Russia and Turkey is like the battle of the kite and snake; whichever destroys the other, leaves a destroyer the less for the world.
It is easier to sail many thousand miles through cold and storm and cannibals, ina government ship, with five hundred men and boys to assist one, than it is to explore the private sea, the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean of one's being alone.
What has validity is your living, not what happens tomorrow.
Let go of the idea that the path will lead you to your goal. The truth is that with each step we take, we arrive. Repeat that to yourself every morning: 'I've arrived.' That way you'll find it much easier to stay in touch with each second of your day.
Human beings cannot be willed and molded into non-existence.
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