We shall never be abandoned by Heaven while we act worthy of its aid and protection
Samuel AdamsRead
We have proclaimed to the world our determination 'to die freemen, rather than to live slaves.' We have appealed to Heaven for the justice of our cause, and in Heaven we have placed our trust.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of freedom and the willingness to sacrifice for it.
Samuel Adams reflects on the power of determination in the quest for freedom, asserting that he and his compatriots prefer death as free individuals over a life of enslavement. By appealing to a higher moral authority, they convey their faith in justice and the righteousness of their struggle, highlighting the profound value placed on liberty and human dignity.
In practice
During a speech advocating for civil rights, this quote can instill hope and resolve in the audience.
We shall never be abandoned by Heaven while we act worthy of its aid and protection
Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust must be men of unexceptionable characters.
If taxes are laid upon us in any shape without our having a legal representation where they are laid, are we not reduced from the character of free subjects to the miserable state of tributary slaves? We claim British rights not by charter only! We are born to them.
Let no man thirst for good beer.
He therefore is the truest friend to the liberty of his country who tries most to promote its virtue, and who, so far as his power and influence extend, will not suffer a man to be chosen into any office of power and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man.
We boast of our freedom, and we have your example for it. We talk the language we have always heard you speak.
Cowardice, as distinguished from panic, is almost always simply a lack of ability to suspend the functioning of the imagination.
For us, warriors are not what you think of as warriors. The warrior is not someone who fights, because no one has the right to take another life. The warrior, for us, is one who sacrifices himself for the good of others. His task is to take care of the elderly, the defenseless, those who can not provide for themselves, and above all, the children, the future of humanity.
My whole love and respect is for the person who accepts himself totally, as he is. He has courage. He has courage to face the whole pressure of the society which is bent upon splitting him into divisions — into good and bad, into saint and sinner. He is really a brave, courageous being who stands against the whole history of man, of morality, and declares to the skies his reality, whatever it is.
I always felt that whatever I had to endure was nothing compared to what the average soldier, sailor or airman had to put up with.
I knew that when the great guiding spirit cleaves humanity into two antagonistic halves, I would be with the people. I know this, I see it printed in the night sky that I, eclectic dissembler of doctrine and psychoanalyst of dogma, howling like one possessed, will assault the barricades or the trenches , will take my bloodstained weapon, and consumed with fury, slaughter any enemy who falls into my hands.
It demands great spiritual resilience not to hate the hater whose foot is on your neck, and an even greater miracle of perception and charity not to teach your child to hate.
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